SDL Premier Div Brixham AFC V Ipplepen Ath 31st Aug 2013

[Dave]

SDL Premier Div Brixham AFC V Ipplepen Athletic 31st Aug 2013

Venue Wall Park Brixham.

Kick-Off 2pm

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Really looking forward to this afternoons match and will write a match report after the game and post up some match photos.

[Dave]

Final score Brixham AFC 4 Ipplepen 1

Firstly as always a big thank you to Jason for showing me around the ground, Dean Ipplepens manager for writing down all his players for me and Brixhams chairman Bill Harris for all his help.

I drove right past the lane you need to go up to get into the Wall Park ground and had to ask a man who was painting his gate just where the ground actually was. Memo to chairman sign needed at the end of the lane, if there is one and I simply missed it, one thousand apologies.

I will do a proper report on the ground very soon, so I will just write a report on my thoughts on the game and all the main action as well as a good number of match photos.

Brixham are a club I hope do well this season and win the promotion they so wanted to win last season, they have a very tidy ground and its clear to see they are a club on the up and up. Ipplepen is also a well run club that also has a tidy ground and they have one player who stood out so much today, Reda Azzouz. I’m sure many of you will know far more about him than I do, all I’m going to say is what a class player he is and one wonders why he is not playing at a much higher level.

Ipplepen started brightly enough and looked the better side for the first ten minutes, their number nine Simon Roberts took two early pot shots from the edge of the area that were never going to beat Ryan Walton in goal for Brixham, but at least it showed plenty of intent.

Up the other end Jay Morgan who was so much better behaved than the game I saw him play in against Stoke Gabriel in a pre season friendly, also hit took a shot from the edge of the box, but the ball sailed harmlessly past the right hand post. Sadly for Ipplepen they were unable to keep their bright start to the game going and very soon found themselves two goals behind.

Christopher Mitchell was played neatly into the Pens box and he looked up and coolly slotted the ball past Richard Mills in goal for Ipplepen. Just two minutes later and the ball was back in the Pens box and Richard Mills made a good save from very close range saving the ball with his chest. But the ball kindly fell to the feet of Thomas Armstrong who blasted the ball into the net.

We were almost treated to a wonder goal when that man Reda Azzouz hit a powerful shot from all of 35 yards; the shot forced Ryan Walton into making a full length diving save and he just managed to get enough of his hands on the ball to keep the ball out.

I do not like moaning about refs but if they gave the right decisions then players would not react in the way they do sometimes. The ref booked Pens Neil Boldick for his complaints after the ref failed to give what was a clear penalty to Ipplepen. Reda Azzoue had danced himself into the Brixham box and his shirt was nearly pulled off his back. Why the ref did not point to the spot I will never know, sadly as the game wore on and this game was never a dirty game by any stretch of the imagination, the ref got a bit to book happy.

Onto the second half and Deans half time team talk sure seemed to have worked as Ipplepen came out full of desire, effort and hard work to try and get something out of the match. They came so close a number of times in getting a goal back that might have made things very interesting.

I thought they were going to score after Brixhams keeper lost the ball on the edge of his box and a quick square pass played in Reda Azzouz. He hit a good low shot that looked like it was going to go in just inside the right hand post, but Matt Spurling did so well to stick out a leg and steer the ball behind for a corner.

Against the run of play Brixham scored their third goal of the afternoon. A free kick was send deep into the Pens box from the left hand side of the pitch. The ball ended up at the feet of their number 15(sorry do not have his name) who took a shot that got blocked on its way to the goal. The ball fell to the feet of Christopher Mitchell who fired the ball into the net.

That goal as good as killed off any chances of any sort of result for Ipplepen but they kept going forward and finally got a reward for all their second half efforts. Simon Roberts took a shot just inside a very crowded area that hit the back of the net.

It did not take Brixham too long to restore their three goal advantage and it came about after a good run by Thomas Armstrong. I did not get a good view of just how the ball ended up in the back of the net, but I think a Pen player managed to get some sort of block on the ball and it sailed up and over Richard Mills in goal. Richard tried in vain to stop the ball from going over the line.

Could Ipplepen be unlucky again in the second half not to get awarded a penalty? Brixhams Thomas Armstrong clearly handled the ball and got booked for it and Dean Ipplepens manager sure thought the offence happened just inside the Brixham box. But the ref clearly did not agree awarding a free kick right on the edge of the box.

Pens Matt Akins must have thought he was going to get on the score sheet after battling of a defender to get a shot in on goal with just the keeper to beat. He fired his shot low across the goal, but Ryan Walton got down well to make the save.

A very enjoyable game to watch and I feel both clubs will do very well this season and I wish both clubs the best of luck.I will sometime this season cover one of Ipplepens home games.