CFY open up gap at top of league after convincing win over Crofton

Crofton Saints 1-5 Chandlers Ford Youth

Mid Solent Under 15 B Division – 28th March 2009

Line up: Kelvin Bagot, Jake Beattie, Michael Sawbridge (c), David Smith, David Kilcoyne, Liam Godfrey, Tom Ashton, Ahmed Sfagsi, Zak Pickett, Michael Wall, Jozef Montigue.

Subs: Kane Kellaway, Ryan Chinn, Miles Hodge.

Chandlers Ford maintained their title challenge with back to back wins after putting five past Crofton this morning to build on last weeks 4-2 home victory over Bridgemary Colts.

Jake Beattie and Liam Godfrey returned to the starting line up in the absence of Josh Harrigan and David Bromhead. Both Jake and Liam were arguably the players who shone the most in the opening stages of the game, with Beattie making himself available to support the midfield and cross from the right back position as well his usual no nonsense tackling at the back. Meanwhile Godfrey was full of energy and commitment down the right flank and had a couple of decent opportunities to get on the score sheet.

Richard’s side in red and black had more than their fair share of possession and perhaps should have found a breakthrough earlier in the game for the amount of pressure they had applied.

When the opening goal finally came, it was certainly well worth waiting for. Fantastic football from the visitors saw intricate passing rounded off by Jozef Montigue holding the ball up well and cleverly back-heeling into the path of Tom Ashton, who did the rest with a fine driven shot that had too much on it be kept out.

Ryan Chinn also came close when the ball was worked over to the far side of the penalty area towards the end of the half as Ford continued to knock the ball around to feet with superb fluidity, but his shot flashed wide of goal.

Crofton did threaten on the counter attack a few times, but when they did have the beating of Kelvin, Jake was back to make a vital stop to keep out an otherwise certain goal.

HALF TIME: Crofton Saints 0-1 CFY

Striking early on in the second half gave CFY the confidence and edge that they perhaps needed to go on and secure a convincing win.

Michael Sawbridge had pushed forward into midfield and skipped past his markers as if they weren’t even there soon after the restart before crashing a thunderous strike against the inside of the post. Montigue followed up and drilled a low shot first time into the bottom corner from 18 yards to double his sides lead.

Zak Pickett soon made it 3-0 when he rounded off a good move by connecting with a cross from the right to control well and find the back of the net with a neat half volley.

A moments lapse in concentration saw the hosts break away and beat Kelvin with a low shot from range, before Pickett was at it again to net his second goal of the game in similar fashion to restore the three goal cushion.

The Crofton keeper came under a lot of pressure towards the end of the game with Tom coming within inches of adding to his tally on numerous occasions.

David Kilcoyne netted his second goal in as many games when coming up for a corner and bundling home from close range to complete the scoring and wrap up another good win.

FULL TIME: Crofton Saints 1-5 CFY

Man of the match: Jozef Montigue

King Kilcoyne sets CFY on way to victory!

Chandlers Ford Youth 4-2 Bridgemary Colts

Mid Solent Under 15 B Division – 21^st March 2009

Line up: Kane Kellaway, Josh Harrigan, Michael Sawbridge (c), David Smith, David Kilcoyne, David Bromhead, Tom Ashton, Ahmed Sfagsi, Zak Pickett, Michael Wall, Jozef Montigue.

Subs: Jake Beattie, Liam Godfrey, Ryan Chinn, Miles Hodge.

Chandlers Ford will remember the last time they played Bridgemary away, just before for Christmas. Bridgemary were bottom of the table at the time and had just ten players on the day yet still went in at the break 2-1 ahead before a Liam Godfrey inspired second half saw Ford turn the game around to win 2-4.

Today’s game was very similar in a lot of ways and resulted in the same score line as Ford maintain their lead at the top of the table.

Bridgemary went ahead fairly early in the game following a defensive error – holding on to the ball for far too long on the edge of the penalty area. This allowed the visiting forward time to put the pressure on, close the ball down and race through to open the scoring. Kane will perhaps feel he could have done better in dealing with the shot however, as it slipped through his grasp.

Michael Wall put CFY back on a level terms with a stunning equaliser smashing the ball into the roof of the net with a lob from way outside the penalty area.

Despite the Blues perhaps edging the game from this point on, it was Bridgemary who went in at the break with the advantage as they restored their lead with the kick of the half. It is one Ahmed will want to forget as he was punished for not clearing the danger inside the six-yard box when he lost possession to the same forward who was let with a simple close range finish.

HALF TIME: CFY 1-2 Bridgemary Colts

The second half proved to be far more productive for CFY as Jozef Montigue got his side back right back into the game within a minute of the restart. An inch-perfect pass to the right found Montigue’s run to precision and from there, Joe did all the rest with a first time strike into the far corner and out of the keeper’s reach.

Montigue came very close again barely a minute later as he forced a finger-tip save out of the Bridgemary keeper to continue to build the pressure.

For the first time in the game, Chandlers Ford took the lead through an unlikely but well-deserved hero. Man of the match David Kilcoyne was clearly delighted as he celebrated his first goal for the club, and rightly so. Reacting first to a loose ball in the box from a corner kick, David stayed very composed to slot the ball home with a neat finish. The celebrations showed just what it meant to him and the rest of the team!

Tom Ashton sealed the win with a late penalty following a blatant hand ball, stepping up from 12-yards and making no mistake.

Locksheath Lions were defeated 4-1 by Ensinger, which means the league title is still in our hands as we have opened up a four-point gap over both second-placed East Lodge and Locksheath, who are now 3^rd, albeit having played a game more.

FULL TIME: CFY 4-2 Bridgemary Colts

Man of the match: David Kilcoyne

Ford crash and burn in League Cup Quarter Final

Chandlers Ford Youth 0-11 East Lodge A

League Cup Quarter Final – 15^th March 2009

Line up: Kelvin Bagot, Josh Harrigan, Michael Sawbridge (c), Liam Godfrey, David Kilcoyne, David Bromhead, Tom Ashton, Ahmed Sfagsi, Zak Pickett, Ryan Chinn, Jozef Montigue.

Subs: Jake Beattie, Kane Kellaway, Miles Hodge, Michael Wall.

Chandlers Ford could not handle the sheer quality and passing football of a very strong A Division side, who in reality were streets above CFY as displayed by the final score line.

The game was always going to be tough-going for Richard and Neil's side having already suffered a heavy 8-0 defeat in November to be knocked out of the Hampshire Cup.

David Bromhead came the closest to grabbing a consolation goal for the Blues in the second half following good work by Tom Ashton who delivered a pinpoint cross. David glanced towards goal with a great header that flew just narrowly wide of the upright.

Despite getting plenty of men behind the ball, Ford were unable to deal with the overwhelming pressure and one-way traffic that East Lodge imposed on their goal.

The visitors were also rewarded two penalties, one in either half, perhaps demonstrating some of the frustration from the CFY players. Back to the league next week where a win against Bridgemary will keep us in good shape for the title.

HALF TIME: CFY 0-5 East Lodge A

FULL TIME: CFY 0-11 East Lodge A

Men of the match: Jozef Montigue and Liam Godfrey

Three goals in five second half minutes wins it for Ford

Chandlers Ford Youth 5-1 Stubbington

Mid Solent Under 15 B – 7^th March 2009

Line up: Kelvin Bagot, Josh Harrigan, Michael Sawbridge (c), David Smith, David Kilcoyne, David Bromhead, Tom Ashton, Ahmed Sfagsi, Zak Pickett, Michael Wall, Jozef Montigue.

Subs: Ryan Dennis, Jake Beattie, Kane Kellaway.

After the disappointment of losing out to two late goals having been the better side and leading for much of the game last weekend to Locksheath Lions, it was pleasing to see a good response from Chandlers Ford this morning as they hosted Stubbington at Magpie Lane.

A super strike from Tom Ashton sailed over the keeper and into the top corner from all of 25 yards, as CFY got their noses in front in the opening stages.

Keeping a high line the Chandlers Ford defence were playing virtually in Stubbington's half of the pitch as the Blue's camped in their opponents half whilst creating a number of good chances.

On the stroke of half time, Michael Sawbridge fired in a low, stinging free kick that was too hot to handle as the keeper parried conveniently for Michael Wall to follow in well and fire into the back of the net. This doubled Ford's advantage going into the break with a healthy two-goal cushion and gave them a platform to build on.

HALF TIME: CFY 2-0 Stubbington

Richard and Neil's side made a blistering start to the second half with an incredible three goals in the space of five minutes.

First, Wall chased a long ball forward to put pressure on the Stubbington back line and force a defender into an error – who gifted the ball, putting it on a plate for Jozef Montigue, despite the goalkeeper coming a long way out of goal looking to claim it. Joe was able to steer the ball home first time into an empty net from just inside the penalty area to take full advantage of the opportunity.

Ashton bagged his second of the game with another typically classy finish into the bottom left corner barely a minute later for 4-0 before Michael Wall pounced in the six-yard box like all good strikers to net his 20^th goal of the season.

His second and Chandlers Ford's fifth came from a long throw by Josh Harrigan from the right that saw Zak underneath it making a nuisance of himself and posing all kinds of problems with his height that saw the ball drop dangerously in the area for Wall to nip in, pick up the pieces and scramble home in the boggy goal area.

After such a dominating spell, that ultimately killed the game off, CFY perhaps became a little complacent.

Jake Beattie was given his marching orders with a straight red card for lunging in and taking the player. As Jake was the last man and denied a clear-cut goal scoring opportunity he had to go for a professional foul.

This swayed the game and led to a siege of attacks from Stubbington on Ford's goal against their ten men.

Both Kelvin and later Kane when he came on, made decent saves to keep the visitors out and were given good protection from the outstanding defensive work of Sawbridge, Harrigan, Kilcoyne and man of the match David Smith who all did a sterling job in soaking up the pressure, standing firm to everything that was thrown at them.

Montigue battled away in midfield as he was pushed further back following Beattie's dismissal to deal with some of the pressure as he sat just in front of the defence to put in some great tackles.

Meanwhile Michael Wall was unlucky not to come away with a hat trick as he forced an excellent save out of the keeper late on.

Michael Sawbridge headed narrowly wide on a couple of occasions from corner kicks as well before Stubbington eventually grabbed a consolation goal late on.

The win belonged to Ford and deservedly so for taking their chances and attacking so well at the start of the second half, to pick up a much needed three points.

FULL TIME: CFY 5-1 Stubbington

Man of the match: David Smith

Massive setback - Ford throw it away in closing stages at Locksheath

Locksheath Lions 3-2 Chandlers Ford Youth

Mid Solent Under 15 B – 28^th February 2009

Line up: Kelvin Bagot, Jake Beattie, Michael Sawbridge (c), David Smith, David Kilcoyne, David Bromhead, Tom Ashton, Ahmed Sfagsi, Zak Pickett, Michael Wall, Jozef Montigue.

Subs: Josh Harrigan, Ryan Chinn, Miles Hodge, Liam Godfrey.

The title race has been thrown wide open after long time leaders Chandlers Ford Youth suffered back to back league defeats, missing out on the opportunity to go seven points clear of today's opponents Locksheath Lions.

Chandlers Ford got off to a poor start as the hosts took an early lead through a 25-yard shot that slipped through Kelvin's legs.

Richard's men responded very well and forced an equaliser through leading scorer Michael Wall. It was his 18^th goal in 18 appearances this season to keep up his goal per game strike rate. A long throw on from the right by Josh Harrigan saw Zak Pickett stand his ground well to cause mayhem in the Lions penalty area allowing the ball to drop kindly for Wall who reacted instinctively with a super finish to lob the keeper and draw CFY level.

Last week's man of the match Michael Sawbridge was again a rock in the centre of defence and it was the towering defender who came closest to building on this as Chandlers Ford stepped up their game in search of taking the lead. Michael's long distance free kick from the half way line was hit sweetly and was heading for a goal only for the ball to be pushed up and onto the cross bar by the Lions keeper. Ryan Chinn pounced on the rebound but could only fire against the woodwork from 6 yards out with a powerfully struck volley.

Wall came close to adding to his tally following good build up play from strike partner Jozef Montigue who closed down well, defending from the front, before lifting a good ball through to his left for Michael whose shot was kept out.

Tom Ashton also forced a decent save out of the keeper with a fine attempt from range that had to be pushed away for a corner.

At the half time break the scores were level despite Chandlers Ford edging a closely fought contest.

HALF TIME: Locksheath Lions 1-1 CFY

Ford began the second half very brightly and were soon in control with an overwhelming spell of dominance and one-way traffic on the Lions goal.

The pressure paid off when Michael Sawbridge's lofted cross/shot was curled into the top corner of goal from a tight angle on the far side. Despite a flag up for offside, the referee overruled the Locksheath linesman and awarded the goal.

Josh Harrigan came close as he strode forward from defence and hit a speculative effort that was just an inch too high and this was only the start of what was to come as Ford took charge.

Corner kicks followed one after the other with Ford piling on the pressure and forcing save after save out of the excellent Locksheath goalkeeper who was in truly inspired form.

Ashton and Wall were denied more than once as were a number of Chandlers Ford players in this excellent spell but somehow they couldn't find a way through to get that all important third goal.

The game turned for the worse as CFY were made to pay for not taking their chances and killing the game off in a performance that saw Locksheath on the back foot for so long.

In the final ten minutes it all changed as Ford defended a free kick poorly failing to get out quickly enough and playing four men onside, allowing for a simple finish past Kelvin to square things up and undo all of the hard work in an instant.

It could not have got any worse for the Blues who watched their lead and dominant position in the game diminish into nothing when Locksheath, buoyed by their equaliser which ironically was their first attempt on goal in the half, forced a late free kick and scored again to steal all three points with the last kick of the game.

The defeat was very hard to take having played so well and creating enough chances to win three games let alone one, but the most disappointing fact is the league table which doesn't lie. Following the win, Locksheath are now just one point behind CFY with a game in hand, as are East Lodge who also won with a convincing 6-2 victory over Warsash Wasps. We have it all to do now to ensure we play as well as we can to pick up the points and get back to winning again as soon as possible. It is now out of our hands as we are relying on other results going for us, but the title race is still far from over! Let's come back stronger from this, it is still there for the taking.

FULL TIME: Locksheath Lions 3-2 CFY

Man of the match: Tom Ashton

Video footage and photos by Miles Hodge

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