WESSEX LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION
WEDNESDAY 5TH OCTOBER 2016
VERWOOD TOWN 1 BEMERTON HEATH 3

Fresh faces again giving an improvement to the squad. Christer Warren and Liam Donachy were both registered just before the game but Liam couldn’t make a bow because of illness. Christer joined Alex Eaton, James Bergin Ethan Maddocks and Dan Fawcett on the bench.

The team again was different to that which faced Newport last Saturday.

Chris Lynch .. Dean Evans .. Ryan Johnson .. Harvey Elsom .. Ben Kelly .. Martin Smith .. Russell Dyer .. Zac Phelps .. Ryan Kelly .. Chas Gajic and Pepe Smith trod the turf.

Bemerton had the first break volleying for goal after only three minutes. Elsom got in the way deflecting the ball for a corner. The inswinger could have put Bemerton one up but no one followed in and we were static until Ben Kelly went through bodies to head clear. A dopey start.

Bem pushed up. Lynch went low to make a ground save and Johnson swept up pieces as another shot hit the post and bounced out.

We took time to settle. Phelps and Martin Smith beavered away in mid field but Bem seemed a yard faster and more accurate with their passing than us.

Dyer and Evans responded with a good right flank move and the cross from Dyer was headed into the side netting by Ryan Kelly.

Half way through the half we strung a good move together, Gajic Johnson back to Gajic a cross field ball found Dyer. Back to Evans and a deep cross went high into the box. Ryan Kelly won the header but the ball went straight down the keeper’s throat.

Bem still had a slight edge on play and constantly threatened.

36 minutes Bem went in front from a good approach an equally good cross and the ball was steered past Lynch 0-1.

38 minutes and we looked dozy in the box. We suffered by not clearing the ball and allowing a bustling Blake to grab a second for Bem.

With a couple of minutes left Ben Kelly brought down a central high ball and slipped a pass through bodies to Gajic. The Keeper raced off his line to gather at feet.

Half Time 0-2.

Pepe Smith had survived his first 45 minutes of the season without tweaking his groin injury but gave way for Alex Eaton to go one for one. That was the only change at half time.

Dyer whipped a cross into the Bemerton box and Martin Smith went through bodies to head wide.

We stayed on attack. Eaton drifted in from the right and tried a left footer from 20 yards. The keeper safely gathered.

Bemerton’s movement and passing ability in this game was good to watch and we were pushed back.

Zac Phelps and Martin Smith dropped a bit deeper and blocked several attempts from just outside the box. On 60 minutes and following a yellow, Phelps was substituted to give Warren a role in the middle.

Warren was soon in the game linking with Gajic to spark a run on the left. Johnson backed up Gajic and a return ball gave space for a Johnson cross. Eaton was inches short of connecting just in front of the sticks.

Bemerton’s no nonsense defence cleared the next cross from Eaton with a hefty boot up field.

Elsom worked his way through mid field to join Warren. An exchange left Ryan Kelly on the area angle. A good rising shot was on target but a very competent keeper took the ball under the bar.

We then endured a spell of Bem dominance and on 68 minutes cracked when pressure on the left finished with a ball cut back from the bye line. A volley was brilliantly palmed out by Lynch but couldn’t do anything about the bounce that finished up being hammered into the net. 0-3.

Kelly and Elsom did a great job curbing central high balls into the area and Evans and Johnson luckily had enough pace to combat flank raids.

The two goals in two minutes in the first half had killed the game for us. We tried to rescue the result towards the end of the game but it was an uphill struggle.

90 minutes had Warren ghosting through into Bemerton’s box. A dip of the shoulder took away the defender and a low shot whipped up the back of the net. 1-3. It was too late to alter the score line any further so we went in having been beaten by a better side on the night but with a growing good quality squad that can only get better in the coming weeks.

Result 1-3.