SYDENHAMS LEAGUE (WESSEX) DIVISION ONE
SATURDAY 29TH NOVEMBER 2008
VERWOOD TOWN 1 DOWNTON 0

Severe trauma following a lie detector test meant Damon Cousins giving this game a miss. Roy Mortimer evidenced that Carl Chivers had scored the goal at Fawley and not Damon. Damon claimed it was his boot that had done the business but the fierce tracking mechanism that's the calling card of RM put Damon in the dock. It turned out that Carl Chivers did score the goal. Drained of emotion Chivers had to recover by applying himself to bench duty for this clash of two teams desperate for points.

An extremely heavy downpour just before kick off made the pitch slippy and lucky for us in the second minute the pitch claimed its first victim as a ball from the right should have been turned into the net past Fawcett but the player slipped with the goal at his mercy and we were let off the hook.

It wasn't bad football but too many passes went astray in the first quarter of the game making it frustrating for the partisan.

Reeves forced a corner in the 13th minute and Goodall's header was booted off the line.

Two minutes later and a flurry of shots at Downton's goal finished with a Faulkner shot going high and wide.

Downton hit back forcing a finger tip save from Fawcett. Another short blast from the visitors had Elysee and Murray at full stretch but we survived and carried the game to Downton.

Halfway through the half brought the best out of Fawcett. A double save and then a save at feet kept the score line at zero.

Goodall hit the foot of the post with 7 minutes left but that was the last of any meaningful shots at goal.

Half Time 0-0.

We needed a lift. Paul Arnold did the honours. 48 minutes and a vicious cross was palmed out by the keeper. Arnold pounced and the ball was hammered into the net. 1-0.

Tempers frayed and with ten minutes of the half gone handbags were brandished as frustration set in. Dan Goodall's handbag was the biggest and consequently he was punished by waving the biggest weapon. Off he went.

The free kick floated in and Giles calmly took the ball away from danger as Downton followed in.

Faulkner had to come off with a strain and on came Chivers, now fully recovered from his emotional disturbance.

Arnold pushed forward, Reeves chipped the ball over the defender and Arnold finished the move with a rasping shot the keeper did well to turn round the post. In came Lynch as the ball curled in but the header went over the corner of the bar and the post.

Chivers went wide and Reeves placed an inch perfect ball on his toes. Chives cut in from the left and a cross along the edge of the box was hammered by Homer towards the bottom corner. The keeper made an amazing save.

Dyer Giles and Murray combined to move the ball forward but the move fizzled out as Downton got numbers behind the ball making an almost impenetrable barrier.

Downton got back into the game with some good football and Fawcett again was in action as Downton pushed for an equaliser. Lynch and Giles excelled as the ball was pumped into our defence. We coped with everything thrown at us for a change and looked worth being ahead.

5 minutes left and Arnold strode through to try a 20 yarder. The rising ball would have finished up in the roof of the net had it not been for another superb save from the Downton keeper. The whistle went….

1-0.