Post by Dave on Sept 15, 2010 15:47:46 GMT
Brixham Town V Ipplepen 11th Sept 2010
It helps if you want to watch the team play you have planned too if you actually go to the ground they are playing at and Ant had told me where he was playing and I’m still trying to work out why I went to the wrong ground in Brixham.
I should have gone to the Furzeham pitch instead I found myself on the other side of the town at St Marys Park, I was unable to find a space in the car park and ended up parking in the road and going through a gate in the wall to get into the park. The players had just come out and I stood there looking at them thinking why don’t’ I recognise any of you and so a look at both players wearing number 10 on their shirts and then I knew I was at the wrong game.
A quick drive to the other side of Brixham and I managed to find a place not too far away from the ground but as I walked closer to the pitch once again I was asking myself was this the right game and it was not until I took a much closer look at the players I realised Ipplepen were playing in a strip I had not seen them play in before.
The game was only five minutes old and I had not missed too much and the first player I noticed playing for Brixham Town was their goalkeeper. He once played with Ant for Paignton Villa and the last time they were both on the pitch together he punched Ant in the face and this had me running onto the pitch to go and have words with him.
Ant that day was playing for another team and the game had no proper ref and he had told Ant he would not score past him and Ant did but during the game they both jumped for the same ball in what was a fair challenge only the keeper hit the deck and got up and punched Ant in the face and caused some bleeding.
The ref was one of their team who wanted to just book him and let him stay on and after much protest the keeper was giving his matching orders. Still he’s a good lad and very likable and Ant was soon crashing into him and I was waiting for something to happen but the Town keeper took it all in good sprite. I did say to him at half time that Ant loves him really and he replied that Ant was a good lad and I was pleased to hear him say that.
This was the very worst performance I have every seen from an Ipplepen team, I was sure at one point that Town had 15 players on the pitch as they always had a player who got to the lose ball first and when a Town player was on the ball he had so many options who to play the ball to especially out on both wings.
The back four of Ipplepen were very poor in the first half and gifted Town with four of the five first half goals and Town over ran Ipplepen in midfield with some very tigerish play never letting any Ipplepen player have one second on the ball. Ant up front made run after run and would have been happy in the end just to have had some scraps to try and get on the end of but he was starved of the ball for most of the game due to players trying to take on too many Town players and losing the ball every single time, or failing to get any decent crosses into the box.
Town took the lead from a corner; the ball was floated toward the edge of the six yard box and their tallest player rose completely unchallenged to head home right in the middle of the goal.
Ipplepen were unlucky not to get back on level terms as a bouncing ball was played up to Ant who was just inside the Town box, he looked to his right and saw his strike partner about to burst past the last town defender and very cleverly lifted the ball over the head of the defender and straight into the path of his strike partner. He in turn saw the keeper rushing off his line and lobbed the ball up in the air over him, the ball seemed as if it was stuck up in the clouds for ages and when it did finally come down it hit the top of the cross bar and bounced back into play.
Town were playing the much better football and were passing their way around the pitch while Ipplepen who are normally a good passing side themselves, started hitting long balls more in hope than anything else and found the ball always going to a Town player.
Town were playing down the slight sloop with a strong wind behind than and used it far better to their advantage than Ipplepen did in the second half. One long ball should have been cleared with ease by an Ipplepen defender but he just let the ball run past him and a hard working Town player was in behind him with just the keeper to beat and coolly slotted the ball past him.
It was soon three nil to town and once again the goal happened as a result of some very poor defending indeed. The Ipplepen left back had the ball at his feet and was being closed down and was looking to put the ball into touch, only he hit the ball so softly he played it straight to the Town left winger who cut into the box and hit a wonderful shot with his right foot bending the ball past the keeper and just inside the far post.
Ipplepen then got a goal back as their right winger ran into the box and fired a low shot across the Town keeper and just inside the far post, was there to be another great Ipplepen fight back? Well the answer was a very big no I’m afraid and Town continued to have most of the play and went and added a forth goal very soon after Ipplepen had got theirs.
This time a ball played into the right hand side of the Ipplepen box and the keeper came out to try and narrow the angle but the ball was lifted over him into the roof of the net. Things then got even worse for Ipplepen as they gave a way a very soft penalty that was hit low and hard to the left of the goal giving the keeper no chance at all to save it.
I was really impressed with the Ipplepens manager half time team talk and Ipplepen did create a number of good chances to narrow the gap in the score, but none fell to Ant I’m afraid and most were blasted over the bar. The Town keeper did make one excellent save on his near post beating the ball around the post and out for a corner.
As the half wore on you knew Ipplepen were not going to get back into the game and were getting caught short at the back time after time and some better finishing from the Town forwards could have seem Town making it ten goals to one, but they also were blasting their shots high wide and handsome.
With five minutes to go they did get one final goal and I was glad to hear the final whistle as this really was a very disappointing display by Ipplepen. Brixham Town are a very young side and have some good players, if they work this hard in all their games and show the same fighting sprite and desire, then they should do very well this season.
It was good to see the Town keeper has learned at last to stay in his box, I’m sure once he had it in his head he was Bruce Grobbelaar as he spent most of his game running around the field and getting caught out so many times.
