REDDITCH BOROUGH 0-7 GNP SPORTS: MATCH REPORT AND MORE IMAGES...

Redditch Efforts No Match For Partly-Clinical GNP…

Redditch Borough 0-7 GNP Sports

This rather difficult to figure match ended with an emphatic victory on the road for the Raiders, who sniped five goals, netted a justifiable penalty and were gifted a harshly awarded added-time spot-kick too. GNP also squandered several second period opportunities and the final scoreline could easily have seen the visitors into double figures. And yet Boro’ played some good football at times and boasted fine displays by skipper Jamie ‘The Beard’ Hatfield, fellow central defender Joe Denham, creative midfielder Khurum Iqbal and most certainly central striker Billy ‘Give Me A Quick Fag After The Game’ Garvey. Garvey was a workaholic, holding up the ball, fending off defenders and showed aggressive pace and a physical aptitude for combat. Yet Boro were trounced…

MATT TURNER FACES CHARLIE COOK...

Three first-half goals made the Boro cause tough enough but whenever inroads were made into the Raiders’ defence, Aaron Dickens and Wil Beach performed strongly as the full-backs but Matty Compton and the returning Jin Dhaliwal, despite the threat of the irrepressible Garvey, played with pride, concentration and wholeheartedness. Tommy Rawlings scored three times for Sports, Lewis Commins’ pace and directness ought to have brought him more than a one goal reward, Scott Hammond netted once, following a goal drought and replacements Ryan Ball and Jason Evans scored soft goals too. One felt some sympathy for home goalie Anthony Swain, for he made some important saves but he also conceded the first penalty and will wonder how Ball’s speculative effort bounced off his right glove and into net. I thought he had made a save. I was wrong…  

HAMMOND TACKLES HALL...

The home offense flattered to deceive really, for although there were attacks of some danger, rarely was GNP ‘keeper James Wardle made to sweat. Moves broke down too often within 20 yards of the GNP goal but there was rarely any wing threat either, meaning Garvey had to fight centrally for any advantage. Before the break, Callum Hall’s low centre was hacked clear by Dhaliwal, Rob the Bruce’s near post header went wide, Garvey shot low at Wardle, then sliced an effort wide and finally drove a 25 yard effort too high. And that was all, bar a rush from goal by Wardle to reach a through-pass before Hall could capitalise. There was more activity at the other end however…

COMPTON WRESTLES GARVEY...

Commins had an early shot fielded by Swain, then raced onto a long Rob Prinzel pass and beat Swain to the ball at inside-left, rounded the forlorn goalie, cut in near the byeline and smacked a rising shot high into the net, as Hatfield tried to cover for his goalie. 0-1 and Commins nearly repeated the trick later in the half but his final touch was just loose enough for Swain to snatch up the ball on that occasion. Charlie ‘Le Chef’ Cook was the left-sided attacker for GNP and his disciplined performance was welcomed by his coaches. His right-boot centre was headed past Swain by Rawlings, beating the leap of home left-back Cam Bennett and the guests were 0-2 ahead. Rawlings would see a 30 yard volley from Cook’s assisting header go too high and then a low shot blocked in a melee, following which Prinzel drove well wide from 18 yards.

0-1: COMMINS...

0-2: RAWLINGS...

COMMINS IS DOWN...

PENALTY...

CAUTION FOR SWAIN.
BUT AREN'T FLAMINGOES PINK?

RAWLINGS NETS FROM THE SPOT...

Commins though made a breathtaking break after dispossessing Bruce and he streaked past Bennett, Hatfield and Denham, only to be sent crashing to the ground by Swain, who was cautioned for his misdemeanour as well as conceding an obvious penalty. Rawlings rapped a low spot-kick into the bottom left corner of the net, off the unfortunate diving Swain’s right mitten. An overlapping rush by Beach was spoilt by going too far and slipping the ball into the side-netting but in truth, the damage had already been done and Boro’ were in deep trouble, despite having had both slope and breeze in their favour before the interval. A cool trick by Prinzel (check the video clip…) then led to Cook volleying too high as the half ended.

DISCUSSIONS...

Throughout the game, Denham seemed comfortable in possession for Boro’, Iqbal looked clever enough to conjure a scoring chance at any time and Garvey, the main man, continued his battles with Compton and Dhaliwal, probably the best contests of the encounter. Yet all the hosts could produce after the snack-break were a low Bennett shot which Wardle fumbled away for Compton to hoof clear, a long shot wide by Hatfield and low efforts wide by Jamie Walsh and Charles Wilkinson. Garvey did claim a penalty late on but Compton’s trip was outside the penalty-box, although Garvey retained his displeasure at the referee, who had offered Boro’ some advantage after a previous foul several yards back and awarded them a free-kick from the original spot. The irate Garvey’s subsequent free-kick shot was caught by Wardle.

COMMINS WANTS TO BE A FLAMINGO TOO...

Despite a fair deal of possession by Redditch, GNP sprang forth like greyhounds from traps on counter attacks down the slope but their finishing was often less than sleek. Commins raced clear at inside-left but Swain advanced to save well and the ball then rolled for Rawlings surely to shoot a goal but Boro’ replacement Joel Bell made a fine and tumbling goal-line stop, his legs whirling like windmill sails. Sprinting clear twice more, Commins first lifted the ball away from Swain but off target at the left upright for a defender to clear and the rapid forward’s final act was to be denied by Swain’s knees, as he closed in on goal. Swain also blocked Prinzel’s 18 yard left-footer with his legs but the powerful ‘Laird’s Son’ Prinzel also planted a strange header 12 yards wide from a smart Cook centre.

HAPPY HAMMOND...

Rawlings tried his luck twice from free-kicks and the first from the left side bounced up against the left post, whilst the second attempt from a more central position struck Redditch’s defensive wall. Apart from his shot which had been cleared by Bell, Rawlings also pulled a great chance wide, following good approach play by Hammond, Commins and the wily Cook. A low Rawlings centre bounced off Denham into Swain’s grateful gloves, as GNP continued to plague Boro’ on the break. Hammond was having a fine second period for the visitors, seemingly more effective when in a freer role and he added goal four when he converted Commins’ low knock across goal towards the right flank past the falling Swain from 9 yards out.

Beach missed a real chance to add another goal to the GNP breakout tally when a fine Hammond pass released Cook at inside-left, only for Swain to dive at ‘Le Chef’s’ feet and deflect the ball across goal, where Commins fell as Hatfield defended desperately. Beach though somehow ballooned the loose ball over the target from 2 yards… Ah, training in fancy dress looms for the Beach Boy… And then the substitutes arrived to score ridiculously easily… First Ball’s 19 yard left-foot shot appeared to have been gloved over the left angle by Swain but in fact he had merely shoved it deep into the net and when Evans appeared as a replacement, he poked in a soft, scrappy finish at the left post after Rawlings’ glancing header from Beach’s fine cross had fallen at his feet.

BALL IN ACTION AFTER HIS GOAL...

It really could not get any worse for Boro’ but, er, it did… In the final action of the afternoon, the third GNP substitute Nathan Stoute, who had fallen in a melee already, also challenged for headers at two late corners and had then totally misplaced a pass for an offensive colleague, suddenly erupted into a rush on the right side of the 18 yard box. Iqbal was on his right and Hatfield on his left, when suddenly Stoute seemed to stutter off balance like a twig had jammed in one wheel of his roller-skate and he dropped to his knees, arms thrown desperately aloft, as if pleading to a Roman Emperor for his life… The referee whistled for a penalty and Hatfield was cautioned, joining Swain, Bennett, Garvey and GNP’s Corey Brooks in the yellow card club. Rawlings’ cheeky and gently lifted penalty dropped almost sadly into the middle of the net, as Swain threw himself a long way to his right and Boro’s frustrating afternoon was over…

EVANS HAS SCORED...

0-7 & THE END...

The strength in midfield of Prinzel and skipper Brooks was palpable for the visitors but with the defence as stubborn as Sham Alam’s pet mule, this was always going to be GNP’s day. Fair play to Garvey, Hatfield, Iqbal and Denham in particular for Boro’ though, for they took the game to their opponents. And never shirked… 

Me? Horror.

The Bodging, my badger travelling companion had posed for a photo on a large ground-roller at around 2.15pm. Somehow, mistakenly, I had left him there, only realising after beginning the journey back to Solihull. I thus turned round, raced my car back to the ground and ran the 300 metres or so to the roller and…

…there he was…

Thanks to all the folks there who let a sleeping badger lie…

TEAMS:

REDDITCH BOROUGH:

ANTHONY SWAIN, MATT TURNER, CAM BENNETT, KHURUM IQBAL, JAMIE HATFIELD (CAPT), JOE DENHAM, CHARLES WILKINSON, JAMIE WALSH, BILLY GARVEY, CALLUM HALL, ROB BRUCE.

SUBS:

ALEX BIRCH, HARRY ROGERS, JOEL BELL, PHIL SARGENT, GEORGE WESTWOOD.

GNP SPORTS:

JAMES WARDLE, WIL BEACH, AARON DICKENS, JIN DHALIWAL, MATTY COMPTON, ROB PRINZEL, CHARLIE COOK, COREY BROOKS, TOMMY RAWLINGS, LEWIS COMMINS, SCOTT HAMMOND.

SUBS:

RYAN BALL, NATHAN STOUTE, NATHAN CADBY, JASON EVANS.