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Sunday 5th September 2010
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Matches played Saturday 17th April 2010
Pinefleet Wolfreton clinch Premier title, but Cavalier make them work hard to do so.
With the potential nail biting climax to the Amateur League Premier Division title having become less of a possibility when Eddie Beedle failed to beat AFC West Hull, there was still a need for Pinefleet Wolfreton to secure two points from their final two games to ensure that the title win became a reality, and as fate would have it, their opponents for the Tuesday night game, were bottom of the table, but resurgent, Cavalier Wanderers.
In the first half of the game, it was not easy to identify which team were the high flyers as Cavalier competed at a fast pace on the uneven playing surface, and Cavalier gave as good as they got.
The scoring deadlock was broken after half an hour when Pinefleet’s Dave Fee crossed the ball from the right as Matt Parkin went to close him down, and from less than a yard away, the ball struck his hand, which was by his side, but the referee deemed it to be a punishable handling offence, and awarded a penalty.
Gareth Monkman rarely misses from the penalty spot, and he had no intention of failing with this all-important strike, and duly gave Pinefleet the lead.
Pinefleet applied some sustained pressure until just before half time without any end product, but seconds before the break took advantage of some sloppy defence and Gary Marsden squeezed the ball into the net at the near post.
Cavalier showed a fighting spirit as the second half got underway, and looked capable of nicking a goal to get back in the game, but some good build up play often lead to nothing in the final third.
Pinefleet added a third goal through Callum Harrison before Cavalier at last gained some reward when a nice move was halted by a handled ball by a Pinefleet defender in the area, and the spot kick was despatched perfectly.
A sweeping move downfield produced a second success for Harrison, effectively ending the contest, but Cavalier still fought valiantly and with little time remaining thought that a second penalty had been won when Dan Poppleton was blatantly blocked in the box, off the ball, when making a run on to a through ball, but in fairness to the referee it was hard to spot from his viewing position.
Pinefleet then broke away to the other end, and Louis Clark timed a perfect run to appear at the far post when a long ball split the Cavalier defence, and he completed the scoring.
Pinefleet’s first thought at the final whistle was for former stalwart, the late Dave Hopkin, who built his life around the club, and would have been proud that his club lives on successfully, having been rebuilt by Glenn Holmes.
Pinefleet had one final game to complete – other than their League Senior Cup Final appearance on 1 May at Dene Park (2.00pm) against Eddie Beedle – and faced a far from easy game against Quaddy Rangers.
Quaddy’s form had been scratchy of late, but the players were up for this game and took the lead when a long speculative Dave Bettney shot fell in front of keeper Dean Brown, and he somehow allowed the ball to trickle past him.
Before the break, Pinefleet had got back onto terms with a goal from Callum Harrison, and he enhanced his goalscoring reputation in the second half when an offside appeal against him was waved away and he put the ball past Quaddy keeper Mark Foster.
Quaddy tried in vain to rescue the game, and were pressing forward when time ran out, showing a much greater desire than in the recent past.
AFC Hull were another team completing their fixtures, travelling to last season’s league runners up, Sutton Fields Rangers, and were involved in an eight goal thriller.
AFC Hull went into the game hoping to build on a recent away win at AFC Preston, and started very brightly but clear chances were hard to come by.
Sutton Fields Rangers were restricted to quick breaks, and one such break almost resulted in them taking the lead when the Rangers pacey front man raced clear to be one-on-one with keeper Dave Leese, but Leese came out very well to meet him and pinched the ball from his feet.
Four minutes later it was AFC Hull who took the lead via a route one attack. Dave West put a great high ball from his own half through to AFC Hull top scorer Nathan Nuttall who raced clear of the defence and calmly slotted a low shot passed the keeper to make it 1-0. The pattern of the game then became a little scrappy with few clear opportunities.
The second half saw Sutton Fields come out fighting to get back in the game and they only had to wait two minutes for the equaliser, courtesy of the AFC Hull defence being caught out by a through ball, leaving keeper Leese again exposed, and a low shot finished up in the corner of the net.
In the 59th minute another break saw the Rangers front man out muscle Hull full back Alex Griffiths and get into the box and crash home a high shot into the roof of the net.
A couple of minutes later, AFC Hull substitute Ashley Smith took a free kick from 30 yards out, unleashing a very powerful effort that went straight as an arrow, leaving the defence and keeper rooted to the spot - but the ball hit the upright!
On 65 minutes more AFC Hull pressure brought the equaliser when following a rebound from a corner the ball was pulled back from the by line to the edge of the area where Nathan Nuttall was waiting to drive home a low volley that found its way past the defence and keeper, and into the net.
Parity was only to last two minutes, when yet more lack of shape from AFC Hull in reacting to breaks led to a soft goal for Sutton Fields Rangers. More goals were still to come - a quick break by the AFC Hull led to Nathan Nuttall breaking towards goal, he sent a low drive goalwards which was parried by the keeper, but straight into the path of his covering defending team mate who was helpless as the ball rebounded off his shin and into the net.
Seemingly having earned a point, AFC Hull let the game slip when, on 80 minutes, Rangers were gifted the lead back following a Peter Smith own goal, and this setback saw AFC Hull heads dropping, and they gifted Rangers a fifth goal on 85 minutes.
Eddie Beedle knew that their title hopes had evaporated when they played Kingburn Athletic Reserves, but were doubtless confident of returning to winning ways after that devastatingly crucial drawn game, and looked to be heading in the right direction when Matty Carr put them in front.
Kingburn at times can show they are made of stern stuff – and this night was one of those occasions - and back they came to equalise. Further goals, one apiece, Kingburn’s from the penalty spot, kept the game tied as the last minutes arrived, and when Beedle scored a third – minutes after the Kingburn keeper had pulled off a wonder save – Kingburn looked to have been undone.
Kingburn swept forward and crossed the ball into the area, where Referee Parkinson had no hesitation in awarding another spot kick for a handling offence, and a second successful kick saw the points shared – an unexpected but vital point for Kingburn in the quest for Premier Division survival.
Other than two fluke in/off goals, Cross Keys Cottingham’s Division 1 game with Bev Road Rangers was a very close game, and a credit to both defences who ensured that their respective keepers had little to do throughout the match.
Keys conceded one goal off centre back Daz Norton’s arm and the other off fellow defender Steve Ellam’s posterior as Paul Ulliott and Liam Caulfield took advantage, and these goals were all that separated the sides.
AFC Orchard were seeking revenge for their League Junior Cup semi final defeat when they faced Kingburn Athletic 3rd team in a Division 2 encounter.
Orchard viewed the game as a must win fixtures as they vie with AFC Malt Shovel for the divisional runner up slot, and they went at a relentless pace from the start even though several players were missing through other commitments.
After 5 minutes Chris Jopling set up Jamie Lamplough who rifled a low shot into the bottom of the corner of the net, and this set the tempo of the game as Orchard pushed on for more goals.
After 13 minutes Jamie Lamplough returned the favour, setting up Jopling who made no mistake for his first of the game, and more and more pressure was being put on Kingburn.
It was only a matter of time before Orchard scored again, and from a corner, Graeme Hoff managed to set up Paul Creasey who hit a lovely lob to leave the keeper with no chance.
Despite seeing little of the ball, the Kingburn team still managed to create a few chances but they were dealt with well by an organised Orchard defence.
After a couple of team changes by Orchard at the break, the game seemed to even itself out and Kingburn started to get more of the ball and on 58 minutes they managed to sneak the ball in at the near post past the normally reliable Bri Coulson.
This effrontery prompted Orchard to resume their offensive, and very quickly, aided by a massive clearance from keeper Bri Coulson, which Chris Jopling read well, Jopling smashed home his second of the game.
With 15 minutes left, Terry Clayton was replaced by Stephen Keating to tighten up an already strong defence who felt that the result was already in the bag.
Orchard slowed everything right down, and maintaining possession, shut Kingburn completely out of the game and with virtually the last action of the evening, Jamie Lamplough tried his luck from fully 30 yards out and hit an amazing shot which flew into the top corner of the net leaving the Kingburn keeper grasping at thin air.
AFC Orchard and rivals AFC Malt Shovel have arrived in joint third place in the table, and so the weekend clash between them became ultra important, with both striving for promotion, as the season draws to its conclusion.
With players missing, and others strapped up, Orchard had to ensure their fighting spirit came to the fore for ninety minutes, and they did not disappoint, taking a stranglehold on a thrilling half building up a two goal lead with goals from Chris Jopling, who was a thorn in the side of Malt Shovel throughout, and from Jamie Lamplough, whilst numerous other goal worthy efforts were not converted, generally thanks to good goalkeeping.
The pace of the game started to affect some Orchard players, particularly those who were patched up, and Malt Shovel started to enjoy greater possession but a strong defence initially kept Shovel at bay, but as the game went on, the more likely Shovel looked to grab a goal back.
The breakthrough came when a smart ball was pulled back for the onrushing Lee Kenny to smash the ball into the roof of the net, giving Orchard keeper Paul Creasey no chance.
Both sides were desperate to score the next, possibly defining, goal but Orchard were finding that they were not allowed the time on the ball as they had enjoyed in the first half, and were finding the going getting harder and harder, but as the clock continued to tick down, the score remained unchanged.
With just two minutes remaining, disaster struck for Orchard following a corner and a shot hit towards goal by Shovel’s Mark Render just evaded the defensive clearance attempt of Stephen Fowler.
With points shared, neither side could now catch league leaders Queens County, and in their first season, Queens, who were inactive on the day, had secured the silverware.
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Match Reports
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24th April 2010
17th April 2010
10th April 2010
3rd April 2010
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