Posted by ChrisB on September 27, 2007, 8:36 am, in reply to "Re: City 4-2 Fleet Town: A View From The Terraces" Thanks for that. Under lights I really couldn't be sure of those dark Fleet numbers on the red shirts ... so I cheated and waited to see who the Southern League site said the scorers were! ;-) --Previous Message--
It'll be interesting to see what happens in the two league meetings and, in the meantime, best of luck against Mangotsfield.
: Fleet's goals last night were both scored by
: Ed Smith, not Michael Douglas. Our Football
: Secretary thought you shld know.
: Cheers
: Best of Luck on Saturday. Big day for both
: clubs
:
: --Previous Message--
: City and Fleet met in a competitive match
: for only the second time ever on a rather
: damp autumnal evening with both clubs
: fielding sides that varied considerably from
: the printed programme - which came as no
: surprise to the disappointingly sparse crowd
: given the FA Cup challenges that both will
: face on Saturday.
: The visitors started very strongly with
: James Field putting in two testing crosses
: and two well-flighted corner kicks within
: the first five minutes, but it was City who
: had the first good chance when Alex Stewart
: headed down a Pete Weirich free-kick for
: Ikechi Anya to see his delicate lob beat
: Paul Smith in the Fleet goal only to land on
: the top of the net.
: This chance triggered twenty minutes of play
: in which City pressed forward in numbers and
: had the league’s meanest defence looking
: very uncertain. Anya had a great run to and
: along the goal-line and his pass gave Mark
: Jones a chance for a shot which was
: scrambled clear, but in the next attack the
: home side opened their account. Stewart saw
: his powerfully driven free-kick rebound off
: the base of the post to Anya whose pass
: found Weirich who rolled the ball in for
: Mark Bell to make no mistake with his shot
: from just inside the area. A minute later a
: good run and cross by Bell saw Mark Jones’
: cushioned header plucked off Stewart’s foot
: by Smith. Amid this City pressure Eddie
: Smith extracted a good save from Lee Farrow
: at the other end.
: City doubled their lead on nineteen minutes
: when an alert Mark Jones dispossessed a
: hesitant Fleet defender and promptly put
: Stewart in with plenty of time to hit a
: firm shot beyond Smith’s right hand.
: Five minutes later and the visitors conceded
: another after a Jones shot had been
: scrambled behind for a corner. An
: outswinging Bell corner was headed goalward
: by Mark Avery and, though saved initially,
: bounced back to the horizontal Avery who was
: still able to hook home City’s third.
: Fleet pulled themselves together now and,
: after a couple of attacks had been repulsed,
: clawed a goal back when Stewart lost the
: ball in midfield and Michael Douglas
: outpaced Avery and rounded Farrow to shoot
: into an empty net on the half-hour.
: Anya and Bell both went close again for City
: after penetrating runs and, right on the
: whistle, Martin Girling shot high over the
: bar for Fleet.
:
: HALF-TIME: City 3-1 Fleet Town
:
: The visitors had the better of the early
: exchanges in the second period and Matty
: Lewis should have done better when in space
: and with time. At the clubhouse end City
: had two free-kicks from useful positions but
: neither produced anything positive.
: Fleet pulled themselves right back into the
: game after 54 minutes. Eddie Smith scooped
: the ball over from close range after a run
: on City’s right from ex-City player Jason
: Miletti had produced a good chance.
: However, the resulting goal-kick was mis-hit
: straight to a lurking forward and he made no
: mistake with a clean shot high to Farrow’s
: right.
: Fleet now had the bit between their teeth
: and pushed men forward looking for the
: equaliser, and City were finding it harder
: and harder to keep the ball for any length
: of time. A mixture of hefty clearances,
: timely tackling and some slightly wayward
: shooting allowed City to hold their slim
: advantage until the 81st minute when a quick
: break and neat pass from Anya put in
: Stewart again to score his second of the
: night with a shot under Smith and allow
: management, players and supporters to
: breathe rather more easily.
: The visitors still came forward and Farrow
: did well to smother one chance at the feet
: of several waiting Fleet players, but he
: could only watch as Field’s cross-shot flew
: back into play off the far post with just
: three minutes left.
: Mr Shilston managed to find six minutes of
: injury time from somewhere but City held on
: to book a place in the Second Round.
:
: FULL-TIME: Oxford City 4-2 Fleet Town
:
: City : Farrow, Janes, Weirich, Avery,
: Cattell, Merritt (Redknap 66) , Jones,
: Williams (Malone 75) , Stewart, Anya, Bell
: (Davis 79) .
:
: With both sides fielding markedly changed
: teams it’s hard to know how much to read
: into the result, but, nonetheless, it was
: City who maintained their unbeaten record at
: the end of the evening. What several termed
: the ‘Itchy and Stretchy Show’ (!) at the
: front caused more than a few problems for
: the Fleet defence, and it was good to see
: just how much strength in depth there is at
: the club at the moment: depth that will
: undoubtedly be needed as the months go by.
:
:
:
:
Message Thread:
« Back to thread