SYDENHAMS (WESSEX) LEAGUE DIVISION ONE
SATURDAY 29TH DECEMBER 2018
VERWOOD TOWN 1 RINGWOOD TOWN 2

The old cliché yet again … ‘A Game of two halves’… applied to this one. Ringwood’s defensive numbers and a solid goalkeeping display took both teams in at half time 0-0.

We dominated the first 45 minutes but failed miserably in trying to score.

Only four minutes on the clock and Heggan shot past the post. A minute later Davies did the same.

7 minutes and Chilman rounded the full back and flashed a drive across the face of goal. A lunging Davies was inches wide of turning the ball past the keeper.

8 minutes and Davies this time jinked his way into the box and hammered a low shot for the bottom corner. The keeper made an excellent save to hold the ball on the line.

Cowland and Heggan commanded their section of mid field. A Cowland ball wide reached Gajic. His ball inside the full back gave Chilman a chance to put a low cross into the six yard box. The keeper again was quick to spot the danger and smothered the opportunity

We continued pressure. Haskell had a shot blocked and Gajic headed over the bar.

Ringwood countered well and Tierney pulled off a couple of excellent saves as we opened up from pushing up too far.

31 minutes and Chilman’s free kick was too hot for the keeper to handle so a spilled ball was a golden chance to toe end a lead. It wasn’t to be, we were too slow to react and the keeper safely gathered.

Half Time 0-0

Ringwood came out for the second half in a much more determined mood but we assisted with a strolling attitude. A scramble in the Ringwood box should have produced a goal but the ball was finally cleared by a hefty boot.

52 minutes and Ringwood cleared their box again with a long ball down the right. The resultant cross into our box will never be repeated again this season. A dipping swerving ball whipped over Tierney and finished up in the roof of the net. 0-1

We stood off. Heggan saved blushes with a great tackle after tracking back to prevent a shot on goal but generally we were in a lethargic state and on 58 minutes we failed to close down the ball in the middle. A pass wide right resulted in across that we didn’t defend. The ball was turned in past Tierney making it 0-2.

We were way off the standard needed and drifted for a while.

Charlie Heggan’s free kick on 61minutes went right down the keeper’s throat and then Mick Cowland’s through ball gave Gajic a chance but the ball finished up in the side netting.

We were back on top. Mick Cowland gave way for Alex Eaton and shortly after, Mike Haskell was replaced by Matt Vining. Haskell’s injury proved to be his swan song for this game and a later X ray at A&E revealed rib damage that will keep him out of the game for 10-12 weeks.

We gradually gained more possession and on 70 min the ball was as if in a pinball machine as it bounced in and around the 6 yard box. The keeper made two scrambled saves to keep it out of the net and a big boot settled things freeing the area.

Another scramble followed minutes later from a Dyer corner but this time it was a Gajic header that inched over the bar.

Evans lifted a cross with two minutes to go into the area and this time Eaton smashed the ball for goal found it smothered by a bunch of defenders.

It was like the Alamo but on 89 minutes we breached the defensive wall with Matt Vining turning the ball past the keeper 1-2.

Our 90+5 minutes flurry was to no avail.

Result 1-2