STOURPORT SWIFTS 0-1 WESTFIELDS: MATCH REPORT & IMAGES...

Westfields Grateful To Thomas’ Left Boot For Keeping Them In Title Race…

Stourport Swifts 0-1 Westfields

So I was on holiday in Sidmouth, Devon, as a kid and my family was staying in a B&B, run by Rose and Wilf Gee, who kept bees. Wilf said that my dad and I could join him in the woods one evening to watch for badgers. We hid behind a fallen tree. Nothing of any note happened for a very long time, until Wilf spotted a badger behind another log, watching US… Success, eventually, then.

WILF, ME & THE BEES...

This Midland League Premier game reminded me of that evening in Sidmouth: waiting a long time for something exciting to happen… And eventually it did, following 85 minutes or so of really poor quality and entertainment, for suddenly, Aidan Thomas turned some 20 yards from goal, evaded the marking of Swiftman Lewis Platt and drove home a fine goal, via a post. Like the appearance of that badger all those years ago, I guess the goal was worth waiting for but the remainder of the fare was disappointing. Losses of possession, untidy tackling, lots of stoppages, some wayward passing and two very tame offenses made the encounter a tough watch, even for the Westfields fan who prompted the referee throughout the match, like the official was an actor in a pantomime who couldn’t remember his lines… 

LET'S TOSS...

MILLS LOOKS AS IF THE BALL HAS MAGICALLY APPEARED...

Obviously, Swifts were out to disrupt Westfields’ attacking fluency, which I had witnessed at Racing Club Warwick earlier in the season during a cup-tie. Yet that quality was sadly missing in the claret and blue ranks on this night at Walshes Meadow, despite the laudable efforts of Thomas and the effort of John Mills, although of course, not the famous English actor, who is dead. So little goalmouth action was evident in the match that even my dictaphone began to yawn. Before the break, the hosts managed only a couple of threats from forwards Drew Canavan and Nick MacPherson, plus a low driven cross by left-back Platt which no Swift moved for. The visitors proved little better in attack, although perhaps they looked slightly the better moving forward on a few occasions.

PLATT IN TROUBLE...

SLEVIN IS USUALLY ABOUT WHEN THERE'S HASSLE, BUT WHERE IS HE?

A smart, short free-kick failed to come off, as Ben Miller’s pass for Thomas was struck too hard, with nearly all of the other players herded at the far edge of the 18 yard box, which fooled Stourport. A poor pass by home goalie Dom Richards resulted in Mills firing the ball across the goalmouth, a short corner routine led to a low shot by Miller which Richards picked up like he was retrieving his dropped wallet and finally a Miller free-kick was headed downwards by a Fieldsman but Swifts hacked the ball clear. And that was it, in truth… Both visiting full-backs were having strong games though, the two Sams, Gwynne and Rawlings but the errors made in midfield and in attack were frustrating. The hosts closed their opponents down well enough but creativity was at a premium.

"PLEASE BE LENIENT REF, I'D HAVE HIM AS A FAVOURITE AUNT, ANY DAY..."

Surely the second period had to improve but in fairness, there was little to admire. A Martin Slevin free-kick from the right for Swifts was headed over his own crossbar well by Gwynne, later on Murray did well to create space on the left side of the penalty-box but he slipped just before shooting too high from 16 yards and Murray also shot way off target from distance following an added-time free-kick. Another free-kick drifted away from two home players, as well but during the fractious second-half, four Swifts were cautioned for tough fouls: Platt, Lewis Clarke, replacement Elliot Lees and also Matt Hanson, who committed another foul after his booking but escaped further admonishment. Ah, it’s good be lexical and use different words…  

JONES HUGS THE MATCHWINNER...

The guests, like marathon runners reaching ‘the wall’, kept at it and yet rarely troubled the home defence. A run on the right by Jamie Molyneux during which two heavy touches almost lost him possession, ended with a miscued shot wide, which nudged against Richards’ knees and might have been adjudged a corner perhaps… Mills saw a low, angled effort deflected for a corner by Swiftman Kirk Layton but then an incident occurred which might just have summed up the whole evening; a left-wing corner fell to him just beyond the far stick and he miscued the ball completely and it bounced over the byeline for a goal-kick. In his annoyance, Mills lashed out at the bouncing ball with a right boot and it flew straight at the innocent Richards, who beat it down, fortunately…

TYPICAL ACTION...

Midfielder and all-round busy person Dan Kerr drove a fine shot just over the left angle of crossbar and upright, after Clarke had blocked substitute Craig Jones’ low effort. However, the game’s most effective player, Thomas was close to scoring twice and also rapped home the winner. First, his slightly mis-hit left-booter rose really high and dropped onto the top of the crossbar, then he scored, firing a great shot from just outside the penalty-area and the belly-high effort smacked against the inside of the right upright, past the desperate dive of Richards and cannoned into the opposite side of the net. Mills drove too high on a break, after the goal had been scored, then slipped Thomas in at inside-left but the forward’s angled shot flew into the side-netting. 

RICHARDS HAS BEEN BEATEN...

WESTFIELDS CELEBRATE AND BREATHE SIGHS OF RELIEF...

And then we all went home. 

There had much effort on view, of that there is no doubt, for Slevin and Layton were the Swifts’ workhorses and Miller, Kerr and Alex Hainhault slogged about for the guests but with both defences generally able to cope comfortably with their foes, neither team impressed on offense. Skippers Matt Fulloway for Swifts and Kane Kahaki for Fields were solid enough and indeed, Kahaki even managed an offensive header late on but failed to trouble Richards. Their side-kicks, Matt Hanson for Stourport and Sam Plane for the visitors were also belligerent, although Matt Hanson did dish out a couple of rough challenges. And why not… 

Subsequently, perhaps Stourport felt cheated of a point for a draw, but inevitably, Westfields would feel delighted with the three points, despite rarely finding any real form.

I drove back to Solihull along Doverdale Lane, past the Honey Bee pub, which reminded me of Wilf’s hobby in Sidmouth but sadly, I saw no badger in my headlights. My badger hand-puppet, The Bodging sat on the passenger seat however, as on this occasion, I had remembered to take him home…  

TEAMS:

STOURPORT SWIFTS:

DOM RICHARDS, JOE HANSON, LEWIS PLATT, KIRK LAYTON, MATT HANSON, MATT FULLOWAY (CAPT), LEWIS CLARKE, MARTIN SLEVIN, NICK MACPHERSON, DREW CANAVAN, R’MAR MURRAY.

SUBS:

JIM HANSON, MARK DANKS, MYLES HALL, JOE BILLINGHAM, ELLIOT LEES. 

WESTFIELDS:

KEIRON BLACKBURN, SAM GWYNNE, SAM RAWLINGS, KANE KAHAKI (CAPT), SAM PLANE, ALEX HAINHAULT, BEN MILLER, DAN KERR, JOHN MILLS, AIDAN THOMAS, JAME MOLYNEUX.

SUBS:

OLLE BUTLER, KEANU COOPER, CARLOS MOREIRA, CRAIG JONES, IAN HAVARD.