Post by Dave on Oct 1, 2022 7:38:10 GMT
Match Referee (no official referee)
Final Score Stoke & Torbay Police 2nd 1 Brixham Town 2
Match Preview
They say all good things must come to an end, but sometimes the end can come when least expected. Brixham Town really should have been placed into the second division last season, but the league put them in division three.
Brixham played eighteen league games, winning seventeen of them and drawing one and ended up with a plus sixty goal difference. A great achievement for a club that had newly been reformed.
With such a wonderful wining record Brixham Town might have been many people’s favourites to win the division two title this season and still might be. They certainly sent out a strong message in their first game on this new season played on the 17th September away to Dartmouth 2nd. A convincing seven goals to nil victory.
But what happened last weekend? In their first home game of the season against Paignton Villa 2nd played on the 24th September. This was a game I would have covered but as I did the Villa 2nd game the week before, I picked another game.
Town had played Villa 2nd in a preseason friendly on the 30th July at the J C Park and won the game by three goals to nil.
Report On That Game
davesworld.proboards.com/thread/1034/brixham-town-paignton-villa-30th
But last weekend Town were beaten by Villa 2nd by three goals to one, but it should be noted Villa 2nd are a very much improved side this season.
Brixham Town will want to get back to winning ways today when they face a Stoke side still looking for their first win of the season.
Stoke & Torbay Police 2nd opened their new season with an away game played on the 3rd September against Paignton Villa 2nd and lost the match by four goals to two. Stoke were in action again on the 17th October at home in the Robert WIlliams Estate Agents Senior Cup against Chagford from the 3rd division of the Devon & Exeter League and won the game by six goals to one.
Last weekend the 24th September Stoke faced Newton Rovers away and came away with their first point of the season after the game ended in a three all draw. Stoke felt they maybe should have won the game in what turned out to be a hard fought match.
Stoke will come into today’s game in a confident mood in the knowledge that Town are beatable. But will that winning mentality the Town players have see them back to their normal winning ways. It should be a cracking match.
Footnote
This is my own personal viewpoint. A few years before Torbay Police merged with Stoke Gabriel Stoke changed the name of the ground to the Kia Speedwell Stadium. In 1981 Stoke Gabriel purchased land in Broadley Lane and developed a sloping field into their current home. The ground was named the G.J. Churchward Memorial Ground in memory of George Jackson Churchward who was one of the most influential locomotive designers of the twentieth century and Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Great Western Railway between 1902 to 1922.
George was born at Rowes Farm in the village on the 31st January 1857 , but ended up living in Swindon. After he retired in 1922, he continued to live in a GWR-owned house near to the line at Swindon, and he retained his interest in the company's affairs. He never married. On 19 December 1933, now with poor eyesight and hard of hearing, he was inspecting a defectively-bedded sleeper on the down through line, when he was struck and killed by a Paddington to Fishguard express, pulled by No. 4085 'Berkeley Castle'. The locomotive was of the GWR Castle class, a successful design by Charles Collett derived from Churchward's "Star" class.
It is important that local history is respected and maintained and the reason I will only ever refer to the G.J. Churchward Memorial Ground in any reports I do from there. Thankfully Stoke & Torbay Police plan to return the ground to its original name.
Match report
I knew as I drove home from today’s game I had to write one of the most difficult match reports I have ever had too. A report that might upset one or two people, but it has always been important to me to be 100% honest in any report I write. I cannot remember the last time my emotions were so high at the final whistle, a mixture of some anger and frustration.
Make no mistake about it, Stoke were robbed of a well deserved point and on chances created alone, maybe should have been the team with all the three points at the end of the match. To be fair to Brixham town they had a number of first team players missing, lost their number one keeper early in the first half and had to play a good part of the second half with ten men.
Today highlighted the very big problem in the SDFL, a lack of referees. Let’s be honest when a game has no appointed match referee nobody wants to go in the middle. You have to give credit to those who do, but sorry big decisions that were got wrong today cost Stoke & Torbay Police 2nd dearly. It is time the SDFL does something to try and sort the problem out.
Tim Perrin was the brave soul who went in the middle and I do need to thank him for all his help today with the team sheet.
Tim got the game underway and Stoke started the better of the two sides. But very shortly afterwards Brixham faced their first setback. Cam Atkinson got injured when he came to the edge of his box to win a ball. He was unable to continue and Macca Dallow had to take over between the sticks.
Macca was a hero for his side, pulling off so many important saves during the whole match and was my man of the match.
Brixham came close to taking an early lead when a cross into the Stoke box from the left hand side of the pitch was headed goal wards by Harry Chasney. He got a good head on the ball but his effort ended up crashing against the right hand post.
Stoke’s Kyle King was played into the Brixham box but lifted his shot over the bar. Veteran striker Dave Worthington hit a 25 year effort wide of the left hand post; a few years ago he was scoring from that range for fun.
Stoke were creating a number of good chances, Bobby Chancellor fired just over from the edge of the Brixham box. From just outside the box Adam Blackburn hit a shot that just went wide of the left hand post. Bobby Chancellor hit another good shot from 20 yards out that was beaten down by the Brixham keeper.
Then came Stokes best chance of the first half and the miss proved costly just minutes later. Kyle King was played in and would have only had the keeper to beat. But he took his shot far too early from the edge of the Brixham box and it turned out an easy save for Macca Dallow.
Seconds later up the other end Shane Pike who had a very good game for Brixham had the ball at his feet. He beat the defender, turned and fired an unstoppable shot across the keeper low inside the right hand post.
Just before the end of the half, Macca Dallow was forced into making another fine save low down from a shot from the edge of the box by Kyle King. The referee blew up for the end of the first half and Stoke must have been wondering how they were behind in the match.
The Brixham goal was under pressure again and Macca pulled of an incredible reaction save from a shot very close in. There was a big shout for a handball in the Brixham box, sorry but it was a clear penalty but was not given.
Bobby Chancellor stung Macca’s hands with a power driver just out side the box, surly Stoke were due a goal for all their efforts.
Stokes keeper was a very lucky boy when as the last man raced out of his box and fouled Shane Pike. He was shown the yellow card but I have seen red cards given for the same offence.
Sam Healey hit a good shot just inside the Brixham box that got blocked on route. Ben Ford hit a very powerful 25 yard effort that hit the right hand post and stayed out.
Stoke won a free kick inside the Brixham half and the ball was fired into the box. Another big shout for handball and this time Tim Perrin pointed to the spot. Most felt it was not a penalty, but maybe it evened up for the one that should have been given. The kick was taken by Bobby Chancellor who made no mistake.
Brixham were forced to go down to ten men when Shaun Langdon was hit strongly in the face by the ball. It knocked him senseless and he was unable to continue.
Stokes Oliver Doyle hit a shot wide of the left hand post and Bobby Chancellor hit another good shot that hit the crossbar, I was starting to think it was not going to be Stokes day.
Then came another very big moment in the game in which Brixham took the lead again. I was right inline with the last Stoke defender and a ball was played forward to Shane Pike who was at least two yards offside. The linesman flag went up instantly but the referee did not look his way. Stoke players did their best to bring it to his attention, but with Shane now in the box and about to shoot, the referee waved play on. Take nothing away from the finish, but the goal should never have stood.
Stoke were doing their best to get back on level terms, James Beresford hit a good shot from just outside of the box that the Brixham keeper did well to parry away. He was forced into another great save from a shot by Adam Blackburn.
Brixham were as good as down to nine men as Kyle Hazelwood was limping very badly and unable to run.
Stoke then scored the goal they fully deserved, a free kick taken out on the right hand side headed home at the back post. There were no protests and the ball was back on the centre spot ready for the restart of the game.
It was at this point the referee went and had a chat with the linesman and then ruled out the goal for offside. The protests then really did begin and the only point I would make is why talk to one linesman about a possible offside for the Stoke goal and ignore the other linesman for Towns second goal, a very clear offside in my opinion.
The referee blew up for the end of the match and the record will show a Brixham Town win. But as I said Stoke should have had a point at least.
Many thanks to both managers and also Tim Perrin for taking the time to fill in the team sheet correctly. It was a very enjoyable game to watch and both sets of players gave their all.
