ARDLEY UNITED 0-1 NORTH LEIGH: THE MATCH REPORT...

 Strange Weather, Stern Officiating & A Tedious Contest…

Ardley United 0-1 North Leigh

The Mowdog’s thoughts…

Yes, the encounter was rather uninspiring, yes, the officiating was unnecessarily fussy and yes, the conditions at the Nolan Oils Ground were not conducive for a spectacle. Indeed, I could only muster eleven and a half minutes of video action, which included several images and a slow-motion version of North Leigh’s winning goal. 

Huge thanks though to both clubs for finding the time to equip me with the names and numbers of their players to work with and I apologise now for any errors I may have made…

THE REF EXPLAINS THAT RULES ARE RULES, SO THERE...

Very few goal attempts littered the three 30 minute periods although it appeared that some players reminded the harassed referee that he needed the teams to change ends half-way through period two…

Ardley took the game to their Step 3 guests in the opening period and missed one or two chances, whilst North Leigh took one of two they created. A dismissal for a North Leigh sideliner and then immediately a sending-off for left-back Michael Hopkins, added to by wholesale substitutions, saw the game become unpredictable but often careless. 

Against ten opponents Ardley were denied by visiting goalie Eddie Brearey twice, including a fine penalty save with around ten minutes remaining and Matt Nutt did well to nod a decent clipped effort by Darius Browne from his goal-line. However the visitors, despite some decent possession, could only muster two efforts off target after the dismissals, both from first period goalscorer Jordan Alves whose performance was sprinkled with moments of creativity.  

ODHIAMBO PLAYS SLEEPING RABBITS BUT SOMEONE ELSE NEEDS A SCRATCH...

The heat, the unlikely raindrops, the arcing rainbow, the early switching on of the floodlights and the remaining sunlight, caused a strange atmosphere for filming in and even taking photos with a decent focus became tough.

North Leigh held onto their lead, scored when they were being seriously examined by Ardley’s passing offense, until the rather tame end to the proceedings but it is likely that the officials were not popular chappies after the match had been concluded.

The referee… 

The guy seemed a little over zealous, fussy and it was rather like he was being assessed from the grandstand, whilst officiating a really important cup-tie. After the first 30 minutes had elapsed he told a player to fetch the ball which had rolled towards the touchline to my left. No player moved in that direction…

There was then a problem with a dropped ball incident, after it had struck the referee and North Leigh felt that the official had done the wrong thing by unexpectedly dropping it at the feet of an Ardley player, setting their hosts on the attack with North Leigh unable to react. When the attack failed, the official instantly raced across to a North Leigh staff member who was offering the referee a bollocking, after which the aggressor was exiled…

"LEAVE THIS SPACE, CUZ I DON'T WANT YOU HERE..." 

Immediately, a linesperson alerted the referee to the fact that Hopkins had given him some stick, so the main official strode across the pitch, was involved in another altercation and red-carded Hopkins…

"...AND YOU CAN JOIN YOUR MATE, MR HOPKINS..."

It was all so unnecessary and totally out of keeping with what was supposed to have been a pre-season workout for United and the visiting Millers.

It has often been agreed that in these types of games, a player who has transgressed would simply be substituted and that generally sufficed. However, Hopkins might now end up missing league or cup matches for his team as a result of what happened at Ardley… 

Badly done, officials, although I heard Hopkins admit that he had used foul language, so I guess he was honest enough…

Later in the contest, Ardley’s Leam Howards was fouled by Millers’ skipper Luke Carnell as he ran at the visiting defence but the forward managed to keep his feet and went on several more yards before being fouled again by another Miller in a more advantageous position for a free-kick shot. However, the referee made Ardley take their free-kick from the position of the first challenge…

The close-calls…

Alex Stott, one of the less tall combatants and poorly marked too, nodded a free-kick wide for Ardley early on, followed by a poke and then a header wide by Odhiambo, from assists by the busy and tricky Browne, then Jordi Ngathe. Odhiambo took another smart Browne pass but trickled his effort from the left side of the penalty-box only centimetres wide of the right stick.

After an early chance for Levi Steele, who was denied by home goalie Josh Pratt’s legs, the central striker then assisted Alves who got away from home defender Lewis Not the Skipper Gabbidon on the right side of the penalty-area. As he moved towards the near post, Alves shoved a left-footer past Pratt and the ball entered the net just inside the far upright. 

THE EXCITEMENT OF GOING A GOAL AHEAD...
OK, MAYBE NOT.

Later in the match, home replacement Jim Casbierd got away on the left but was denied by a low save by Brearey, falling left, then Nutt headed Browne’s measured attempt from the goal-line. Brearey fielded another Browne shot from downtown, before replacement Elliott Osborne-Ricketts moved inside the Millers’ 18 yard box, faced by defender Scott Isherwood. The Ardley man appeared to turn inside his opponent, then fell, although even the video clip suggests no real contact by the North Leigh player.

I guess then that Brearey’s dive left to save Odhiambo’s ensuing spot-kick was justice of a kind…

A FAMILY MEMBER SMILED WHEN ODHIAMBO MISSED THE PENALTY...

Despite a few spirited pieces of creativity by the Millers’ George Nash late on, the guests managed only two shots by Alves, one wide of the right pole, the other, a searing, rising effort  from 25 yards which flashed wide of the same upright…

IT RAINED WHEN BREARY CHANGED ENDS...

The final words…

Some neat offence by the hosts in the opening half-hour was surely galling for North Leigh and subsequently it would be Odhiambo’s finishing which let the Southern League outfit off the hook. 

Certainly the visitors dominated possession late on, albeit with ten men but Ardley always maintained their threat, with Howards’ rushes and the continued thoughtful passing by Lewis The Skipper Gabbidon who was seemingly always available in the depths of midfield. Stott and Dec Benjamin were often useful in the home midfield but Browne’s deep ‘number 10’ play was a problem at times for the visitors. Home defenders Liam Talboys and Josh Tooke looked efficient in the middle and were largely in command.

North Leigh performed as a team certainly, with the two Aarons, Heap and McCreadie looking industrious without really supplying Steele and Amer Adwah with much mouthwatering service.

BROWNE, RIGHT OF IMAGE, LIT UP MOMENTS...

Ben Brown, skipper Carnell and later substitute Nutt were usually efficient in defence, apart from some weak marking early on when both Stott and Odhiambo were presented with unchallenged headers but interestingly, when Nutt lost the ball once to Casbierd, the visiting spectators were more interested in the speed of Nutt’s recovery than his error, which certainly impressed them.

However Brearey made the important saves, Alves netted the all important goal (for even though this was a workout, no player likes not to win…) and North Leigh will know that come the new season and their expected starters have bedded in, they will look more comfortable.

Ardley looked slick at times and at Step 5, slick can be deadly…

SQUADS:

ARDLEY UNITED:

JOSH PRATT, JORDI NGATHE, LEWIS NOT THE SKIPPER GABBIDON, LIAM TALBOYS, JOSH TOOKE, LEWIS THE SKIPPER GABBIDON, MASON COURTNEY, DECLAN BENJAMIN, ANACLET ODHIAMBO, DARIUS BROWNE, ALEX STOTT, LEAM HOWARDS, JIM CASBIERD, ELLIOTT OSBORNE-RICKETTS, DARRELL HARRIS, BEN WILLOUGHBY, NUMBER 11.

NORTH LEIGH:

EDDIE BREAREY, SCOTT ISHERWOOD, MICHAEL HOPKINS. AARON HEAP, LUKE CARNELL (CAPT), BEN BROWN, JORDAN ALVES, AARON MCCREADIE, LEVI STEELE, AMER ADWAH, JACK ALEXANDER, ANDY GUNN, OWEN DORE, MATT NUTT, LANCE WILLIAMS, AARON WOODLEY, GEORGE NASH.