Ford leave empty-handed against the Wasps and the ref!

Warsash Wasps 4-3 Chandlers Ford Youth

Mid Solent B League – 26th January 2008

Chandlers Ford can feel proud of their excellent effort against the league leaders Warsash Wasps. Unfortunately, it was all in vain as the Blues were cruelly punished by some harsh decisions that ultimately cost them, leaving them coming away empty-handed.

It took a long while for Richard’s side to get going against a pacy attack and as a result Ford were made to pay for being slow off the mark.

Josh Harrigan was welcomed back to the side, as was Daryl Winter who came straight into a strong looking defensive four but, unfortunately despite having arguably our most dominant unit available, things just did not seem to click and this is where Warsash took full advantage.

The Wasps took the lead with an unstoppable curler from the edge of the penalty area though why the player had so much time to fire at goal unchallenged is another question.

CFY pulled level through Jozef Montigue shortly after as the visitors came back instantly with their reply. Winter angled in a curling cross from the half way line which the goalkeeper fumbled allowing Joe to pounce on the rebound and turn home from close range.

Even before this, Montigue had a clear-cut opportunity when played through down the middle but could not hit the target on this occasion.

Warsash began to take the game to their opponents and were more or less overrunning the Ford midfield, which left the defence unprotected at the best of times.

Two sloppy mistakes helped reinforce the Wasps authority on the game as they raced into a 3-1 lead. This led to Michael Sawbridge being pulled back from attack to sit just in front of the defence where he shored things up and played exceptionally well to bring some much needed stability.

Liam Godfrey was sent up front and might have pulled a goal back only to be denied by a good save. Ford were already beginning to look a better side and going into the half time break their was plenty of optimism that if the side showed a bit more belief in themselves the game was still there for the taking if they wanted it.

HALF TIME: Warsash Wasps 3-1 CFY

The Chandlers Ford players seemed to be listening a great deal to the half time team talk and took on board that if they were to play with bit more confidence and get the next goal they had a real chance of turning the game around.

Sure enough, Michael Sawbridge helped set his side on their way to a fantastic comeback with a very well taken goal.

Hopes were up all of a sudden, and the pressure began to be constant from Ford as they piled forward in numbers looking to get an equaliser.

Alex Evens had a couple of decent efforts but was unable to find a way through, but looked a threat with his closing down of the defenders and giving them little time on the ball. The little man deserved a goal and looked likely to get one, before he was taken off midway through the half.

Ryan Chinn also came close with a half volley from the edge of the area that had to be charged down well.

The ball was in the back of the net once more for what looked like a legitimate goal from a corner kick that would have pulled CFY level at 3-3 to complete a wonderful turn-around in events. The referee saw things differently and disallowed the goal for what he indicated was a push on the goalkeeper.

Harsh to say the least, Joe maintains he was at least 6 yards away from him when Michael’s corner went straight in to the net. The only time he made contact with the keeper was when picking the ball out of the goal to get the game going again quickly so they could continue to mount their overwhelming pressure on the Warsash goal.

CFY’s response to this was to immediately bring the scores level. The Wasps hardly had a sniff as Sawbridge drove his side on helping himself to a second goal to bring the game to 3-3.

The decision prior to this caught up with the side’s momentum however, just when they were well and truly on top. To make matters worse, when the ball went up the opposite end of the field, the referee confirmed to the Blues that they were playing against 12 men as he awarded a penalty kick against Tom Pope. Josh Harrigan passed the ball to Tom inside the 18-yard box, the ball bobbled up off a divot and might have struck the arm but even then it would have been ball to hand.

The game had already swung back into the home side’s hands with the disallowed goal, but this capped off their misery as Lee was unable to keep out the penalty kick. 4-3 down when it looked as though they would go on to hit double figures just minutes earlier.

Jake Beattie sparked a confrontation as he slid in rashly taking the player as he did so, but also hurting himself quite badly taking a knock whilst making the challenge.

Liam Godfrey had the best chance to grab a point, which is the very least Ford deserved, but scuffed his shot hopelessly towards the goalkeeper.

A result that will be looked back on, thinking if only. It is clear we had done more than enough to win the game and probably would have done were it not the two match-changing decisions in the space of two minutes that prevented Ford in getting a just result. That said, had we shown a bit more steel at the back in the first half and not conceded so easily, the referee’s decisions would not have even come into the equation.

FULL TIME: Warsash Wasps 4-3 CFY