Failure to convert chances cost CFY the game

Chandlers Ford Youth 1-4 Crofton Saints

Mid Solent B League – 9th February 2008

Chandlers Ford set out to go one step further than they managed in their previous encounter with today’s visitors Crofton Saints.

At the time (back in November 2007), Crofton were flying high and had not lost a game or even dropped a point. A top drawer performance from Ford, arguably one of our best this season saw CFY 3-2 up with just a minute to go, but unfortunately drawing to a late goal when the three points looked likely.

This time around, the story didn’t quite follow on as Ford suffered their fourth consecutive defeat.

CFY switched to a 3-5-2 formation for this home game against second placed Crofton.

Josh Harrigan returned to the centre of defence and as captain with Jake Beattie and David Smith making up the rest of the back three. James Parsonage and Daryl Winter slotted in as the two wing backs with David Bromhead the forward player of the centre midfielders and Michael Wall being asked to play the holding role in front of the back three allowing Michael Sawbridge the free role between midfield and the two strikers Jozef Montigue and Alex Evens.

CFY started brightly with two or three chances being created before Crofton broke away against the run of play and scored with their first attack as the ball was crossed in from the right with their centre forward unmarked, taking advantage to find the back of the net.

CFY picked themselves up and with some fine interplay involving Daryl, David and Jozef ending with Michael Sawbridge bringing the scores level with one of his trade mark strikes.

The home side continued with the pressure on the Crofton goal with a series of corners and long throws from Josh, but unable to hit the target.

Crofton had a break-away just on half time but Lee made one of his best saves of the season diving low to his left and pushing the ball away for a corner, which was cleared.

HALF TIME: CFY 1-1 Crofton Saints

Ford continued their pressure again in the second half with Michael Sawbridge coming close on a few occasions and a lovely shot from Ryan Chinn, which dipped over the bar. Despite all the CFY pressure, Crofton were very lively on the counter attack and soon found themselves 3-1 up.

Following another corner, which were coming thick and fast, a Crofton player handled in the area, however Daryl blasted the spot kick over the bar.

To make things worse for Chandlers Ford, Crofton again broke free at good pace to secure a 4-1 victory.

A game where Crofton had maybe five or six chances, scoring four of those, and CFY having up to ten and only converting the one – that was the difference.

Daryl was nominated as one of the men of the match for his never say die attitude and effort. Michael Wall was the other to be rewarded with the trophy for his outstanding display in the unfamiliar role as the holding midfield player.

FULL TIME: CFY 1-4 Crofton Saints

Deja-vu? Warsash game, all over again!

East Lodge 4-3 Chandlers Ford Youth

Mid Solent B League – 2nd February 2008

For the second week running, Chandlers Ford made things hard for themselves by not taking their chances, conceding the first goal despite heavy early pressure, and leaving it too late (the second half), to put together a fight back.

CFY’s only league wins this season came in consecutive fixtures back in September against Stubbington and Lee Rangers. Since then, despite having the potential to do better things, Richard’s side are languishing in 7th place at present.

There were severe doubts that the overnight frost could put the game into jeopardy and sure enough the goal mouth was rock solid and deemed too dangerous to play initially. Thankfully after half an hours delay, the 40 minute journey was not entirely wasted as the game went ahead.

Daryl Winter, playing on the left of midfield had the best of Ford’s early opportunities as he combined neatly with Jozef Montigue on more than one occasion but failed to cause the giant of a goalkeeper any problems.

Ford had the better of the play and kept their attacking threat up for a good ten minutes straight, when there was only one team in it.

East Lodge against the run of play took a surprise lead, a corner kick bouncing wickedly off James Parsonage and on to the near post to set up a simple tap in from close range.

As is normally the case, all of the previous confidence and positive play seemed to be drained out of CFY with the goal leading them to drop their heads and allow the hosts to take full advantage as they kept up their momentum netting two more before the break.

HALF TIME: East Lodge 3-0 CFY

David Bromhead pulled a goal back early in the second half chasing down the goalkeeper to win possession in front of goal before finding the net with the finish to match with a cool chip into the roof of the net.

It looked like the game was heading the same way as the previous week when Ford scored a second goal to get right back in contention once more.

A hand ball led to a penalty kick being awarded, which Daryl stepped up to take making no mistake from 12 yards for his third goal of the season. 3-2.

The game became a little more open once more and East Lodge soon restored their two goal advantage.

Michael Sawbridge set up a tense finish as he beat the offside trap running through from the centre of the park to round the goalkeeper and finish well.

He might have levelled the game soon after as he once again burst forward, this time he was denied by the post.

Montigue was stopped by a splendid save when he turned the left back inside out from the edge of the penalty area to unleash a powerful right footed strike that was heading towards the top corner where the goalkeeper showed superb reactions and agility to keep it out, palming over the cross bar.

In the end, the improved second half performance from Ford was let down only by some costly first half mistakes.

Next up is an equally tough challenge as we take on Crofton Saints at home.

FULL TIME: East Lodge 4-3 CFY

Match pictures by Miles Hodge

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

Super Smudge unable to prevent Whiteley win

Chandlers Ford Youth 0-4 Whiteley

Mid Solent B League – 19th January 2008

DAVID SMITH

Chandlers Ford’s first league game since early November ended in a miserable defeat against a side they should have done more to compete against.

The last time the two sides met was a double header at the back end of the 2006/7 season, which was played at Whiteley. The Blue’s won comfortably in the first game before drawing in the second but this time around it proved to be very different.

The first half brought little joy for CFY who did not have the same hunger and desire to win as their opponents who piled the pressure on Lee’s goal continuously.

Whiteley put forward attack after attack until eventually Ford cracked and conceded the opening goal.

The heads went down which only meant more goals for the visitors.

HALF TIME: CFY 0-3 Whiteley

Fortunately the second half saw a much-improved performance with David Smith moving into the centre of defence and putting in a commanding performance.

Ford started fairly brightly with several early corners and free kicks. Had they pinched a goal quickly here, I think it may have ended in a different story.

Alex Evens looked the most likely to find the back of the net as he linked up well with Jozef in attack. One move in particular saw Montigue flick the ball behind the defence, which Evens latched on to with great pace to round the goalkeeper. Only a superb last-ditch tackle from the final defender could prevent Chandlers Ford finding a way back into the game.

Whiteley slowly began to swing the momentum back in their favour but Smith, playing alongside Sawbridge who had switched to a defensive role at the break, was in top form and stopped every attack it seemed with unbelievably well timed tackles.

On more than one occasion it looked as though David would not have any chance of catching up with the attacker, let alone prevent an otherwise certain goal – but somehow ‘Smudge’ led the perfect example for others by not giving up and making vital interceptions at just the right moment.

Whiteley did manage to score a fourth goal towards the end but it goes without saying that, had we played the same football with the same spirit in the first half that we proved we are capable of in the second, we would have come out with a point at the very least, maybe all three.

On this front things were disappointing, but at least we made an attempt to turn things around. Credit must go to the substitutes Miles, Ryan and Dan who gave of their all when they came on and helped to improve matters and of course man of the match Dave Smith.

FULL TIME: CFY 0-4 Whiteley

CFY at their very best in excellent friendly win

Chandlers Ford Youth 4-1 Locksheath Lions

Friendly – 5th January 2008

After what has seen an age without a fixture, even before the Christmas break – Chandlers Ford managed to arrange a friendly against Locksheath Lions of the Mid Solent A Division.

Chandlers Ford looked as if they had never been away as they sought revenge on the side who beat them 4-0 in pre-season.

With fantastic passing, great strength and plenty of movement, Ford upstaged their opponents and dominated from the start.

They went ahead when the two strikers Jozef Montigue and Michael Sawbridge combined down the right flank, which saw Mike somehow find the net from an impossible angle.

It got better for the Blues as they doubled their advantage from a corner kick. The same pair were involved, though this time Mike turned provider with a superb delivery which Montigue chested over the line from close range.

Locksheath didn’t particularly look like mounting a comeback as every time they came close to threatening, the excellent defending of Jake Beattie and David Smith in the middle of the back four and the two full backs Daryl Winter and James Parsonage – were more than capable of coping.

At the end of the half, Liam Godfrey finished in style as he bundled his way through from the edge of the area before flicking over the last defender and poking past the goalkeeper.

HALF TIME: CFY 3-0 Locksheath Lions

The second half saw a marked improvement from the Lions but there was still to be no way through.

Michael Sawbridge scored his second of the game, as CFY made it 4-0, slightly against the run of play.

A long ball forward was brought down nicely by Joe who sent over a looped cross for Michael. The big man beat his defender before firing home from the edge of the penalty area.

Lee Robertson turned the ball onto his own post towards the end of the game as Locksheath, led superbly by their energetic and talented captain came back strong looking to secure some pride at least.

In the closing stages, the Lions pulled one back through a long range strike that came back off the woodwork and went in off the goalkeeper.

All in all an excellent all round performance and terrific win considering how long it has been since we last played competitively. The first half display was probably the best we have seen all season. Top effort to all of you!

FULL TIME: CFY 4-1 Locksheath Lions