Page 10 - Almondsbury FC v Little Stoke 281023

League Review

Mark Simpson
Looking at the stats and despite the League shaping up there are some weird results
turning up, like two teams who had four goals in thirteen games between them scored
fourteen yesterday. And even second place Frampton United have been subject to one of
these strange results.
And it’s to the Bell Field where the top two, Frampton United and Avonmouth played
an entertaining end to end affair with second place Frampton coming out on top. The home
side got off to a fast start and it only took four minutes for Manolo Espada to beat Tom
Bradley from the edge of the box. On ten minutes it was level, after Tom Kaye’s good save
fell to Dillan Kerr who placed the ball in the corner of the net. Avonmouth took the lead
from a Matt Groves header, but Frampton hit back to draw level when Will Hawes headed
in from a George Driver-Dickerson cross. Chances kept coming for both teams and in the
40 minute Frampton somehow failed to score when from a cross into the box Romaine
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Campbell headed the ball back and Hawes shot came off the crossbar and Freddie porter’s
shot was cleared. Just before the break Kerr’s snapshot for Avonmouth was just wide.
There was no let-up in the attacking football in the second half with Jono Willets outpacing
the defence and crossing for Espada to make no mistake with his back post volley.
Avonmouth came back with a ball over the top, which was missed by the defence, and Kyle
O’Donovan nipped in to beat Kaye for 3-3. Frampton’s winner came in the 67 minute when
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an Espada cross beat the defence and porter tapped in at the back post. Frampton
continued to attack, and a Fin Blythe free kick came off the defensive wall and cannoned
off the bar. Avonmouth kept on right until the final whistle and came close to squaring
things up, but O’Donovan’s effort came off the bar. 4-3 to Frampton and Avonmouth’s lead
at the top is cut back to two points.
Now to the first of the strange results and to be fair, neither Hardwicke nor Ruardean
Hill Rangers are setting the world alight. And at Green Lane it was Hardwicke who
immediately put the pressure on, and the first goal scoring opportunity fell to Jordan
Dowdeswell who fired wide after a miss-hit shot by Taro Weston. Their persistence paid off
two minutes later when Weston’s corner was volleyed into the bottom left by Will Higgins.
Ruardean’s response was immediate with Steve Clarke volleyed in from 15 yards after
Oliver Mason’s fine delivery. The resurgent Hill took the lead five minutes later when a cross
into the box was headed down by Hardwicke’s George Ganley and unfortunately Sean
Clarke scooped the ball into his own net. Ruardean took control of the game and the third
came when Max Telling was put through and drew keeper Matt Prosser off his line, cut
inside and fired a fierce low shot into the net. Just before the break Hill scored a fourth
when Tom Hobbs brought down Steve Clarke who slotted in the resultant penalty. Ten
minutes into the second half Mason swiftly passed to the impressive Clarke who had no
hesitation in firing past Prosser for his hat-trick. Hardwicke went into disarray and went
further behind, Max Telling heading the ball to Fin Jones who fired in. Hill were now
rampant, and Clarke scored his fourth into the bottom corner after fine work by jones. Two
further goals for Hill came in as many minutes with Telling firing in and Tom Cushermill
curling in a sweet shot from 20 yards to make it 9-1 to Hill.
To the second of these strange results which was at Waterwells where again to
be fair neither Quedgeley Wanderers nor Almondsbury are setting the world
alight. Six minutes in Almonds Oscar Cox hit the bar with an early shot and a few
minutes later home keeper Nathan Charnock denied Oakley Dawes. Quedgeley
had a chance, but Kory Taylor couldn’t get his shot off as he broke into the box.
On 14 minutes Joe Rossiter shot over for the visitors and another chance went
begging when Dawes blazed over from twelve yards. On 20 minutes a long-range
effort from Ollie Curtis was well saved by Almonds Sam Burgess. Quedgeley
opened their account in the twenty fifth minute when Sean Lawson won a
challenge on the edge and the ball looped over Burgess and into the goal. Two
minutes later Wanderers were awarded a penalty, but Burgess saved Curtis’s effort. Quedgeley