CLAVERDON FC 4-3 BRETFORTON O.B.: THE INDEPENDENT MATCH REPORT + IMAGES...

 Claverdon Take Their Chances, As Bret Fall Foul…

Claverdon FC 4-3 Bretforton O.B.

Football had returned to the Stratford Alliance during the week and Claverdon had picked up three points against GSH United just two days before this clash took place. Seven goals were rattled in though during this close encounter, although it has to be said that Claverdon took their chances more clinically, especially their final two strikes which must have demoralised their visitors, for they would probably have felt hard done by. Defender Callum Marshall was red-carded late in the match, although after seeing footage of the incident, it appears that he maybe got a boot to the ball as he challenged a breaking opponent with a lunge. He wasn’t really the last defender either, for Manni Singh was close at hand. However, the official, whose handling of the game was noticeably impressive and her good nature exemplary, was behind the incident (due to the quick counter attack) and of course had no independent linespersons to offer another perspective. Me? I thought at the time that it was a foul… 

DUFFY REFUSES TO PLAY LEAP-FROG WITH CLARKE...

2-0 ahead at the interval, Claverdon were dragged back to parity soon afterwards but regained the lead, lost it and then won the match late in the day, courtesy of Marc Passey’s glancing header. The game was lively, incident packed, played on a pitch which was hard and undulating but the players certainly put on a show for the spectators who had bothered to attend.

PASSEY IS AMUSED. Queen Victoria MAYBE WASN'T...

Apologies from me straight away, for I know I have made errors in the identification of some Claverdon players, due to several unfortunate issues. Firstly, Bretforton wore dark blue and the hosts were forced to change their shirts to the pink set, meaning a delay in listing their players’ names & numbers. The referee had been delayed too, on the M40 but arrived with eight minutes to spare and she was duly handed a quickly written list of the Claverdon players. The numbers included 26, 23 and 19 but no numbers were attached to replacements. I took an image of the hastily written list but consequently I have likely made some mistakes…

TARRY & COLE: SURELY A FIRM OF SOLICITORS?

Certainly after half-time, when the 9 shirt was worn by (I believe) Tom Clarke, I had assumed that it was still Jack Cooke and I credited him with the third Claverdon goal on my commentary… The linesman confirmed though that Tom Clarke had scored and of course I noticed the different hairstyle on the far side of the pitch. Number 14 by then was Mitch Colby, who was credited with a brace of assists, for Passey had given his 14 shirt to Colby and pulled on the substituted Joe Knight’s 23 shirt, just to confuse matters even more… Good job I know Marc from Racing Club Warwick matches!  

COLBY (IN PINK): 2 ASSISTS...

Lastly, I must apologise to Tom and Marc for the poor footage of their goals. Often, because the camera is hand-held, it lowers slightly in my grip and I get film of knees and boots, which happened with their goals, the only incidents in the whole game when this occurred… I watch the game properly, I don’t film by looking through the viewfinder, so when I check the footage, sometimes I am alarmed at what is there. And also what isn’t…

So, the match… Jamie Clarke was really effective in the Bret attack and deserved his two goals, whilst Claverdon’s Matt Glass (why am I thinking of paint?) was rewarded for his pacy forward play with a goal too. Glass and Alex Litwinko both shot off target during the first period, in fact Litwinko might have done better with his three attempts at goal but that pitch really was undulating and uneven…

A left-wing corner to the near post was poked into the Bret net by the bearded Damien Cartwright (I hope that is correct…) but the Bret defending was, er, loose. 

1-0...

Goal two stemmed from a loss of possession by Steve Edghill and when Glass shaped to shoot, two Bret defenders made jumping half-turns to block the attempt but Glass had shoved a low effort goalwards from outside the penalty-box and it rolled remarkably straight and just inside the left upright, with goalie Simon Large unable to skid across to save.    

2-0...

Edghill would be involved in a scuffle with Claverdon’s Barney Knight during the opening period, following a block of a tackle by the Bret man and a falling to the ground of both combatants, which resulted in a less than socially distanced scrum and scrap. Both were cautioned.

SOCIALLY DISTANCED CAUTIONS...

Jamie Clarke had found more freedom than strike partner Kamil Zieba, who was marshalled strongly by Claverdon’s Neal Duffy and Cartwright in particular. Clarke set up Tom Dixon twice on the right for shots which flew off target, he was denied himself by a scrambling advance by home ‘keeper David Dellenty and he also drove well wide from the left side of the 18 yard box, as well as firing a free-kick into Claverdon’s defensive wall. 

The best chances fell to the ebullient Aden Booth and wide player Dixon though. Booth’s near post looping header was beaten away by Dellenty but it looked certain that Dixon would rap the rebound into goal, yet somehow the effort struck the outstretched leg of the goalie. A good save… Booth had earlier shot too high but I did notice two splendid turns by midfielder JD Cole, both getting him clean away from the otherwise very effective Passey.

2-0 at the break might have been 4-0 but Claverdon wasted a five on two break, thanks to a block by Edghill and then right on the whistle, Bret’s Harrison Middleton nodded a near post corner from his own goal-line.

A short half-time recess brought the timing back to rights and suddenly, within minutes of the restart, it was 2-2. First Jamie Clarke’s deft pass finally offered Zieba the chance to force his way through the home defence, although his 25 yard drive took a slight deflection as it beat the dive of Dellenty and dropped just beneath the angle of crossbar and right pole. A spectacular effort…

ABOVE & BELOW: ZIEBA HAS PULLED A GOAL BACK...

The second goal was fortunate, for a left flank corner by Jamie Clarke was hacked at by a defender but crept into goal and as Clarke took the plaudits, the later replaced Booth, a busy performer, told me that he had flicked the ball into the net. The evidence appears to show however, that he was several metres from the ball and has no facility at all to extend his lower limbs telescopically… He’s a naughty chappie…

CLARKE'S CORNER HAS CREPT INTO GOAL, UNTOUCHED BY BOOTH, I MIGHT ADD...

On top at that point, it seemed that Bret might just cause an upset to the league leaders’ ambitions but Colby’s low right-side centre was connected with at the near post by Tom Clarke (or even Cooke) and the ball flashed into the far corner of the net. 3-2 and the hosts enjoyed a decent period of ascendancy, when the new number 16 (no idea who he was) shot straight at Large, Passey shot too high from a free-kick and then set up Tom Clarke (or Cooke) on the right but his effort went into the side netting. 

3-2 NOW...

Bret though, fought back well and after defender Morgan Ballinger had shot way too high from a set-piece situation, both he and Cole were cautioned for desperate fouls. A clever cross by Jamie Clarke evaded all and sundry, as did a right-side corner by Edghill but a pass by Max Tarry sent Jamie Clarke running on the left again and this time he slotted a smart finish inside the far post from an acute angle. 3-3 and all to play for…

CLARKE, RIGHT: FINE INDIVIDUAL GOAL...

Colby could get no angle on his header from Dan Rift’s free-kick, Large fumbled a Passey shot, albeit safely but Passey would subsequently be the hero, glancing home a Colby centre from the right with his head to win the match. Two Bret defenders were unable to get to Passey and in truth, Colby was generously given a lot of time to get in the telling centre…

PASSEY, CENTRE: SMART HEADED WINNER...

Zieba rued a late miss, turning the ball meekly into the side-netting following more fine approach work by Jamie Clarke and Marshall was sent-off by the real Sheriff, aka the hard pressed referee… 

MANY OPINIONS, ONLY ONE REFEREE & MARSHALL WAS EXILED...

If only more officials conducted themselves in the way this referee did…

So, good shows by Jamie Clarke, Cole, Adam Stanley, Middleton and Tarry for Bret, whilst Dellenty, Duffy, Glass and especially Passey were prominent for the hosts…

COLE BOOKED...

BALLINGER CAUTIONED...

Thanks to both clubs for helping to make my visit worthwhile…

SQUADS:

CLAVERDON FC:

DAVID DELLENTY, NEAL DUFFY, BARNEY KNIGHT, MATT GLASS, JACK COOKE, HENRY EDDY, MITCH COLBY, MARC PASSEY, SAM MULLER, TOMMY WILLIAMS, MARK UNITT, DAN RIFT, DAMIEN CARTWRIGHT, ALEX LITWINKO, JOE KNIGHT, OSCAR METCALF.

BRETFORTON O.B.:

SIMON LARGE, JOE KEYTE, JD COLE, ADAM STANLEY, MORGAN BALLINGER, ADEN BOOTH, JAMIE CLARKE, HARRISON MIDDLETON, TOM DIXON, MANNI SINGH, STEVE EDGHILL, KAMIL ZIEBA, CALLUM MARSHALL, MAX TARRY.