KENILWORTH SPORTING 2-2 KNOWLE FC: THE MOWDOG'S MATCH REPORT...

 A Point Apiece But The Robins Will Be Chirpin’ Mad…

Kenilworth Sporting 2-2 Knowle FC

The Mowdog’s thoughts…

This was always a competitive match but in truth, the busier goalkeeper was Sporting’s George Woodward. Knowle were considerably the more accomplished team during the opening 45, in which midfielders Owen Ward, Reece Hewitt and Dylon Bennett were generally dominant. They would be less so after the break but the Robins’ ‘keeper Reiss Jeavons was rarely tested. True, Sam Delaney was awry with a headed chance but otherwise, visiting skipper Lewis Cosgrove and his defensive partner Lewis Clarke, who played on after receiving a first period knock, were largely in control.

HEWITT & WARD: ALONG WITH BENNETT, THEY WERE DOMINANT BEFORE THE BREAK...

Certainly Knowle would have rued the penalty awarded to the hosts soon after half-time, for Delaney’s shot appeared to cannon into Clarke who was only a few yards away and taking evasive action by turning but his right arm did appear to be across his chest… However, what do I know? I wasn’t close by and the video evidence is of no consequence, for the decision was made and Kenilworth snatched a point. 

DELANEY & MASON ALONGSIDE WELCH, WHO HAS JUST REALISED THAT HIS PARROT IS MISSING...

Home gloveman Woodward made a flying save late on from Robins’ replacement Jacob Walton’s curling shot but Knowle failed to find the net again, which must have been frustrating for Seeley & Co. Indeed, when home striker Kyle Jaynes argued that he should have been awarded a corner, possibly correctly, he was instead awarded a sin-bin card, leaving his team with ten men for ten minutes but Knowle were unable to capitalise.

JEAN DAKOURI: TO CALL HIM COMBATIVE IS A MILD DESCRIPTION.
LEGENDARY? YEAH...

Sporting didn’t start well, seemed hesitant and were literally overrun in midfield for much of the opening half and their first goal was somewhat against the run of play. They hung in there though, with Chris Green and Delaney defending heroically at times. Green had been drafted into the starting line-up late, following an injury problem for John Agbo.

GREEN SUFFERS, AFTER MAKING A FINE TACKLE ON SEELEY (17)...

That first-half for Knowle… 

Ward was well in control from the start, backed up by Bennett’s thoughtful passing and the strength and experience of Hewitt. A foul by The Kenilworth Tank, Jean Dakouri, soon offered Ward a free-kick opportunity from 26 yards and despite Kenilworth shoving taller players into their defensive wall as a spoiler, Ward’s up and over shot dropped beyond Woodward’s dive and into the bottom right corner of the net to open the scoring. 

CELEBRATING HIS GOAL FROM DOWNTOWN IS WARD, FAR RIGHT...

Myles Mason maybe ought to have utilised his left boot when he got free for Knowle onto Bennett’s thoughtful pass at inside-left but his awkward body position in order to use his right foot as Woodward advanced to meet him, led to barely a touch on the ball and the goalie gathered it with ease.

Bennett shot over the bar from Hewitt’s assist, trouble was caused by a Ward corner which Sporting somehow hacked clear, leaving Harry Wilson down with a facial injury and then, typically, Kenilworth broke to regain parity.

Harry Wilson was faced by Knowle skipper Rhys Lyons, some 25 yards from goal at inside-left but somehow the ball bobbled between the two and offered Wilson a chance to shoot a side-footer from about 17 yards. Jeavons dropped left to save smartly enough but the ball popped up for the switched-on Chris Jones to nod into the vacant net with a lean. Knowle’s defenders waved for an offside flag but none wagged…

However, the guests got back to it and took the lead again with an ugly goal by Cosgrove. A set-piece had been cleared by Sporting and Bennett clipped a smart pass right to the overlapping Lewis Rainey, whose lobbed centre towards the far stick was contested by Jack Mullen and defender Delaney. Neither really got hold of a header and the ball dropped in front of Cosgrove to nudge over the goal-line.

COSGROVE, LEFT, HAS MADE IT 1-2 BUT SUBSEQUENTLY, IT WOULDN'T BE ENOUGH FOR THE ROBINS...

Mullen’s falling shot exerted Woodward barely at all and the only other threat from the hosts came courtesy of a fine Wilson free-kick from 27 yards which curled only just wide of the right post. Had that gone in, Kenilworth would surely have thought that the footballing gods were on their side…

The second period…

When Delaney’s 18 yard shot struck Clarke, Jason Evans stepped forth to slot a right-booted penalty into the bottom right corner of the net, although Jeavons did appear to get a touch on it with a glove.

EVANS RUSHES BACK AFTER HIS PENALTY STRIKE...

Few chances littered the less structured second period, partly due to an improvement by Sporting, partly due to a less dominant display by their visitors and of course a number of substitutions by both teams. However, despite home midfielder Dave Freeman’s industry earning the reward of more possession for his team, only Jaynes’ deflected low shot, Delaney’s header wide and a low shot by Jones to Jeavons, caused any worry at all to the Robins’ defence. Indeed, there was little penetration by the home team.

Returning from injury, Tyrone Wilson joined fellow replacement Hamza Siddique in attack but really, they couldn’t settle into any rhythm in the time allowed them and Knowle coped with some comfort in defence. 

SIDDIQUE & CLARKE SHOOK HANDS WHEN THE SPORTING FORWARD ENTERED THE FIELD OF PLAY.
I LIKED THAT...

Yasin Al-Massry…

The Knowle wide-man looked neat and dangerous on occasions and he set up a great chance for Mullen to win the match. He moved towards the right byeline, easily got by Delaney’s sliding challenge and passed inside for the number 9 but the striker’s low shot was blocked by Woodward’s legs.

I liked Al-Massry’s unhurried trickery though…

Woodward fielded two shots under his crossbar by Mason, following a neat rush, then Walton, who of course was also denied by Woodward’s flying save, as mentioned above.

Both Clarke and Cosgrove were well positioned at the far post for a Ward corner and perhaps the taller Clarke might have been better placed to hit the target with a header but his skipper rose in front of him to nod wide. Cosgrove did make a fine challenge late in the game to deny Sporting, however…

The final words…

Liked the Knowle full-backs, Rainey and Reece Staley, who were progressive and both Walton and Dave Obeng added some bite when they arrived from the bench. Sporting’s Evans dropped back to right-back when Lyons was replaced and not only took the armband but made a solid defensive contribution too. Certainly the hosts missed a fit Tyrone Wilson, whilst Siddique’s often clever feet and vision weren’t given enough time to be employed and cause effect in the home attack.

JONES SCORED, JAYNES WAS SIN-BINNED...

I was told that home replacement Archie Ascroft had damaged an ACL just 365 days before this match and it must have been great for him to have been involved in some way. No such luck for Knowle’s Callum Burston-Keeley however, for ‘Rind’ is into a second long lay-off. Good luck to them both…

Cadbury were beaten 1-0 at Alcester on the day, so a winner of this game would have been clear at the top of the division but as it stands, five teams now have 16 points, with Sutton United leading the group…

Sutton play Kenilworth next week, whilst third placed AFC Coventry Rangers face a trip to previous leaders Cadbury Athletic… 

TEAMS:

KENILWORTH SPORTING:

GEORGE WOODWARD, RHYS LYONS (CAPT), CAM WELCH, CHRIS GREEN, SAM DELANEY, JEAN DAKOURI, JASON EVANS, DAVE FREEMAN, CHRIS JONES, KYLE JAYNES, HARRY WILSON.

SUBS:

HAMZA SIDDIQUE, DAVE OBENG, TYRONE WILSON, ARCHIE ASCROFT.

KNOWLE FC:

REISS JEAVONS, LEWIS RAINEY, REECE STALEY, LEWIS CLARKE, LEWIS COSGROVE (CAPT), OWEN WARD, YASIN AL-MASSRY, DYLON BENNETT, JACK MULLEN, REECE HEWITT, MYLES MASON.

SUBS:

CHRISTIAN MCCARDLE, JACOB WALTON, ASH WEEKS, GEORGE SEELEY, BEN JONES.