League

Barmby on the Marsh
Spectators: 5500 (Terracing: 4500, Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Tod Niven got the match started through his kick off. In the 3rd minute of the match, Lloyd Matthews got a very nice opportunity to score, but Michael Gold was well-placed and pushed the ball away from the goal at the left post. Michael Gold showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Tod Niven in the 4th minute of the match. John-Paul Hutchings kicked well hit freekick during the 10th minute of the match. Tod Niven blasted a shot towards the goal in the 12th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Michael Gold having to make a save. Michael Gold made an important save on a dangerous shot by Lloyd Matthews in the 14th minute. A collision led to Radcliffe getting a freekick after 18 minutes play. Bill Saxton hit a great ball. Radcliffe's John-Paul Hutchings got his second yellow card of the match in the 29th minute. The referee ordered John-Paul Hutchings off the ground. 29 minutes into the game, one of Radcliffe:s players got tackled near the goal, and the referee blew for a penalty. Michael Gold showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Tod Niven, who was totally free with the ball in the 39th minute. Lloyd Matthews sent away a hard shot on goal in the 43rd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After a defensive mix-up in Radcliffe's zone, Lloyd Matthews stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Michael Gold came out of the goal and Lloyd Matthews tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. No-one was surprised that the home team were leading 1-0 at half-time.

The audience was convinced that Lloyd Matthews's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Michael Gold was relentless in the 56th minute of the game. When Lloyd Matthews came up free with the goalie in the 58th minute, the Barmby on the Marsh fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Lloyd Matthews couldn't finish the play. Lloyd Matthews fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 60th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Michael Gold having to interfere. After a defensive mix-up in Radcliffe's zone, Tod Niven stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Michael Gold came out of the goal and Tod Niven tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. With a little luck, Barmby on the Marsh's Fred Jackson got control of the ball when Marty Shearer tried to sneak it across the goal line. Marty Shearer sent away a hard shot on goal in the 66th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. An unexpectedly hard shot by Hayden Towler in the 69th minute of play forced Radcliffe's goalkeeper Michael Gold to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. If Tod Niven had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 70th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. In the 71st match minute, Radcliffe was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Bill Saxton to maneuver through the defense. Marty Shearer could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 76th minute of the match, but Fred Jackson made a huge save. The referee gave Barmby on the Marsh a penalty, 81 minutes into the game. The penalty shot was made by Sammy Ford, who made a well placed shot into the net to the right of Radcliffe's Michael Gold. 2-0. If Tod Niven had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 86th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. Noel Noble's late challenge caught a Barmby on the Marsh's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Noel Noble helped the player get up and apologised. 88 minutes into the match, Radcliffe's goal looked a bit too open when Tod Niven came free, but Michael Gold reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Marty Shearer fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 89th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Fred Jackson having to interfere. 92 minutes into the match, Barmby on the Marsh's goalkeeper Fred Jackson had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Marty Shearer. If Lloyd Matthews had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 96th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. An unexpectedly hard shot by Tod Niven in the 98th minute of play forced Radcliffe's goalkeeper Michael Gold to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. There were very few away supporters still in the ground by the end of the match. Most of them had left early, disgusted by the way their team had been torn apart. Barmby on the Marsh fully deserved thier win.