GODMANCHESTER ROVERS 1-0 RAUNDS TOWN: FULL REPORT & IMAGES...

Nose Bleed & Yeomans Spill Raunds From Vase

Godmanchester Rovers 1-0 Raunds Town

(FA Vase 2nd Qualifying Round…)

This game hinged upon four things: a ‘contentious' dismissal, some rather wasteful finishing by Rovers, the introduction of replacement Zac Knight-Percival and a single headed goal by home striker Ben Yeomans, who capitalised upon some smart wing-play by Knight-Percival. Underdogs Raunds, a step below Rovers in the non-league status hierarchy, battled manfully with ten men for a long time and might even have taken the game into overtime with a couple of late chances. The dismissal of Town ‘keeper and skipper Chris Jones certainly affected the outcome of the match and I thought at the time that his arms were raised as he reached the edge of his penalty-box and it was no surprise that the officials assumed that the high bouncing ball had struck his gloves or lower arms. However, after seeing the video clip, it does appear that maybe the goalie’s face came into contact with the ball, even drawing blood from his nose.

SOMEONE FARTED...

A LINESMAN ATTEMPTS TO BREAK CHRIS JONES' HAND...

The official decision stands, obviously but a three-game ban for Jones would surely be wrong. I felt at the time, using common sense, that even if the rather high bouncing ball had struck the goalkeeper’s arm or glove, at best it deserved a caution. Little wonder then that Jones left the field in such a temper, no doubt feeling quite cheated… 

PORTER: FROM FORWARD TO GOALKEEPER...

All of this does not mask the fact that the majority of goal opportunities fell to the hosts anyway and indeed, Town striker Dan Porter, who took over the duties of goalkeeper after the exiled Jones had left the field, performed admirably, making a few good saves. On one occasion though he hauled Yeomans to the ground like he was removing an annoying Rugby Union player from a loose maul but escaped punishment from the referee who stood not five yards from the incident… Ah, consistency… Where would we be without it? However, before the dismissal of Jones, the hosts, without playing particularly well, had pressed forward far more than their guests and the scoring opportunities had usually fallen to either Yeomans or Matt Allan, who was making his first senior start since signing for the hosts this week.

CLARK, RIGHT: VERY LITTLE SERVICE...

A wayward Yeomans lob was followed by Allen’s involvement and a physical manoeuvring of Town’s Joe Malkin by Yeomans, guarding the ball and striking a 38 yard low shot which fizzed past the right upright, worrying Jones a little. A Raunds free-kick was then messed up and this freed Allen at inside-right but although he seemed assured, his lob over Jones also dropped over the goal-frame. Jones rescued a too-short back-pass, a fine tackle by Lee Gotch prevented Yeomans from getting in a telling shot and the defender cleared the ensuing danger too. Home ‘keeper Phil Peachey’s second constructive punt towards the lively Tom Spark led to Yeomans not getting in a jump for the winger’s cross and although Jack Chandler got in a header from right-back Luke Seaber-Shinn’s fine centre, not only did Jones save the effort but an offside flag was waving anyway.

A RAUNDS PLAYER IGNORES THE BALL & ATTEMPTS TO FLY...

CHAMBERS: BUILT LIKE AN ALVIS TANK...

JONES CLEARS...

Peachey did have to advance to beat Porter to a long Raunds kick but this only served to push the home team forward more, if very frustratingly for their dugout occupants. A Raunds defender sliced a Chandler delivery over his own crossbar, Jones and left-back Rick Chambers collided going for Spark’s left-side corner but Yeomans’ 7 yard shot was somehow deflected over the target by the defending Porter and after neat work by Chandler resulted in his pass being too hard for Allen to reach, a good right-byeline centre by the wandering Spark saw Allen’s close-range near post shot deflect to safety off one of Jones’ boots. Just before the Jones dismissal, Chambers did so well to block a Yeomans volley, the rebound from which was fired too high by Spark but then a long bouncing ball saw Jones rush out, perhaps misjudge the height of the ball and thus the unpleasantness began. 

DIFFERENT SIDELINE APPROACHES: ONE COACH ATTEMPTS TO CATCH FLIES WITH NO HANDS & THE OTHER SEES HOW FAR HE CAN RAM A PENCIL UP HIS NOSE...

HYAM LEAPS WITH PORTER...

PEACHEY DENIES PORTER...

JONES IS IN TROUBLE...

"HOW DO YOU THINK MY NOSE GOT TO BLEED THEN? YOU THINK I DIVED INTO A POST JUST TO FOOL YOU?"

With Jones having left the field, his nose bloodied and his annoyance seething, Porter took the gloves and the goalie’s jersey, yet looking immediately comfortable, in truth. The resulting free-kick by the impressive Ross Munroe though was defended easily by Raunds, before a neat Spark pass set Allen up for a shot at the advancing goalie but Porter managed to deflect the young forward’s effort behind for a flag-kick. A Seaber-Shinn centre dropped onto the net, Allen’s header from Spark’s centre dropped onto the roof of the net and from another Seaber-Shin delivery, Yeomans headed over the left angle of crossbar and upright. 

ALLEN CHECKS THE HAIRSTYLE IS OK...

PORTER SHOWS HIS GOAL-KICKING STYLE...

ULTRAS?

The half ended and Raunds had managed to keep the score to 0-0, despite the sending-off of their goalie and despite the number of attacks their fine defenders had repelled. Gotch, plus Ash Meeks and Chambers had all put in a shift and Joe Chubb had locked Rovers out… Sam Coe, the home skipper had been solid enough for his team and alongside Munro had looked really decent. Simon Unwin in midfield had found space tough to come by, although Chris Hyem had rampaged about like the outcome of World War 1 was at stake and at least there was a Spark, indeed Tom, whose liveliness had promised much. Chandler’s ability to beat an opponent had shown itself a few times but dissatisfaction had been evident on the Godmanchester sidelines…

GOTCH ESCAPES A CAUTION...

...BUT CAN'T ESCAPE COE'S POWERFUL DRIVE...

"HOW MANY FINGERS?"

The tempo was noticeably higher from the hosts after the interval and Gotch was fortunate to escape a caution when he slid into an opponent on the defensive left. The ensuing free-kick by Spark sparked a bit of a melee and Coe smashed a 10 yard drive into Gotch’s crotch area, perhaps as penance for his previous misdemeanour. Good block though… Suddenly however, Raunds rounded on their hosts and went close to opening the scoring when the willing Jamie Russell fed their rather unsurprisingly quiet top scorer Ty Clark on the 18 yard line and although his first shot, a low one, was blocked by home defender Joe Furness, his second was a dipping left-boot volley and this forced Peachey to turn the ball over his crossbar.

CHANDLER HAS JUST MISSED THE TARGET...

As the hosts responded, Porter, not the tallest for a goalie, managed to touch a left-side centre onto the head of Coe who spun like a striker to whack in a 6 yard shot at the far post but Malkin ushered the effort off his goal-line and also had the presence of mind to hack the subsequent danger away, as the visitors looked a little stretched. For his sins, the ball was whacked into Malkin’s body soon afterwards too and he, like Gotch before him, was left lying like an infantryman in no man’s land during the Somme offensive. Munro raced forward with guile but drove his 28 yard shot well off target, before Raunds squandered such a great chance to make Godmanchester pay for their profligacy. Rovers were careless and suddenly James Lea, who had previously shown some neat touches for Town was clear at inside-right but when it came to shooting, his effort rose wastefully over the target.  

ALLEN IS DISMAYED...

Still Godmanchester pushed forward against the ten men and first Munro headed Spark’s corner straight at Porter then a smart rush on the right by Allen led to a cross which eventually arrived at Chandler’s feet on the left but from an acute angle he clipped his shot over the far angle of bar and upright. Frustration and desperation led to two substitutions by Rovers, whereby Jos Gwynne and Knight-Percival replaced Seaber-Shinn and the clearly disappointed Chandler. However, following a Spark shot which Porter got down well to save as he advanced, the hosts finally took the lead with a goal which owed so much to the contribution of Knight-Percival. 

1-0...

YEOMANS THE SCORER...

Knight-Percival received a pass on the left from Furness and he set about taking on both Lea and Meeks and was able to find room to deliver a cross into the 6 yard box which was well read by Yeomans and his leaning, glancing header from 3 yards dropped into the far corner of the net. It really was that simple…

CONGRATULATIONS FOR THE STRIKER...

...& RELIEF...

Munro then made a run forward for Rovers but when challenged he performed a decent imitation of a shoebill stork belly-flopping into an African pool to catch a lungfish, for which he was booked, but not for a part in a wildlife movie, just with a caution. Porter, under a little pressure from Yeomans, simply yanked the striker out of the way in front of the referee, who seemed to think that was satisfactory and Yeomans’ general ill temper was raised a degree or two in heat from that point, before Gotch was unsurprisingly cautioned and then Chubb leapt like a salmon (is that right?) to head Gwynne’s right-flank centre away from the lurking Yeomans. Charlie Fowler and Malkin made way for visiting replacements Lee Dorrington and Dave Townsend, who gave the guests some physical presence in attack for the remainder of the tie.

ISSUING YELLOW...

YEOMANS WANTS A PENALTY...

"GOTCHA..."

A weak Allen shot to Porter was followed by a Spark cross which Unwin shot against Yeomans to the relief of Porter who collected the ball easily then at the opposite end Townsend made his first telling contribution. A right-side low centre to the near post by Clark, relishing some help on offense at last, was nudged goalwards by Townsend but Peachey dropped quickly to save with a foot and the chance for parity had gone. Raunds won a couple of unproductive corners, before delightful footwork by the impressive Knight-Percival saw him cut inside but his low shot was well parried by Porter, only for Yeomans to sky the rebound carelessly from 17 yards. Charlie Dolden replaced the hard working Spark for Rovers and Josh Davis appeared in place of Town’s Clark, whose lonely afternoon with little real support had probably tired him.

PLAYGROUND SCUFFLE...

The final moments saw both teams squander even more chances and Town started it when a Russell free-kick was caught under his cross-beam by Peachey and then at the other end, a run on the right by Allen onto a fine Unwin pass led to a low feed across the 6 yard box for Yeomans to convert, only he didn’t because somehow instead of sweeping the ball into the net first time, he stopped it with the outside of his right boot, Meeks hacked the ball clear and the opportunity had gone begging. Munro was then involved in a short free-kick with Knight-Percival and thumped a low drive from 18 yards which Porter claimed smartly then a good pass from Munro saw Allen slip clear of Gotch at inside-right but Chambers’ back-pass was short to Porter who did so well to get a glove to Allen’s low flick and Chubb was able to clear in comfort. Instantly, the visitors so nearly took the tie to overtime when a good pass by Davis sent Townsend running at Furness at inside-right and the tall Town player tricked the left-back, before beating Knight-Percival too to get towards the byeline with only Peachey to beat but his low cross-shot flew just wide of the far stick and with that chance, the hopes of the undermanned Raunds team were gone…

TOWNSEND (IN YELLOW) HAS JUST FIRED WIDE IN ADDED TIME...

Both teams will of course have differing views on the dismissal of Jones and I have mine but that moment gave Raunds a mountain to climb and in truth, despite being under a good deal of pressure, they nearly pulled off a shock result with that late Townsend shot. The catalyst for the Rovers win which of course after all their goalscoring opportunities they fully deserved, was the introduction of Knight-Percival, whose fine control was matched by his seeming calmness in possession, a sign of a good player… Yeomans might have netted a bagful on another day and Allen will improve Rovers’ goals tally too this season, no doubt at all. Coe was strong alongside Munro and Hyem and Spark were usually involved in the trenches and on the flanks respectively. Peachey looked safe enough between the posts too… 

THE REFEREE: A PIVOTAL GAME...

Raunds were resilient, never stopped and in Chubb and Gotch, they fielded two stalwart defenders. Chambers and Meeks were decent as full-backs and Russell was often effective in midfield but apart from the central defenders and a few swift runs by Lea, Porter deserves real credit for his goalkeeping performance…

THE END...

I won the raffle too… But kept quiet about it.

It’s what I do…

TEAMS:

GODMANCHESTER ROVERS:

PHIL PEACHEY, LUKE SEABER-SHINN, JOE FURNESS, CHRIS HYEM, SAM COE (CAPT), ROSS MUNRO, TOM SPARK, SIMON UNWIN, BEN YEOMANS, MATT ALLEN, JACK CHANDLER.

SUBS:

JOS GWYNNE, CHARLIE DOLDEN, ZAC KNIGHT-PERCIVAL, TOM MORAN, ELKANAH SIBANDA.

RAUNDS TOWN:

CHRIS JONES (CAPT), ASH MEEKS, RICK CHAMBERS, JAMIE RUSSELL, LEE GOTCH, JOE CHUBB, JOE MALKIN, CHARLIE FOWLER, TY CLARK, DAN PORTER, JAMES LEA.

SUBS:

PERRY BROWN, LEE DORRINGTON, JOSH DAVIS, DAVE TOWNSEND, MATTY HARRIS.