Page 18 - Ashton & Backwell FC v Barnstaple Town 110223

Match Report

Ashton & Backwell UFC 4 Wellington FC 0

On a very cold evening for the first seventy minutes there was very little to
warm up the crowd. The game was error-strewn and both sides lacked
imagination, Wellington’s pressing game smothered the Stags movement with
them unable to break the visitors’ stranglehold, but they themselves could not
penetrate the home defence except on the odd occasion and then their finishing
was found lacking, despite long periods of possession and pressure. Indeed
they could have been three ahead at the interval, Clark sped down the left with
Bown-Porter overlapping, but his shot was easily covered by Roberts, next a
shot from deep by Quick deceived the home keeper who parried into Bown-
Porter’s path, but he hit the side netting with the goal at his mercy and finally
Brereton got the ball clear in the six yard box from a corner, only to scuff his
shot into a weak punt.

Whilst Banks had a chance on the half hour, hitting the upright the only other
Stags move came early on, when, from a corner, Reece Hedge’s header the ball
hit the cross bar and bounced down, the officials judging it did not cross the
line. The Wellington keeper later admitted the ball “was at least a yard over the
line”. Whilst the Stags argued Wellington counterattacked with Clark, but
Roberts quickly gathered safely and he passed his only other serious test of the
game in the 80 minute, moving in mid-air to clear with his feet from a swerving
th
Brereton drive from distance.

After the interval, with both sides seemingly reluctant to come out into the cold,
till the 70 minute very little changed and a 0-0 scoreline would have been the
th
odds-on bet. Then suddenly, there was some magic, Cummings was wide on the
left near the halfway line, his precise cross-field ball split the visitor’s defence
and was met by Hardidge at pace, he beat the defender and shot low for the
first, five more minutes and Hardidge turned supplier on the right, crossing to
Banks, only for him to shoot wide with the goal at his mercy. Within a minute,
Cummins again pierced the backline, Hardidge decided to do it himself, going
down the right into the away box and slotting home. His deserved hattrick came
from the penalty spot after Charlie Saunders was upended. Finally, to cap off an
amazing Man of the Match performance Hardidge led another move down the
right to Banks who laid off the ball to Saunders to score the fourth.

Team: Roberts, Ford (sub Press 66m), Anthony, White, Reece Hedges, Bishop,
Banks, Connor Saunders © (sub Cattermole 62m), Charlie Saunders, Lewis
Hedges (sub Cummings 62m), Jaiycoba (sub Hardidge 53m)
Subs not used: Walker