WESSEX LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION
TUESDAY 18TH MARCH 2014
VERWOOD TOWN 0 SHOLING 1

Chris Lynch had to miss this one so in stepped Ray Stroud to don the gloves. It was a good job he had stayed awake. 1 minute on the clock and a quick break took Sholing into the box. A low shot was on target but Stroud was down quickly to palm away. The rebound fell nicely for Sholing to have another pop but again Stroud read it well and thumped it away. Murray got a boot to it and danger was cleared.

Sholing pressed again. Oldring got in the way and slipped a pass wide to Hill. Hill made ground then switched the ball inside for Lovell to take up the running. A shot from the edge of the box was well taken by the keeper.

Good football took Sholing wide right with 5 minutes gone. Cutting inside the area a low shot followed beating Stroud on the near post. 0-1.

LSP (for the uninitiated, Leighton Speechley Price) collected an Evans cross and a right foot shot whistled over the bar.

Murray got under the dead ball kick and a header wide left found Hill in space. Good pace took Hill to the edge of the box. A chip onto the penalty spot gave Lovell half a chance but the header flew into the keeper's hands.

Stroud was in action again taking a low ball at the foot of the post and then Evans took the ball off a toe as Sholing pushed forward.

It was a fast game with Sholing producing good movement. We were playing well but as usual the better the opposition the better our performance.

31 minutes and a tussle in our box resulted in a penalty decision. Stroud prepared for the challenge but didn't have a problem as the ball went wide of the net.

5 minutes later Sholing were still pushing on forcing Stroud into another flying save. Murray got in the way of the next raid and Molyneaux produced a great sliding tackle to stop a shot from 6 yards hitting the net.

Oldring and Murray worked the ball out of defence with a couple of minutes left and Evans carried on the move overlapping on the right. A high cross was met by Lovell's head and the bar rattled.

We had an effort blocked from Saxby and then LSP hit a rising shot over the bar.

Half Time 0-1

Again Sholing took up the running from the whistle. A quick break down the right, a cross shot from the edge of the box had Stroud straining as he watched it fly high and wide.

Lovell carried Verwood hopes of a goal when unleashing a great effort from the edge of the area but again frustrated to see it go wide with the keeper stranded.

Sholing hit back but Oldring was in the way of progress, making a fine tackle just outside the area. Hill took up the running and a pass inside linked Dyer with the move. Dyers cross was inch perfect for Evans to connect with a powerful volley. The keeper handled it well and any hopes of levelling the score were dashed.

Saxby worked hard to relieve Sholing's midfield of the ball and persistence paid off when he managed to disturb the flow. A pass back to Oldring, on to Hill and suddenly we had a chance again to score. Hill blasted a rising shot but yet again had to watch in frustration as the missile disappeared over the trees.

Back came Sholing and Stroud dealt very capably with a shot from just outside the box.

Mitchell Speechley Price (hereinafter known as MSP) stripped to replace Gajic.

Saxby's input was superb, scrapping every inch of the way to put us into the scoring frame.

A great shot from Hill was beaten out and Saxby raced in to hammer a shot for the top corner. The keeper flicked the ball over the bar and then did the same again with the corner.

A ball from Dyer dropped on the penalty spot but a Sholing boot was first in to clear the area. The return shot flew over the bar.

MSP closed down a runner from the dead ball kick and good feet took possession of the ball. Pace took him clear of a challenge and an accurate through ball found Lovell in space. Lovell went wide and reverse passed to LSP. A left foot shot was well taken by the keeper.

Back came Sholing. Odring blocked a shot on the edge of the box and Dyer picked up the clearance to work through the middle with MSP. The attack foundered just outside the area with a tight Sholing defence closing ranks.

We pushed on. Every effort went into drawing level. Stroud had to contend with a snap counter attack but we stayed on the attack without denting the Sholing 0-1 score line.

Result 0-1

Report submitted by Bernard Scott