WELLINGTON FC 1-1 WOLVERHAMPTON SPORTING COMMUNITY: MATCH REPORT...

Undermanned Wolves Snatch Unlikely Point From Resilient Wellington

Wellington FC 1-1 Wolverhampton Sporting Community

This game was short on excitement. Very short in fact, until the final twenty minutes or so. Neither team particularly impressed either, for too many errors were made although Wellington tested visiting ‘keeper James Gettings several times whereas home goalie Matt Apperley was forced into only two serious saves before burly Wolves central defender Jack Barnes beat him with a late downward header. Sporting had been reduced to ten men too, following a second period dismissal for right-back Giles Harvey and they had trailed since the half-hour mark to a cross-shot from the right-flank by Wellington’s willing and effective striker Josh Hunt. After parity had been regained by Wolves, home forward Matt Williams made several shots at goal and he was denied well on a couple of occasions by Gettings but a draw was probably an acceptable result for impartial onlookers overall. Wolves’ prolific striker and skipper Dan Westwood was kept very quiet by a combination of solid home marking and also a good deal of poor creativity from his team-mates, for Jon Letford in particular was unable to produce an assist for his colleague despite one or two promising runs. Mitch Clarke was a real worker for the visitors but he lacked some support in midfield, to be fair. Neither Chris Rabone nor Dimitri Dunkley managed to threaten much on the wings either and in truth, home midfielder Adam Newbury was given too much room to pass at will by the visitors, a fact spotted early by Sporting left-back Jamal Fuller. His Sporting colleagues didn’t respond effectively enough to the defender’s sensible comments though… 

DAVID GOWER CHECKS THAT WESTWOOD HAS HIS KNEES COVERED...

Thanks to Wellington for the mug of strong tea in the kitchen before the game, a kind gesture but it was the guests who began the match the brighter, although the Boots (Wellington…) were closer to scoring an early goal. A miscued Rabone effort for Wolves was collected by Apperley before the hosts threatened and Ben Fischer got his head to a short, falling right byeline cross by the dangerous Williams, only for Gettings to drop to his right on the goal-line and hold onto the near post try. A Boots set-piece saw Clarke clear well for the Wolves and away on the counter-attack went Letford at inside-left, supported at inside-right by the unmarked Westwood but the ball was turned over by Letford and it failed to reach the skipper, thus a very good opportunity was thereby scorned. Barnes nudged a long Clarke throw with his head straight to Apperley, Matt Vaughan rose at the far post to somehow head Rabone’s left-side free-kick past the upright and following a determined Fuller run, Rabone drove a 25 yard shot off target.

FULLER: SPOTTED HOW INFLUENTIAL WELLINGTON'S NEWBURY WAS...

Williams fed Paul Jones for a 25 yarder which rose way too high for the Boots but suddenly the hardworking Josh Hunt reeled away from the Wolves defence on the right-flank and clipped a cross-shot high over the head of Gettings’ who was annoyed to see the ball drop into the far corner of the net as he arched backwards. A strange but spectacular goal for the home team and a lead they would cling onto for a good proportion of the match.

GETTINGS BEATEN...

1-0...

JOSH HUNT THE SCORER...

Letford’s good work was again spoilt by a loss of control and also a slip, something which happened a few times to him on the surface but when a Clarke cross from inside-left deflected off a defender to the far stick, the ball ricocheted from Dunkley’s marker’s head onto the winger’s skull and over the target. Another Rabone miscue was collected by Apperley and all that remained in the half was for the hosts to win a free-kick near the right corner of the penalty-box but home left-back Sam Hunt’s curling left footer dropped onto the roof of the net, without worrying the scarlet-clad Gettings.  

GETTINGS: RED CLAD...

A forgettable half in all fairness, bar Josh Hunt’s goal, for there had been little pattern to the proceedings and although Fuller yelled for his team to play their football which I was pleased to hear, too many times passes went astray and the Boots seemed content to feed Newbury and try to free Williams or Josh Hunt, or alternatively to hit long balls for the eager central striker to chase. Not pretty at all at times but at least both pairs of  central defenders had been busy and unwilling to give an inch…

CLARKE, LEFT: DECENT GAME...

After the interval a Fischer effort from 3 yards rose over a gaping goal, following a decent run on the left by Williams and Wolves were thus fortunate not to be quickly two goals adrift. They responded well enough but Westwood found remaining onside a bit of a problem and then one run inside by the lively Dunkley was stopped only by massed defending by the Boots. Fuller received a caution, possibly for reacting to a foul situation, and in truth the referee’s reputation, especially with the visiting coaching staff, began to decline from that point. Watched by an assessor, the official was obviously keen to get it right on the day but the ‘job’ is so tough to get right always, as I know from experience and the Wolves players’ anger was severely tried on occasions. The interesting Nick Haynes was replaced in midfield by USA-bound Alex Moore for the visitors but soon the rugged Wolves right-back Giles Harvey careered into Newbury for what appeared to be a heavy challenge from my viewpoint on the opposite side of the pitch. Most onlookers must have assumed a caution would follow but whether Harvey’s subsequent pointing and anger towards the opponents simply added oil to burning waters, I’m not certain but the official brandished a red card and the Wolves were one short in their pack…   

HARVEY'S IN TROUBLE...

NEWBURY'S DOWN...

THE REF IS STRESSED...

...& HARVEY IS OFF...
LETFORD WATCHES WITH INTEREST.

A free-kick by Williams from 25 yards was comfortably pushed over his crossbar by Gettings, an Aaron Morgan header from a Williams free-kick flew upwards and was cleared by Wolves but then Rabone was replaced by Kyle Delaney for the visitors and Sporting responded to their adversity, reminding me of Lye ‘Nobody Likes Us’ Town in some ways. Home defender Morgan had done well throughout in defence, his influence going a long way to protect ‘keeper Apperley but soon a near post Barnes header from a long Clarke throw flew off target, before Phil McKerdy’s pace was introduced instead of Fuller and suddenly the new-found Wolves belief was rewarded. A foul at inside-left by the fortunate Luke Winter on Dunkley, who was getting onto a low pass from Delaney, saw the ball roll on for the onside Westwood to lash at goal from 22 yards but Apperley dived superbly to his right to turn the rising effort behind for a corner from which the guests equalised. No caution for Winter though after the event. Not yet, anyway…

FULLER: "YOU SENT OFF MY PRECIOUSSSSSSS FRIEND, REF..."

Moore’s delivery was excellent, right onto the head of the towering Barnes who leapt like a salmon at the far post and his powerful downward header bounced past both goalkeeper and defenders on the goal-line. Barnes had been strong at the back for Wolves but also their main threat in attack too, something the coaches would certainly have noticed. 

1-1...

BARNES THE SCORER...

Wolves believed they could win the game at this point but after Newbury was cautioned for the hosts, it was they who began to exploit the Wolves’ three-man defence, by using the width on the left-wing afforded to Williams. He was helped at first by some awful kicking by Gettings following a back-pass and only a brave save by the goalie’s legs prevented Williams from capitalising upon the goalminder’s error. Home skipper Ben Thomas headed another long ball on but Williams skied his shot from a good position then Jones fed a neat pass left for Williams again but his 15 yard shot was well turned away to his left by the leaping Gettings. Wolves survived these late Williams v Gettings skirmishes and after McKerdy’s close range header for Sporting flew straight to Apperley, the match ended sourly with the visiting coaches being lectured by the rather flustered referee, who finally cautioned a home player, after Dunkley had also been cautioned for a pull-back. Winter had baulked Delaney and subsequently received a deserved yellow card but this only served to send the Wolves dugout into a frenzy of hard-done-by-ness… 

NEWBURY CAUTIONED...

WINTER TO BE CAUTIONED TOO...

Maybe Wolves missed the midfield influence of Kieron Northwood supporting Dan Westwood, or maybe they could have used my uncle Jack Eastwood perhaps, although he passed away some years back. Southwood though is a place too near Farnborough, so no help would be forthcoming from there and Mirkwood, where Jamal Fuller lives would have been no use either, for he’d already been substituted… 

DUGOUT TROUBLE...

Wellington’s Boots could have made reporting on this game more difficult, for apart from the two Hunts, Sam and Josh, there was an Alex Hunt on the bench too. There was a Nick Williams in reserve, plus an Andy Price, so that by the end of this match, had replacements been made correctly, I could have been writing about three footballing Hunts, two footballing Williamses and two footballing Prices, meaning 7 of 11 of the Boots being similarly named… That’s around 64% of the Wellington team… There is a Dean Price, a Gareth Thomas and a Brad Winter on the squad list at the league’s website too, so my day could have been made even worse… And was there a Welsh influence too? Price, Williams, Thomas, Morgan and Jones; surely all names I’ve spotted in Welsh rugby teams over the years… And there’s a Michael Evans on the squad list too, although surely not the ex-Argyle legend of Paul Sturrock's days in charge…

FRAUGHT FINISH...

So a less than useful draw for Wolves, although a defeat would have been unpalatable probably. The Boots were tough to break down, tough as old boots in fact but in truth the visitors did appear to lack the ingenuity to create the opportunities to win the encounter. Indeed, one only has to consider how few chances Westwood was offered throughout the 90 minutes… The chances fell mainly to Boots’ Williams but he was thwarted by Wolves’ glove-man Gettings and the game certainly ended with a deal of unpleasantness because of the referee’s alleged ‘performance’ and the frustration for both teams, neither of whom actually deserved to be winners.

Me? Battled the horrendous Herefordshire roads back towards Solihull, roads which are probably still as pot-holed as they were for Victorian farm carts… 

TEAMS:

WELLINGTON FC:

MATT APPERLEY, LUKE WINTER, SAM HUNT, BEN THOMAS (CAPT), AARON MORGAN, DAVE PRICE, ADAM NEWBURY, BEN FISCHER, JOSH HUNT, MATT WILLIAMS, PAUL JONES.

SUBS:

NICK WILLIAMS, ANDY PRICE, ALEX HUNT.

WOLVES SPORTING:

JAMES GETTINGS, GILES HARVEY, JAMAL FULLER, NICK HAYNES, JACK BARNES, MATT VAUGHAN, DIMITRI DUNKLEY, MITCH CLARKE, DAN WESTWOOD (CAPT), JON LETFORD, CHRIS RABONE.

SUBS:

NICK EAGLES, ALEX MOORE, PHIL McKERDY, KYLE DELANEY, SCOTT COOPER.