Page 12 - Brislington FC v AEK Boco 280223

Match Report

Brislington V Cheddar 25.02.23
On a cold blustery day, Brislington welcomed the Cheesemen to Ironmould Lane.
The first thing that has to be men oned and applauded was the presenta on of flowers and some
drinks by cheddar, to Brislingtons Lewis & James Dunn who had a ended the funeral of their father,
Andy Dunn the previous day. A gesture from the visitors, made more poignant considering the
master of cheese himself, Michael ‘tank’ Dangerfield, had a ended the funeral of his own father just
a week earlier. A touch of class from the cheesemen, however that’s where the generosity from the
away side ended!!
Foxes manager Lee Perks was understandably without James and Lewis Dunn, or the s ll injured Joel
Smith however the rest of the squad were available for selec on. with the games coming thick and
fast, quite a few changes were made from the midweek home win against Tytherington Rocks.
Griffiths came in for Doddimead, Scadding, Me ers, & Tucker, made way for Jones, Egan & Ewins,
with captain Asa White se ling back in at centre half.
A er winning 3-0 away from home in September and considering Cheddars posi on in the table, on
paper this should have been a rou ne game for the Foxes who s ll hadn’t conceded a goal in 2023.
Cheddar however had picked up 14 of their
30 points in the last 8 games, and showed
that a considerable progression has been
made since the new managers reign began
at the start of the season.
Cheddar’s hard work and discipline
unse led the hosts and the bobbly, windy
condi ons were definitely a leveller,
however Brislington s ll controlled the
majority of possession and created the
early chances. 8 mins in excellent work
between Ewins and Buck saw Buck’s chip
over the keeper go agonisingly wide. At the
other end Dorrington was called into ac on to make a good save, but Brislington conspired to miss
some clear chances that should have had the home side sailing ahead. Griffiths and Ricke s failed to
finish some well worked moves but on 22 minutes Griffiths made amends by finishing off a direct ball
from Dorringtons kick. The ball cleared Cheddars high defensive line and Griffiths outpaced the
defenders and outrushing keeper to lob the ball in with his le foot from 30 yards. 1-0 Bris
Unfortunately for the home side, this didn’t open the flood gates as it had done in previous games.
In fact there were more unfinished opportuni es which on another day one would expect a different
outcome. First Buck couldn’t adjust his feet to finish a Griffiths effort which rebounded off the post
his effort going over with the goal gaping, and Jordan Ricke s failed to finish of a brilliant passing
move with a tame le footed effort being easily held by the surprised keeper who had probably
resigned himself to the inevitable. Joe McLennan also shot over a er decent work down the right.
The play was predominantly going in one direc on but the cheesemen had their moments, u lising
their hard pressing tac cs to nick balls in the opposi on half altough the chances were largely limited
to efforts from distance.
The visitors were fortunate to be going in at half me only one down however hey had earned their
luck with their tenacity, and bravery, they hadn’t come just to lie down!!
Half Time 1-0 Brislington
The second half started a li le be er for the home side as they looked much more se led in an
a empt to control the pace of the game. Egan had an early free kick which he dragged wide which
suggested intent. However Cheddar kept up the intensive work, and the Foxes con nued to
squander chances as well as being frustrated with some marginal offside calls.
Frustra ng possibly being the word to sum up the day as far as the Foxes were concerned. Although
working excep onally hard themselves no one can fault the effort and with the back line of Ewins,
White & Barwood all looking resolute, & Tobin managing the visitors most effec ve player in Ryan
Eardley, it was s ll a different story going forward.
10 minutes in a late challenge on the cheddar full back saw Buck yellow carded, and with the risk of
another yellow Doddimead was readied. Buck s ll had me to race clear latching on to a Griffiths