Post by Dave on Nov 21, 2015 11:25:24 GMT
Brixham AFC V Credition United
Saturday 21st November 2015 Kick-Off 2.15pm
Venue Wall Park
Match Referee Ali Soliman
Saturday 21st November 2015 Kick-Off 2.15pm
Venue Wall Park
Match Referee Ali Soliman
Final Score Brixham AFC 2 Crediton United 4
My first visit this season to Wall Park, a ground I always enjoy going to. While very windy in the Bay today, at least the sun decided to make a very welcome appearance after another very wet week.
Brixham AFC were formed in 2012 as a result of a merger between Brixham Villa & Brixham United, the two leading Brixham football clubs agreed to the merger which they hoped would bring Peninsula League football to the town. At the end of their second season in the Premier Division of the South Devon League their dreams came true.
Brixham United were formed more than 100 years ago and had played for more than half a century at their own ground on Wall Park Road. During the late 70s and early 1980s they were members of the Western League and travelled as far afield as Swanage, Bath and Bristol for games. Brixham Villa – whose diamond jubilee would have taken place the year after the merger, played their home matches on council pitches at St Mary's Park.
Crediton United were formed way back in 1910 and after spending eighty years in local football, latterly the Devon & Exeter League, they joined the Western League in 1990. After two successive third-place finishes in Division One, they were promoted to the Premier Division – the highest level ever reached by the club – before being relegated back down to Division One in 1996. Two years later, the club voluntarily dropped down another level, to the Devon County League where they remained until 2007 when they joined the South West Peninsula League Division One East.
During their period in the Western League, they entered the FA Vase on seven occasions, with the best performances coming in the first two seasons, 1991–92 and 1992–93, when on each occasion they reached the first round proper. The team failed to win a tie on each of their last four appearances in the competition
Last season Brixham AFC did very well to finish the season in ninth place, this was two places above where Crediton United finished, but they have not enjoyed the best of starts this season. Before today’s game they were in fifteenth place in the table having played fourteen games, winning just four of them, drawing one and losing nine, giving them a point’s total of thirteen. So far they had scored twenty four goals, but conceded thirty two putting them on a minus eight goal difference.
Crediton have had a slightly better start to the season, they had also played fourteen games, winning six, drawing one and losing seven, putting them in tenth place in the table on nineteen points. They also had a slightly better goal difference of minus two after scoring thirty one goals and conceding thirty three.
The Brixham AFC manager Jason Couch would have hoped home advantage might help his side to secure the three points up for grabs that would see the gap in points between the two teams reduced to just three points.
The sun may well have been out for the first half of this game, but it was bitterly cold and such a change after all the recent warm weather we have been enjoying for the time of the year. The league decided to send along a referee whose game was called off to run one of the lines today. It seems it was OK for him to flag up for free kicks, but not the Brixham club lineman’s. Jason Couch was rightly very upset about this during the first half and he made sure at the break the referee knew just how he felt.
When I covered the Bovey Tracey V Exwick Villa match earlier in the season, I thought the referee Ali Soliman had a first class game, but he was not at his best today. Missing a number of clear handballs and failing to blow up for many fouls, even when he was putting the whistle up to his mouth, but none of this effected the result in the end.
Jason Couch must have been wondering at halftime how is side were not three one up instead of being three one behind, but in football you have to take the chances when they come your but many of the first half chances that fell to Brixham either went wide of the target or over the crossbar.
There was a minutes silence observed before the kick off and with the game just two minutes old, Brixham fell behind. Crediton won a throw-in out on the right and the ball was thrown to their number eleven Steve Morish. The Brixham defence looked asleep as Steve Morish walked the ball into the box and fired a low left foot shot into the right hand corner of the net.
But they were not behind for too long and while the goal ended up being scored by Reece Somers, most of the credit must go to Dan Keating. It was his fine run and shot that forced a good save from the Crediton keeper Lee Yarling, but the lose ball ended up being bumbled over the line by Reese Somers.
Brixham’s captain Scott Dodgson went on a fine run down the left hand side and when in the box hit a good shot that hit the side netting and just after this Daniel Rankin burst into the Crediton box on the right hand side and fired a good shot across the keeper that just went wide of the far post. Daniel Rankin was in again and once again his shot went wide of the target and at this stage it was all one way traffic.
Crediton won a free kick on the edge of the Brixham box, but Simon Durrent hit a weak shot that was never going to trouble Daniel Gillard in goal for Brixham. Out of the blue Crediton look the lead again, a deep cross from the right hand side by Richard Blake must had been assisted by the wind as it hit the far post and went in.
Right on the stroke of halftime Crediton scored again, Brixham had more than enough chances to clear the ball from the danger area but failed to do so, a number of shots were blocked before Mathew Trenaman fired a low shot through a crowd of players into the back of the net.
At the start of the second half Crediton’s number seven Simon Durrent should have put his side even further in front, but headed the ball over the bar after a pin point cross came into the box from the right hand side. Simon Durrent then took another free kick just outside of the Brixham box that was as tame as his other effort in the first half.
But Simon Durrent then went of a great run down the left hand side of the pitch and played a great low ball into the box and Richard Blake really should have hit the back of the net instead of sending the ball over the crossbar.
Brixham were not able to create anything up front and never looked like scoring, there looked no real danger as a ball was played in high from the left hand side, but Daniel Rankin got a glancing header on the ball and it hit the back of the net.
Could Brixham find another goal? The answer was no as Crediton started playing some of the best football of the match.. Simon Durrent had an effort close in blocked on the goal line, Richard Blake hit a great first time shot from the edge of the box that only just went wide of the left hand post.
Crediton’s forth goal was the best of the match, such great build up play that consisted of at least six passes before the ball was played into the Brixham box for Richard Blake to head home.
On the day the better team won, things might have been different if Brixham had converted some of their many first half chances, but they didn’t and paid the price for it. An enjoyable game to watch despite the bitter cold, the pitch held up well enough considering all the rain we have had this week.