Page 26 - Ashton & Backwell FC v Bitton 201121

Nick’s Notes. The Resies

Last week we made the short trip to Banwell FC. On a heavy pitch which
suited the home side more than us, Banwell came out of the blocks flying,
they crashed into every challenge and we couldn’t get our game going at
all. We found it hard to break down their defence and at half time our
opponents went in 1 up with a goal from a corner capitalising on some
sluggish defending on our behalf. Then losing Jake Flower to injury on
twenty five minutes didn’t help our cause, but with the likes of Will Solari
coming off the bench to replace him gave us more drive and momentum.
So with the half time talk still fresh in their ears we came out and gave
as good as we got they wanted a battle, so we gave them one. 5 minutes
into the second half Jason Radnedge departed due to a nasty injury but
we kept battling, Solari and Mason Hardidge started to control the
midfield and momentum was building, the heavy pitch was taking its toll
on our hosts as they started to look leggy. After 65 minutes a great ball
from Solari was picked up by Joel Bayliss who sprinted away from two
defenders to slot the ball past the out rushing keeper into the net. That
triggered some industrial tackles from the opposition causing a 23 man
melee which resulted in both teams being reduced to 10 men .The game
was opening right up now and when the opposition keeper spilled the ball
from a Mason Hardidge shot and Sonny Stiddard fired the ball home we
thought that was it but the referee deemed it to be a foul on the keeper
to every ones disbelief even Banwells dugout! Then on 70 minutes
Hardidge chipped the ball into Stiddard who was tightly marked he
cushioned a header backwards into the on rushing Solari who volleyed
into the roof of the net only for it to be ruled off side to the bemusement
of everyone even the woman in the tea hut! On 75 minutes we were
down to 9 players Lee Dunsford with blood pouring out of his boot and
unable to walk on it let alone run stayed on for the last 15 minutes as we
huffed and puffed but couldn’t get our reward 1-1 the final score.
Unfortunately Lee Dunsford had to have an operation on his foot to repair
his broken bone in his foot. This group of players are a gutsy driven
bunch who not only play great football but know how to battle and keep
going all the way to the end. They deserve to be top of the league and
will be hard to knock off top spot, they have their eyes firmly on the prize
and I am proud of what they have achieved this far.
Next up for us is home on the 27th to Cutters Friday,KO 2.30, hopefully
we can keep our unbeaten run going and maybe get some of our injured
players back.

UP THE STAGS

Regards Smarty