Six goals shared in friendly

Chandlers Ford Youth 3-3 Crusaders

Friendly – 29th March 2008

This friendly game gave Richard the chance to look at a couple of players who are not signed on but have been coming to training regularly, with the possibility of signing on for next season. Namely Kelvin Bagot, Tom Ashton and Dave Kilcoyne who all put in strong performances.

Chandlers Ford were by far the better side throughout the first half and could well have been three or four up inside the opening ten minutes.

Tom Ashton was in particularly fine form with one spectacular dribble weaving past and holding off the challenges of no less than five players inside the penalty area to make space for the shot but fired horribly wide with his weaker left foot having done all the hard work.

Ashton marked his debut in the blue of CFY with an excellent goal from the left-hand side that floated into the top corner leaving the goalkeeper rooted to the spot.

Kelvin Bagot, also making his first appearance, made some splendid saves at the opposite end to keep out two or three shots from point blank range with stunning reaction saves to keep his side in front.

Ford came close with Michael Wall firing narrowly wide on a couple of occasions as he combined with the excellent Alex Evens, whose hold up play for a boy of his size was remarkable.

CFY eventually doubled their lead through Evens whose dipping shot from all of 30 yards flew into the back of the net, a great strike.

The visitors, who have a winning mentality about them having won most of their games in the Tyro on a Sunday this season, managed to get one back as a slight lack of communication between goalkeeper and centre half saw Jake Beattie head an own goal. It was a great finish though, just at the wrong end!

HALF TIME: CFY 2-1 Crusaders

Crusaders put up a good fight in the second half and the game was becoming increasingly evenly matched.

Sure enough Ford conceded an equaliser as the pace of the visitors centre forward took him beyond the defence to squeeze a weak shot through the legs of Bagot.

Jake made amends for his earlier mistake towards the end claiming the final touch off a splendid Michael Sawbridge corner kick. This coming not long after Michael struck the woodwork directly from a previous corner, which was extremely unlucky.

In the closing stages of the game, Crusaders broke away to score a late goal to level the scores. CFY will be disappointed not to taken more of their chances.

FULL TIME: CFY 3-3 Crusaders

Unfortunate defeat for Ford

Whiteley 3-0 Chandlers Ford Youth

Mid Solent B League – 22nd March 2008

With Whiteley’s pitch unplayable, the game took place at Chandlers Ford’s home pitch, Fleming Park. Both sides wanted to get the game on, so despite it supposed to be an away game for Ford, both managers and players were more than happy to come to the agreement of playing at Chandlers Ford.

In the bitter cold and the swirling wind, not ideal weather for a football match by any stretch of the imagination, it was Ford who took control in the opening stages putting together the best attacks going forward.

Ford had a number of corner kicks throughout the half but were unable to make them count.

Playing three at the back was always going to be a bit of a risk and sure enough Whiteley took full advantage even though they were playing into the wind.

Daryl Winter was caught dallying on the ball at the edge of his penalty area where he robbed of possession by a Whiteley forward who quickly took control of the situation chipping the ball over the head of goalkeeper Liam Godfrey and into an unguarded net for 1-0.

Jake Beattie put in a committed performance at the back with some whole-hearted tackles, in attack Michael Wall did well putting pressure on the Whiteley defence with his closing down but also impressed with his holding up play.

The Blue’s best chances came the way of Daryl whose long shots from range came nearer to hitting the corner flag sadly, through no fault of his own, such was the strength of the wind.

Goal kicks from the Whiteley goalkeeper were just going no where, again getting caught up and swirling back towards the kicker more often than not. Three times such goal kicks went to the feet of Chandlers Ford players, but not once were they able to hit the ball hard enough let alone able to hit the target.

A miss hit shot from Winter actually turned out to be a decent pass to Jozef Montigue who found himself in front of goal with the best opportunity of the half. Taking one touch too many perhaps, the chance went missing and Whiteley were again able to break away against the run of play and end the half two goals to the good despite being at large second best.

HALF TIME: Whiteley 2-0 CFY

Chandlers Ford probably defended better in the second half than they did in the first half when the wind was in their favour! The ball rarely left their own half way line but Ford did not look shaky at all with solid defending just soaking up the pressure consistently.

Michael Wall, who replaced Liam in goal at half time had to make a couple of saves but was never really troubled.

Montigue’s second half performance was excellent as he dug in, realising the need to drop into the midfield and actually ending up at left back more often than not to try and nullify the threat of the opposition instead of standing up front where the ball was simply not getting that far.

Leading by example with his closing down and getting stuck in, others followed including Daryl Winter who stood out in the defence of a back four which Ford changed to at the break in favour of three.

Michael Sawbridge and Josh Harrigan were also impressive commanding any ball into the box with their brave defending, getting their bodies in the way, making the clearances and heading away.

Generally CFY, despite not looking like scoring, were again doing all the hard work and deserved more than the scoreline was showing, as Whiteley aided by the wind, kept coming forward but never getting anywhere.

Eventually as the legs tired a long ball forward saw a Whiteley striker break the offside trap, and despite suspicions of hand ball, play continued as he found the back of the net to effectively put the score beyond doubt at 3-0.

Dan Whitlocke came on towards the end and was unlucky not to have got a penalty kick as he ran half the length of the pitch with not one white shirt able to catch him, that is until he entered the penalty area and was brought down. The referee saw nothing wrong with the challenge and instead awarded Chandlers Ford their first corner kick of the half from what was only the second or third time they were able to break into to the Whiteley half of the field.

It was certainly an improved performance over the last game where Whiteley ran out comfortable 4-0 winners, this time the margin of victory looks similar but it flattered them on the balance of play and Ford can take heart from their spirited display.

FULL TIME: Whiteley 3-0 CFY

Ford give in to Gosport

Chandlers Ford Youth 1-3 Gosport

Mid Solent B League – 8th March 2008

Chandlers Ford came into this return fixture with Gosport, who they have faced in back-to-back consecutive fixtures, buoyed by their extremely pleasing 2-2 draw last weekend with the same opponents.

Add to that the return to the side of Josh Harrigan and Daryl Winter who were both available for selection, Ford seemingly had a great opportunity to record a rare three points in this home game against the extremely physical and determined Gosport side.

Within the opening two minutes of the game Michael Sawbridge crashed a fantastic free kick against the woodwork with the goalkeeper beaten all ends up by this terrific effort.

CFY made the most of their lively opening and pressure on the Gosport goal racing into the best possible start with an early 1-0 lead. Just five minutes were on the clock when Josh Harrigan’s long throw on from the right hand side was flicked on perfectly into the path of Michael Wall by Jozef Montigue. Wall, who scored an excellent goal last Saturday with a tidy finish, wasted little time in making an impact again as he swept the ball home on the volley with the ball dipping just under the cross bar.

Liam was rarely troubled in between the sticks but when called upon made the necessary saves to build upon his man of the match winning display a week earlier. The back four of Harrigan, Michael Sawbridge, Jake Beattie and Jacob Ellery – who maintained his place at left back on merit for a whole-hearted performance in the 2-2 draw, were solid and reliable competing for and winning almost everything.

Down the left flank Daryl Winter put in an inspiring display with his positive running, enthusiasm and will to win. Winter created several opportunities for the front two of Wall and Montigue who combined to good effect on numerous occasions coming close more than once.

Ahmed Sfagsi was commanding at the heart of the midfield as always, giving his all and more for the cause as Ford looked to be set up with the right balance and mentality to go on and build on the platform of the 1-0 lead that they held going in at the break.

HALF TIME: CFY 1-0 Gosport

The second half was a big let down and disappointment with the attitude of certain players towards two changes made at the break producing a highly negative outlook from the people involved causing the battle to be lost mentally which soon spread throughout the team.

There was no longer the focus, positivity and belief in the side who were holding the lead as the all too familiar story of heads dropping inevitably let the visitors come right back into a game that they were never in throughout the first half.

Sure enough Gosport took full advantage with an early strike that looped over the head of Wall who had replaced Godfrey as goalkeeper as one of those changes made at half time.

An equalising goal was all that it took for Gosport to gain momentum and Ford to slump even lower in confidence.

It wasn’t long before CFY had let all of their hard work from the first half come undone as Gosport took the lead with a poked shot from the same pacy striker who had been left unattended to race clear of the defence before finding the back of the net.

Ford gradually improved but it was far from enough to pull themselves back into the game.

Sawbridge produced a fine save out of the goalkeeper from another of his long range free kicks, whilst Daryl continued to try and drive the team on leading by example – one of very few who can be pleased with their overall contribution.

Unfortunately no matter how hard Daryl worked, there is only so much an individual can do alone if he has no support from his teammates.

As the game wore on the match became a little heated and agitated with both sides paying for their indiscipline. Both teams were reduced to ten men as the referee did his best to maintain control over a very difficult encounter.

Gosport went on to wrap the game up with a third goal but again Ford only have themselves to blame for only putting the effort in for half of the game and not the full 70 minutes.

Jozef Montigue came close late on to grabbing a consolation goal with an instinctive shot from range, which so nearly caught out the keeper who recovered well from his poor drop kick.

Man of the match – Daryl Winter

FULL TIME: CFY 1-3 Gosport

Ford shock strong Gosport side with battling display

Gosport 2-2 Chandlers Ford Youth

Mid Solent B League – 1st March 2008

With CFY coming back from a heavy defeat away to Lee Rangers last weekend, Chandlers we’re always going to be in for a tough game against a Gosport side who find themselves riding high in the table in fourth position.

Liam Godfrey played the role of goalkeeper for the first half once more, covering for the injured Lee Robertson. Michael Wall started up front along side Miles Hodge, but was in between the sticks for the second.

Richard had just eleven men in the run in to kick off, meaning his team selection was made a whole lot easier for him! Ahmed Sfagsi and Alex Evens had both arrived just in time for kick off but had to be satisfied by a place on the bench.

Hodge was handed a place in the starting line up by merit for his efforts and performance in training on Thursday and did not disappoint here either.

CFY started the match strongly but let Gosport have the first attack of the game. The home side raced through one on one with keeper Godfrey, Beattie ran behind the striker and clipped the back of his legs, with the referee of the belief that there was enough contact to award a penalty.

With the score at 0-0, Godfrey guessed the right way to keep out the spot kick from 12 yards with a fine save to keep CFY in the game.

David Smith had to be replaced due to injury early on and it was Ahmed who was brought on to replace Smith. Michael Sawbridge dropped into the centre of defence with Sfagsi slotting into the midfield.

Ten minutes later CFY were awarded a penalty of their own. Hodge was taken down by the Gosport goalkeeper after a fantastic cross (David Beckham style) from Jozef Montigue on the right hand side. Beattie stepped up confidently from 12 yards and made no mistake slotting home to the right hand side to put CFY 1-0 up.

Soon after makeshift striker Michael Wall, doubled the advantage with a very tidy finish to give Chandlers a more comfortable lead at 2-0.

In the last minute of the first half Michael Sawbridge gifted Gosport a second penalty of the game with a reckless, needless challenge inside the penalty area. Liam again went the right way and made a good attempt to repeat his earlier save by getting a hand to it. Despite Godfrey’s efforts, Gosport’s second penalty taker of the day managed to squeeze his penalty kick through and into the net to pull a goal back deep into first half injury time.

Ford can be very pleased with their first half display with almost everybody putting in their very best for the cause. Jacob Ellery was particularly outstanding playing at left back, where he battled for everything and dealt with the pace of the Gosport strike force with relative ease.

HALF TIME: Gosport 1-2 CFY

Had Ford gone in at the break with a two goal lead, things would have been a little more comfortable with that extra breathing space but it wasn’t to be and they had a fight on their hands to try and hold on to their now slender lead.

CFY still created plenty of chances and opportunities for a new look strike force of Liam Godfrey, who had come out of goal to be replaced by Michael Wall, and Alex Evens who was brought on at the break for Ryan Chinn.

Wall had to be on his guard to keep out a couple of early attempts from Gosport, making good use of his feet to make the saves. He then demonstrated an even better save this time tipping a long-range drive over the cross bar.

Gosport eventually found their equaliser, which was deserved for their majority share in possession. It was an extremely well-worked goal as the home side’s number 11 beat two players down the right hand side with great skill before having the vision and craft to pick out a man in the middle with an excellent delivery. The ball was headed into the net to beat Wall and round off a good move for 2-2.

Even then, Ford had the character to keep playing their football and not be distracted by the dangerous challenges that were flying in from their opponents. James Parsonage was caught late by one particularly nasty tackle but managed to play through the pain to complete the game.

Liam was a credit to himself and the club for his tireless running in attack as he tried to hassle the Gosport defence at every opportunity, which paid off as he made things happen creating fantastic chances to restore the lead.

One occasion saw Liam make a powerful run down the right and into the penalty area to round the goalkeeper before rolling the ball square across the face of goal to put the ball on a plate for Evens. Unfortunately it was a very big miss from close range with an empty goal at his mercy, the ball bobbling off of his left shin.

Michael Sawbridge had a very good attempt kept out by a splendid save from Gosport’s small but agile goalkeeper, who had to be alert and was to palm over the cross bar with a save right out of the top drawer to stop the powerfully struck free kick from all of 35 yards.

CFY looked as though they were the more likely to go on and win it but they just couldn’t find a way through.

The game was wrapped up shortly after one last chance from the visitors. Following yet more brilliant play from Godfrey, who had muscled his way through down the left this time, to hold the ball up before squaring for Michael who had burst forward only to see his curling shot crash against the cross bar and away to safety.

A point away from home against a side that have played consistently well throughout the season was thoroughly enjoyable to be a part of. It was a shame not to have pinched a winner towards the end when we had so much pressure on the Gosport goal, but few could have expected us to get a result here let alone play in the positive manner that we did.

Next week sees us up against the same side in a home fixture for the second round of the back-to-back fixtures. If we show the same spirit about us then we will well on our way to picking up another pleasing, positive result. Well done all!

FULL TIME: Gosport 2-2 CFY