Gritty Shipston Finally Succumb At Alcester
Alcester Town 3-0 Shipston Excelsior
It was cold, standing with my back to the prevailing wind which favoured Excelsior before the break but fortunately any squally rain was limited. Thus conditions were not good for the passing game of football, although to be fair, Town attempted that whenever possible. Alcester totally dominated against bottom of the league Shipston, whose one real threat was lively forward Shaye Eden, who chased hooked passes gamely but in reality, home custodian Luis Sone was largely redundant on a day when some remarkable defending by Excelsior’s Chris Dolce, Robbie Okines and Freddy Murphy in particular, plus a few smart saves by goalie Alex Welsby, kept the hosts at bay for a long time. That said, some of the Alcester finishing was profligate too and it must have come as some relief when speedy replacement Callum Debar nabbed a late brace and central striker Danny Carter netted another goal in the final moments.
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| SKIPPERS DUGMORE AND MILLS: SIMILAR STATURE... |
The visitors managed little offense before the interval, just a couple of angled passes right for Eden to chase but his deliveries bounced past posts. Other than that, there was a caution, I thought for the number 4 midfielder who was listed as Freddy Murphy on the team-sheet but in fact Murphy was wearing the number 6 shirt before half-time and thus I assumed the central defender was Neil Wilson. I commentated as such… Oops… It was Wilson who was booked and both players subsequently appeared wearing their correct numbers after the interval. Confusing? You bet…
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| GIBSON HEADBUTTS THE REFEREE... |
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| NUMBER 4 MURPHY WEARING NUMBER 6... |
Murphy (wearing 6 at the time) was quite splendid in denying Carter and Oli Gibson more than a few opportunities at goal but the pressure mounted, against the elements, yet somehow, the visitors survived. Callum Burston-Keeley had the pace to get past Shipston’s left-sided defender Matt Tye, who was fortunate not to be shown a yellow card for his attempts to stop the Alcester wide-man before the snack-break. Burston-Keeley saw a centre bounce off Welsby’s chest, a shot from Carter’s assist deflected for a corner and Welsby did well to narrow the angle when the winger was through on goal, saving strongly, although it took number 6 Murphy’s intervention at the right upright to prevent Burston-Keeley’s rebound from going into the net.
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| THE REF WARNS THE BENDING CALLUM BURSTON-KEELEY INSTEAD OF BOOKING HIM, CUZ TO WRITE THAT NAME DOWN WOULD HAVE BROUGHT ON DUSK TOO SOON... |
Still wearing 6, Murphy’s fine tackle denied Burston-Keeley again at inside-right, forcing the Town man to shoot his rebound wide and then as the half progressed, Burston-Keeley drove too high from 19 yards. Carter lifted an early chance from Burston-Keeley’s cross past the left angle of bar and post, he shot low at Welsby from a Luke Dugmore corner, fired low at Welsby again from Dugmore’s pass and finally Welsby saved smartly from Carter’s low attempt, although the forward had been flagged offside as he would be several times during the afternoon.
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| SHIPSTON SURVIVE AGAIN... |
Gibson raced clear centrally but Welsby, advancing, saved with a flung out left boot and later the Alcester forward drove another effort too high. Terrance Morton knocked a right-flank Gibson centre past the left post, although he was no doubt wrong-footed by Carter’s attempt to head the ball and home defender Lewis Cosgrove rose to beat Welsby aerially but nodded off target. Skipper Dugmore, the most accomplished creator on view went closest to scoring however in a crazy few moments of Town attacking.
Dugmore, under pressure managed a shot from inside-right which looped upwards from 15 yards, possibly off challenger Okines’ boot, the ball dropped onto the crossbar, Carter’s rebound shot was also deflected by Okines, Welsby flew like a swooping greenfinch to palm the ball aside but the chance was then scorned due to yet another offside flag, after Alcester had regained possession. Half-time duly arrived and still Shipston had shipped no goals, as the hosts had become more and more desperate.
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| MOSS AWAITS THE START OF THE SECOND PERIOD, WATCHED BY SEVERAL THOUSAND SPECTATORS... |
Dugmore had schemed, Burston-Keeley had haunted Tye, Carter had harassed opponents but Okines and Murphy (wearing 6, not 4) had prevailed. The second period began in much the same fashion, albeit wind-aided for the hosts and Murphy was, er, wearing 4, not 6…
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| THE SKIPPERS HAVE A CHAT... |
Against the wind, Shipston were again grateful for the willingness to run at home stalwart Danny Janes, of Eden. No garden was this for him though, for after cutting inside from the left one time, his shot rose too high. A near post scramble was Sone’s only other worry, as the goalie practised and honed his midfield passing skills from the position of the gloveman. Tye would receive a deserved caution later in the second period, I think hard working and hard talking visiting skipper Chris Mills might have been shown one too, as Excelsior faced a hard battle.
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| TYE IS CAUTIONED... |
Chances fell to a few players in red and black, Carter shooting well over the target, although if he had been selfish instead of passing seconds before, he might have been more successful. Substitute Debar set Carter up for a shot which was deflected by the last-ditch antics of Okines, another Carter shot might have struck an arm but the Alcester forward would eventually get his reward in the final moments. Alongside the foraging Craig Gaziewski, Matt Magee was prominent throughout in the home midfield and one of his in-swinging corners was blocked in front of his own goal by Mills, whose thigh took the force. Okines deflected a Dugmore drive, the skipper drove low at Welsby and Gibson, before his withdrawal, shot way off target, after Welsby had kicked Debar’s pass away from the lurking Carter.
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| COSGROVE MISSES... |
Morton’s fine left-wing centre saw Cosgrove stretch, 3 yards out and lift the ball over the crossbar, whilst Town defender Kieron Downey had an angled shot blocked, I think by colleague Carter, then he smashed the rebound dangerously across the face of goal. Debar though, with his electric pace, forced Tye into knots, yet the opening and long awaited goal stemmed from a left-side throw. Okines sliced a hurried clearance to the offensive right edge of the penalty-box, Morton kicked the ball low into the central mix and it squirmed for Debar to lash high into the top left corner of goal from 14 yards.
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| 1-0... |
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| ...& DEBAR THE CATALYST... |
Debar’s pace then brought the second and clinching goal. Onside, he raced clear of the Shipston defence, cut inside and with Carter the decoy, fired past Welsby and into the net from inside-right, 8 yards out.
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| DEBAR AGAIN... |
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| 2-0... |
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| ...& GAME EFFECTIVELY OVER... |
Another home replacement Jeorge Smith, clipped a 19 yard free-kick just too high, but it had been his long pass which had freed Debar for that priceless second goal. Cosgrove did receive a caution for a late foul but the third goal was one to savour on a difficult pitch, in cold, windy conditions. It involved four home players, right from defence, where Janes controlled the ball and passed it to Morton, left-side, who in turn fed Magee. Magee exchanged passes with the visionary Dugmore inside him and then slipped a fine feed round and behind Okines, allowing Carter to time his run through inside-left perfectly and beat the advancing Welsby with a slick finish. Simples…
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| CARTER SCORES... |
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| 3-0... |
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| A FINE TEAM GOAL & RELIEF... |
Shipston were well beaten in truth but their demeanour, their effort, their defensive efforts and their durability were never in question. Both striker Rich Moss and midfielder Jack Sexton put in tough shifts but in all honesty Alcester should have scored goals many times but that would have been cruel on Okines, Murphy (of course wearing his rightful 4) and goalkeeper Welsby.
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| ALL FINISHED... |
And then it rained.
And rained…
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ON THE RIGHT IS DANNY JANES, WHO BEGAN THE MOVE FOR THE THIRD GOAL.
HE IS YELLING THAT HE DESERVES THE ASSIST, SHOULD ALCESTER SCORE...
REALLY??? |
TEAMS:
ALCESTER TOWN:
LUIS SONE, DANNY JANES, LEWIS COSGROVE, CRAIG GAZIEWSKI, KIERON DOWNEY, TERRANCE MORTON, MATT MAGEE, CALLUM BURSTON-KEELEY, DANNY CARTER, LUKE DUGMORE (CAPT), OLI GIBSON.
SUBS:
BEN PATTISON, CALLUM DEBAR, JEORGE SMITH, LUKE WILLIAMS.
SHIPSTON EXCELSIOR:
ALEX WELSBY, CHRIS DOLCE, ROBBIE OKINES, FREDDY MURPHY, MATT TYE, NEIL WILSON, JACK SEXTON, CHRIS MILLS (CAPT), RICH MOSS, SHAYE EDEN, LEE ASHFIELD.
SUBS:
ALI EDEN, JOSHI GIBB.
