LISKEARD AFC 2-3 KEYNSHAM TOWN (FA VASE ROUND 2): THE INDEPENDENT, HONEST, LIGHTHEARTED MATCH REPORT...

 Keynsham Crack Liskeard’s Vase Hopes

Liskeard AFC 2-3 Keynsham Town

(FA Vase Round 2)

The Mowdog’s thoughts…

It wasn’t supposed to drizzle. It did though. So, against my wishes I was forced to try to film from inside the grandstand whilst dodging the vertical poles supporting the roof. The light from the elements wasn’t great either but the match produced by these two teams was a worthy one. However, on the evidence of the opening half-hour or so, there was no likelihood of Town going into the half-time interval leading 1-2, for they had been the poorer team until they were awarded a penalty by the referee and then got the benefit of a suspiciously offside second goal.

DRIZZLE CLOUDS...

That second goal might have been Stef Lee’s but there was surely a missed offside decision by the linesman, for Lee looked well in front of home defender Jack Podmore when he moved onto Will Hailston’s left-flank pass, who was clearly behind his recipient colleague when he made his assist. It was more likely an own-goal too in fairness, although most strikers would have claimed it, I guess. Even visiting full-back George Rooke checked over at the nearby linesman as the ball went into goal so he was probably wondering about Lee’s positioning too… Or maybe he wasn’t.

THE VASE TOSS...

Keynsham won the match because they fielded Dan Cottle but also due to the fact that the enterprising Liskeard team failed to capitalise upon their quick start. They passed the ball surprisingly quickly on the soft surface and linked really smartly at times, with Jarrad Woods, James Lorenz and Max Gilbert the main characters. 

The slower starting visitors, showing just 14 names on their team-sheet compared to AFC’s 19, were stodgy at times but scored at exactly the right moments and ‘keeper Seth Locke made some crucial saves although in truth the guests limited home striker Nick Aplin and attacking left-back Ben Collins more and more as the match wore on. 

Thus the Step 5 team won their second FA Vase tie in Cornwall by 2-3 after succeeding by the same score at Newquay in the previous round.

THE REFEREE BELIEVES HE CAN FLY...

Dan Cottle…

Buckland’s Levi Landricombe had already mentioned Cottle to me as Keynsham’s feature player and so it proved to be, with a performance of strength, elusive rushes in possession and some incisive passing. He was foiled early, as Hailston’s pass sent him into the penalty-box but the outrushing home goalie Luke Gwillam reached the ball first to block the midfielder’s progress.

A couple of first period Cottle shots were dealt with comfortably by Gwillam but the Town playmaker set up Hailston to assist Lee (or Liskeard’s Podmore) to score goal two for the visitors and later cleverly assisted Hailston for the clinching third goal.

DANCEY: "THE VIDEO CAMERA IS OVER THERE, SO SMILE WHEN YOU'RE FACING THAT WAY..."

Will Hailston…

Two goals and an assist suggests that Keynsham’s top goalscorer was one of the MVP contenders and indeed he might have snagged a hat-trick, as a late angled effort deflected slightly onto the home crossbar following a loose pass by AFC skipper Dylan Peel.

Hailston’s opener was a spot-kick after impressive home right-back Harvey Mullis was adjudged to have tripped Jordan Metters whose fall was reminiscent of a shoebill stork pouncing upon an unsuspecting lungfish. A low penalty into the bottom left corner of the net beat Gwillam easily and regained parity for the guests.

WHAT IT MEANS TO SCORE IN THE VASE...

Hailston moved onto Cottle’s pass on the left flank soon afterwards and shoved a low centre towards the near post but it did appear that Lee was suspiciously offside as he and Podmore attempted to get to the ball which deflected into the far corner of goal. No flag, a lead for Keynsham and deflation for the Blues.

Hailston’s second goal after the interval which came on a break was partly due to poor marking by Liskeard, partly due to Cottle’s ingenuity and partly due to a cute finish by Hailston. The home defenders completely ignored Cottle on the 18 yard line who clipped a smart pass through a gap into which Hailston had moved, leaving ball-watching defenders behind. From an acute angle, right of goal, Hailston nudged the ball past Gwillam.

The striker also saw Gwillam save a 15 yard drive at his right post before the break and he had another shot blocked in the same attack but he would certainly have been pleased with his day’s work.

GWILLAM: NO CHANCE WITH THE GOALS CONCEDED...

Jordan Metters…

He grew into the match, rolled a low shot wide of the left post and sliced another effort wide from a quick free-kick as the first period ended. He also won the penalty but was denied after the break when Gwillam flung out a left boot to save his shot.

Other Keynsham offense…

Effective defender Jordan Anstey nodded wide before the interval, midfielder Matt Martin drove too high after the recess following more smart play by the effervescent Cottle, and replacement Jamie Noble miscued a very late effort wide from a Hailston assist.

James Lorenz…

The surprising statistic was that Lorenz failed to score, for he was a thorn in the Ks’ defence all afternoon. Early on he had a shot saved low by Locke although Ben Holter maybe should have done better than shoving the rebound past a post, then Lorenz shot into the side-netting following a short, right-flank corner. 

The elusive forward then latched onto a clever Woods pass, veered wide and left of Locke but could only find the side-netting, albeit from an acute angle. When he did find the net he was flagged offside but really Holter should have scored himself instead of letting the ball roll on to Lorenz at the left stick.

LOCKE: CRUCIAL SAVES BEFORE DARKNESS FELL...

Early in the second period a one-two with Woods led to Lorenz reaching almost to the right byeline but his angled effort struck the upper reaches of the near vertical although at the time it seemed that the shot had rapped the crossbar. His later badly sliced drive from inside-right, following a neat free-kick ruse by Woods, flew out for a Keynsham throw on the opposite flank. But we won’t mention that…

Nick Aplin…

The right-sided forward began the game so well for AFC but faded after the half-time stoppage for pasties and scrumpy although I wondered why he didn’t move to a more central position in the closing stages as he would have provided a more physical prospect than his slighter colleagues in attack.

His angled effort from the right in the opening exchanges was well saved by Locke and from the ensuing corner Podmore’s downward header was blocked by Anstey. Aplin’s volley from Lorenz’s left-side free-kick was splendidly blocked by Town left-back Luke Banfield and of course it was Aplin’s next shot from a similar position which led to the opening goal. It was saved by Locke but the loose ball rolled across goal for Holter to side-foot into the gaping net, with Rooke left vacant behind him.

Aplin was rarely a threat after the break so Banfield must take some credit for that.

THORP (LEFT) SCORED LATE ON FOR THE BLUES, WHILST WOODS (10) IMPRESSED THROUGHOUT...

Max Gilbert…

Clearly he was the hub of the home midfield but on the day his shooting was awry. A low first-half volley zoomed way wide and another effort flew too high, whilst after the break a free-kick went straight to Locke, a shot from downtown drifted well off target and a very ambitious 38 yard free-kick was also wide of the mark.

The remainder of the Liskeard goal attempts…

Holter cut inside early on but his low shot at the near post was smothered wide by Locke who then tipped a right-flank delivery by Mullis over his crossbeam.

THE SKIPPER 'APPEELS' TO HIS TEAM FOR A CONCERTED EFFORT ON THE DAY... (GET IT?)

After half-time Podmore’s angled effort from the left byeline was palmed out for a corner but at least the Blues made a game of it when they pulled back to 2-3.

A Woods free-kick from inside-right drifted towards the far post where Locke fumbled the ball and was then baulked by two defenders, allowing the right boot of Macauley Thorp to prod the bouncing ball over the goal-line. Late on, Rooke sliced the ball low towards his own goal and forced a decent save by Locke to keep his door shut to the ailing Blues…

GAME OVER...

The final words…

Despite some fine play Liskeard maybe found the physical presence of Town too much in the end although they could so easily have progressed with more careful finishing. 

However some untidy passing from midfield in the final third as AFC attempted to salvage the game hurt the `blues and allowed the Ks to see out the match.

The outstanding Cottle was yellow-carded as he was substituted at the end of the game when Keynsham were time-wasting near a corner-flag, whilst both skipper Jack Dancey and Banfield received cautions too.

Woods was really good for Liskeard at times, displaying some fine invention and he and Lorenz were the main threats for the hosts.

Nice to see the birds Rooke and Martin in the Town team as well as a Noble, also a Peel and a Bell in the Liskeard outfit… Hmm…

Thanks to Liskeard for the kind welcome, the admission as ‘media', the complimentary programmes and the key fob…

Must be Christmas soon… 

THE CORNISH SKY...

TEAMS:

LISKEARD AFC:

LUKE GWILLAM, HARVEY MULLIS, BEN HOLTER, JACK PODMORE, DYLAN PEEL (CAPT), MACAULEY THORP, MAX GILBERT, JAMES LORENZ, NICK APLIN, JARRAD WOODS, BEN COLLINS.

SUBS:

JAMES ROWE, HARRY BELL, WILL TUCKER, KAI BURNS, MATT OUTTRAM,  LEE ROBINSON, ROB CLEVELAND.

KEYNSHAM TOWN:

SETH LOCKE, GEORGE ROOKE, LUKE BANFIELD, SCOTT GREGORY, JORDAN ANSTEY, JACK DANCEY (CAPT), MATT MARTIN, JORDAN METTERS, WILL HAILSTON,  STEF LEE, DAN COTTLE.

SUBS:

SAM JONES, JAMIE NOBLE, MATT BROWN.