Post by Dave on Feb 28, 2015 18:22:55 GMT
South Devon League Division two Lidstone Cup Quarter Final
Saturday 28th February 2015 Kick-Off 2pm
Abbotskerswell V Ashburton
Venue Slade Lane, Abbotskerswell
Referee Martin Williams
Final score Abbotskerswell 0 Ashburton 9
My first ever visit to watch a game of football at Abbots Carsuella, well that was the name of the village in the Domesday Book, these days the village is known as Abbotskerswell. In 1086 less than one hundred people lived in the village, this figure rose to 250 by the year 1300. But in the year 1349, bubonic plague greatly reduced the population of the village
John 'Babbacombe' Lee, known as "The Man They Couldn't Hang" was born in the village in 1864. I wrote a full report on this very man that can be read on this thread that has a picture of his birth place in the village.
davesworld.proboards.com/thread/158/babbacombe-jon-lee
In the first round of the cup Abbotskerswell had to travel to South Brent and won the game in the end by five goals to four. Meanwhile Ashburton had to travel to Paignton Saints and ran out easy winners by four goals to nil.
In the league Ashburton are enjoying a good season sitting in second place in the table. But they have only played eleven fixtures, three less than league leaders Buckland & Milber who have five more points on the board. But Ashburton has won all of those eleven games and look likely league winners scoring 60 goals to date in the league and only conceding just eleven.
It was not that many seasons ago Abbotskerswell were playing the Premier Division of the South Devon League and they have not enjoyed the start this season in Division Two they might have hoped for. They currently sit in twelve place in the table having played fifteen games winning just four of them and losing the other eleven. They have scored twenty seven goals in the league, conceding forty six.
On paper this fixture looked an easy win for Ashburton, but then it was a cup match and could Abbotskerswell upset the form book and book a place in the semi-finals of the Lidstone Cup? Well the answer was a very big NO as Ashburton were just too good all over the pitch. There are a number of players in the Ashburton camp who could easily play at a much higher level.
A big thank you to today’s referee Martin Williams for all his help pre match and if I was marking him on today’s performance, he would be getting a whopping 10. He only felt the need to book one player which he had too and kept the game flowing well and got nearly everything right.
The Abbots started brightly enough but soon found they were unable to handle the pace and trickery of Ashburtons number nine Damien Frencis Furnivall. He went on a fine run down the right hand side of the pitch and sent a good cross into the Abbots box. Ashes number eleven maybe should have opened the scoring, but he scooped his shot over the crossbar.
But with the game just nine minutes old, Damien Frencis Furnivall received the ball out on the left hand side, made another good run into the box and fired a good low shot into the far corner past Thomas Davis who was in goal for the Abbots.
After more hard work Damien Frencis Furnivall then set up his team mate Adam Fox for a shot on the edge of the box, but the shot went over the crossbar. The next chance fell to Damien Frencis Furnivall again, this time a header that just went wide of the right hand post.
On the 26 minute mark, Ashburton doubled their lead; Damien Frencis Furnivall was second favourite to get to the ball, this time on the left hand side of the pitch. But he used his pace to get there and shrug of a challenge before sending in a low cross that was fired home by Nathan Webb.
Abbotskerswell were working very hard and won their fair share of tackles in the midfield, but were unable to thread through any good balls to their ever willing and running forwards. The referee blew up for the end of the first half and Ashburton were well worth their two goal lead.
Would this be a game of two halves? Could the Abbots get an early goal in the second half that would give them some hope of progressing into the semi-final? Well by the time the second half was just five minutes old, the Abbots found themselves
six goals behind.
Right from the whistle Ashburton were on the attack and Damien Frencis Furnivall was in the Abbots box and should have taken a shot with his left foot, but as he tried to get the ball onto his right foot he was brought down by Guy Ravenscroft. Nathan Webb claimed the spot kick that was so nearly saved by Thomas Davis.
Just thirty seconds later the score was four nil, good work down the left hand side of the pitch by David Bonnister who then looked up and picked out his team mate in the Abbots box Damien Frencis Furnivall, who fired the ball into the back of the net.
What seemed like only thirty seconds later again, that man Damien Frencis Furnivall was played into the box again and this time he put the ball through the legs of the advancing keeper. A cool finish from my man of the match.
It was soon six nil when Abbots Michiel Auty lost his head just outside the area and brought down an advancing Ashburton player. He was rightly booked for the reckless challenge. The free kick was fired in by Nathan Webb and I’m not sure if the keeper got a touch on the ball but it ended up dropping down onto the head of Damien Frencis Furnivall who was just a yard out and into the back of the net.
Damien Frencis Furnivall got goal number seven another good right foot finish and then turned provider for goal number eight after a good run down the right and low cross into the box for David Bonnister to blast into the back of the net.
Ashburton made a number of substitutions and their final goal was scored by their number fifteen (sorry do not know his name) he was close in on the right hand post and his teams felt it was an own goal, but he was having none of it and claimed the goal.
A great game to watch and I felt Abbotskerswell did not deserve to be beaten by so many goals. They battled right to the end and a consolation goal would have been nice for them. But you can take nothing away from a very good and strong Ashburton side that has every chance of winning this cup and as I said earlier, the league title as well.
Sorry the photos are not in the order they were taken and I did not have the time to put sort them all out.
