Post by Dave on Oct 30, 2010 20:26:20 GMT
Marldon V Harbertonford.30th Oct 2010
It was so good to see Ant once again playing with a big smile on his face today, playing his first game after rejoining Marldon from Ipplepen, a club he was always so happy at. He got lured away from them in the middle of the last season to score goals to help Ipplepen gain promotion. They did just that, but he has grown very frustrated playing for them this season as after making good runs to all the right areas a striker should, he found the ball never reached him very often.
Last season Marldon were playing their home games at Clennon Valley and it’s a real shame they can’t have a pitch in the village itself. It was explained to me today by the club sectary, ( such a nice lady indeed) how they had somewhere in the village to have a pitch, only someone did not want a pitch near where they lived and bought the land and I believe it has caravans parked up on it now.
Their new home is at Amada Park in Chelston in Torquay and I can’t ever remember going to this park before let alone watch a game of football there. First thing to say is why does it not have a small car park? So much open space and as the park is in the narrow parts of Nut Bush Lane, you have to carry on and try and find a place near the nearby houses to park.
It was a bit strange going through the park gate and seeing the pitch some distance away, it looked even stranger built on the top of what from the gate looked a large bank. I have to say it’s a very decent pitch and must be one of the best ones in Torquay, well apart from that one up at Plainmoor.
3pm kick-off my son told me and I was parked up with a good ten minutes to go before kick-off and was only a few minute walk away from the park. Got through the gate to discover the game had already started and worse than that Marldon were already two goals up. Seems the ref decided to kick off 15 minutes early and I jokingly thanked him at half time for doing that.
I also joked on my match report of Marldons cup game against 1st division side Stoke Gabriel last week, that Ant might have a problem getting his number ten shirt back off the lad who wore it in the cup game. Well Ant got it back with the lad wearing the number nine shirt instead. I have to say he is a very good player and perfect for Ants game and he sure hit the net a good number of times in this game.
Ant could have scored six, but should have had four to his name, only due to what was clear cheating in my view by their linesman, Ant was flagged off side as he was just about to put the ball in the net once and again as the ball hit the back of the net. Still the two goals he scored were real crackers especially the second one.
While I missed the first two goals I do know after a good run from out wide, Marldons number eleven Keith Moon made his way into the box and I was told by one off his team mates to state in my report that he thumped the ball home.
Goal two came after Ant chested the ball down on the halfway line and laid an inch perfect pass out wide on the left to Keith Moon who played in the very impressive number nine Raman Marran to bury the ball into the back of the net.
The standard of passing in this game was very high and while the Harbertonford centre half joked with me during the game how rubbish his side were, I felt they had a good spell in the middle of the first half and were unlucky not to score after a powerful shot hit the post and stayed out.
Marldon made it three nil after a great ball was played into Ants feet just outside the box and slightly to the right; he held of the Harbertonford defender and lashed a sweet shot from just inside the box into the far left hand corner of the Harberton goal
Marldon scored once more before the break and it was that man Marran who got it. He danced around the challenges on the edge of the box like a ballet dancer and fired an unstoppable shot to the keeper’s right.
So onto the second half that had a few showers of rain during it that had me doing my best to keep my new camera from getting too wet.
Raman Marran soon got his hat trick with another fine strike but he was to save his very best and most spectacular goal for a bit latter. Then the Harbertonford keeper had to get down to make a good save, but was unable to hold onto the ball and there was Marldons Tom Watkins to fire home the lose ball.
Ant was then clearly onside and about to score when he was flagged as being off side. I have not included the pictures off this run in my selection to add to this thread, but they show he was most defiantly onside. Ant then made another great run and scored a perfectly good goal only for that flag to go up again. Maybe that linesman feared Harbertonford were going to get beaten by a cricket score, don’t really know but they were very poor decisions indeed.
Then that Raman Marran found the ball at his feet some thirty yards out and hit a screamer into the top right hand corner of the goal, it was a goal any premiership player would have been very proud of, let alone a local park player.
Ant was to have the last say in the match and he too saved his best goal to last, just outside the box the ball was played up to him and he turned so smartly and hit an instant shot that flew into the net giving the keeper no chance what so ever of making a save.
So the final score was eight nil to Marldon and it was a most enjoyable and pleasant afternoon. While Ant was not to unhappy with his performance, he felt he maybe should have scored from a number of other chances that came his way that he ended up sending over the crossbar.
On to the pictures and a few to start of with of the pitch itself, then a picture of the proud (or was that show off ;D) Marldon captain Stuart Forrester.
The rest are just action shots from the match and a great sequence of shots showing goal number four by Raman Marran. Don’t have any shots of Ants two goals as I always seem to get spellbound when he is near the goal with the ball at his feet and forget I’m meant to be taking pictures. He does not mind as long as I saw the goals thankfully.
