Post by Dave on Oct 17, 2024 12:28:31 GMT
Match Referee Dan Shakespeare
Final Score Dartmouth AFC 1 Appledore FC 4
Match Preview.
I have covered a number of Dartmouth games over the years and the most recent one was an away fixture against Brixham AFC played on the 26th December 2022. But you have to go back to Saturday the 26th May 2016 to discover the last time I covered a Dartmouth home game at Longcross.
Before the start of the 2012/ 2013 season Dartmouth resigned from the South. West Peninsula League and the first team took the place of their second team in Division One of the South Devon Football League.
Dartmouth were crowned as the Division One champions at the end of the 2013/2014 seasons and moved up to the premier Division. Their first season back saw them finish the season in third place. Dartmouth’s final game of the 2015/2026 was at home against Buckland Athletic 2nd and at the end of that match either Dartmouth or Buckland would be crowned as the Premier Division Champions.
Neither team would have been able to be promoted, Buckland due to their first team and Dartmouth due to ground grading issues. The maths were simple Dartmouth were two points behind Buckland and only a win would do. Ex Torquay United player Tom Kelly was drafted in to help prepare the Dartmouth team for the match and one of my favourite players Josh Webber was in the Dartmouth side.
On a very wet Saturday afternoon the game ended in a one all draw, had Dartmouth not had the three points they won against Brixham AFC 2nd on the 5th December deducted ( playing an Ineligible player) they would have been the champions. Due to all the SDFL officials being on a jolly up at Wembley, the league trophy was not present at the ground.
That season Dartmouth had scored seventy six league goals and only conceded sixteen in total. At the end of 2018–2019 season the South West Peninsula League was restructured, and Dartmouth successfully applied for a double promotion to the Premier Division East.
While Dartmouth finished in bottom place last season, if the same rules had applied to them as the team that finished bottom of the Premier West Division, they would not be playing in the Devon League this season.
The Team Photo Taken On The Day Of Their match against Buckland 2nd.
When you think about Appledore the first thing that might come on your mind is shipbuilding, but the Appledore football club has been around since 1912 (then under the name of Appledore BAAC,) they joined the Senior Division North Devon League in 1926.
Move onto 1978 and Appledore became members of the South Western League before leaving in 1996 to join the Devon County league until it merged with the South Western League to form the South West Peninsula League in 2007. In 1998 the club was renamed Appledore FC. They withdrew from the league midway through the 2018–2019 season, subsequently dropping into the Premier Division of the North Devon League. After a third-place finish in 2021–22 the club moved up to the North East Division of the Devon League. In 2022–2023 they won the Torridge Cup, beating Holsworthy 2–1 in the final.
I had to rack my brains very hard to remember I had covered a game featuring Appledore FC. It was a Carlsberg Southwest Peninsula League Division One East fixture away to Stoke Gabriel on the 4th March 2017, a game they lost by two goals to nil.Josh Webber that day was in the Stoke team.
Picture From the Stoke Gabriel V Appledore Match.
How Are Both Teams Doing This Season?
Dartmouth start the game in nine place in the table on sixteen points from the eleven games played to date, winning five of them, drawing one and losing five. A mixed bag of results and their manager Robbie Bowker feels his team has been a bit guilty at times of conceding easy goals something I am sure is being worked on in training.
Appledore are currently in fifth place in the table on nineteen points so this is a real six pointer game. Their record, played ten, won six, drawn one and lost three. Appledore come into the game in very fine form and has not lost a game since they were beaten by Beer Albion 1st way back on the 31st August.
Dartmouth did win last weekend away to Plymstock United by four goals to one, a team Appledore has yet to play. With the team boosted by the arrival of goal machine Stuart Bowker scoring goal should not be a problem for Dartmouth, but the defence will have to be at their very best.
May the best team win
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Match Report.
I was really impressed with the Longcross ground today, gone are those old dressing rooms that were in the covered seating area and replaced with ones that are next to the club house.
Credit must be given to who ever looks after the pitch, it looked so green and in such perfect condition even more so considering the rain we have had this week.
Reflecting on the final score I do feel it was a bit harsh on the Dartmouth lads, but when you end up two goals to one down and working hard for an equaliser, having a player sent off just makes the task that much harder. Two of the Appledore goals were scored when those ten Dartmouth players came so close to earning a point, but pressing so hard was always going to leave big gaps at the back which Appledore took full advantage of.
Appledore did look good going forward particularly during the first half, but after letting them back into the game after Dartmouth had taken an early lead, I thought the Dartmouth defence played well. Joe Moroney in goal for Dartmouth had a fine game, his catching was so assured and he did not deserve to have to pick the ball out of the back of his net four times.
They say if you do not notice the match referee during a game he had a good one. The referee today was very noticeable and there were a number of decisions that should have been given in Dartmouth’s favour that were not.
The match referee got the game underway and it did not take Dartmouth very long to score the first goal of the match. They won a free kick twenty yards from goal and the ball was fired high towards the back post. A Dartmouth player headed the ball downwards towards the centre of the goal and there was Rye Graham who hit a first time shot into the roof of the net.
Appledore won the first corner of the match but nothing came from it and Dartmouth was then soon deep in the Appledore half. Coming under pressure an Appledore defender clearly made a back pass to his keeper that the referee chose to ignore.
Soon afterwards Appledore were back on level terms after a ball towards the far post from the right had side was headed home by Brian Levien. He was standing there all alone with no Dartmouth player anywhere near him when someone should have been marking him.
Today demonstrated just how costly the new rule change is regarding dissent. Brad Butterfield was flagged offside and did not agree with the decision and must have said so. He was sent to the sin bin but as is the new rule shown a yellow card as well. One tackle in the second half that did not look that bad resulted in a second yellow card followed by the red one.
A great move by Appledore saw a final pass picking out Brian Levien who burst into the right hand side of the Dartmouth box. He got a powerful shot away that was so well saved by Joe Moroney who was able to push the ball up and over his crossbar.
From the resulting corner the Dartmouth keeper did well again jumping high and getting a good clean catch on the ball. Dartmouth’s Frazer Clark came close to almost gifting Appledore a second goal. Facing his own goal on the edge of the box he under hit a back pass to his keeper. Thankfully Joe Moroney was super quick off his line and got to the ball a split second before the Appledore forward.
Appledore then won a free kick out on the right hand side and once again Joe Moroney was at his best and made another fine catch. While the Dartmouth defence were now coping with the Appledore attacks when they happened, the forward players were unable to make the ball stick up front.
A ricochet took the ball back into the Appledore box close to the right hand post, Stuart Bowker got a first time side footed shot on goal that was well blocked by the post by Tyler Yarde who was in goal for Appledore.
Joe Moroney was called into action again when David mason hit a good low shot from inside the Dartmouth box; Joe made a full length diving save to prevent Appledore taking the lead.
Dartmouth then had two great chances to retake the lead in the match and both fell to Rye Graham. He found himself clear in on goal with just the keeper to beat, but had to take the shot early and ended up poking the ball just past the right hand post. In again just moments later with more time to pick his spot he fired the ball just wide of the left hand post this time.
Dartmouth then had another chance after an Appledore player handled the ball on the edge of his own box. The free kick was fired with power at the goal and the keeper did well to beat the ball away and prevent it from going in the net.
Appledore won another free kick out on the right hand side and once again Joe Moroney was in top form making sure he got to the ball first and punching it away from the danger area. That was it for the first half with the score at one all which on the balance of play was a fair result.
The second half got underway and Dartmouth won an early corner. All the big boys were sent up and there looked a clear push on a Dartmouth player in the box but nothing was given. Dartmouth were then so unlucky not to take the lead when a great strike by Brad Butterfield hit the base of the left hand post.
Dartmouth were enjoying a good spell in the match and what ever was said at halftime by the team manager seemed to be working. Stuart Bowker was hacked down right on the edge of the Appledore box and got up limping. Brad Butterfield took the free kick and went straight for goal; the ball seemed to have been defected up and over the bar but no corner was given to Dartmouth.
Dartmouth’s Robbie Chalk was very late in a challenge and as a result was the next player to be shown a yellow card. Then Rhys Morracee found his name being taken for a foul but was it really worthy of a yellow card?
Appledores Philip Kelly got a good shot away from the left hand side that went just wide of the post. I have always enjoyed watching Stuart Bowker play over the years; he has scored so many wonderful goals. But once again today he showed his silly side which earned him a booking. I did feel he was caught from behind on the halfway line and should have been awarded a free kick. Nothing was given and Stuart hit the deck. He slowly started to get to his feet but while still on his knees pulled down an Appledore player who was about to go past him.
The resulting free kick proved to be costly for Dartmouth as the ball as fired high to the back post and headed down for Philip Kelly to fire home. Dartmouth made a couple of changes and Danny Frankum from the edge of the Appledore box fired his shot over the crossbar.
Danny then had another chance when the ball was fired into the box from the right hand side, he rose well and got his head on the ball but it lacked any real power and the ball went straight into the arms of the keeper.
Then came a changing point in the game when Brad Butterfield was shown a second yellow card, once again I did not think the foul was that bad, but the referee clearly did. Stuart Bowker was then brought down again on the edge of the Appledore box and unbelievably the offending player was not booked. The free kick was fired in and ended up going behind for a corner. From the resulting corner Ryan O Callaghan headed the ball onto the roof of the net.
Stuart Bowker was then clearly brought down again but the referee gave nothing, Robbie Bowker tried to have a word with the referee who did not want to listen. An Appledore player clearly stood on the ball and fell over and was awarded a free kick in his favour. Once again Robbie tried to point that out to the referee and received a yellow card for his troubles.
With tem men Dartmouth were still working hard to get back onto level terms, Ollie Dowell got a great head on the ball and looked certain to score but the ball hit the left hand post.
Appledore’s Philip Kelly was then rightly booked for a foul, could Dartmouth find that second goal? They won a free kick that went behind for a corner. The corner kick was wasted and in seconds the ball was in the Dartmouth half. It was now two on one with just one Dartmouth player in his own half. The final ball played in Noah Harris who picked his spot and fired the ball home.
Now completely open at the back Dartmouth went even further behind. Appledore had players over and shot taken out on the left hand side by Brian levien took a defection and looped over the keeper into the back of the net.
That was it the referee blew up for fulltime and Dartmouth lost the game by four goals to one. On another day the result might have been so different. Games are so often decided by fine margins and decisions made by match referees. It was not Dartmouth’s day today and they maybe deserved more from the match. But they look a good side with a number of good players and I am sure they will bounce back from today’s result.
