League

Paignton Park
Spectators: 7436 (Terracing: 5578, Seating: 1710, VIP seats: 148) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Matthew Dawson took the kick off in the first half of the match. After having played for 5 minutes, Matthew Dawson managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Assassins FC's supporters crossed their fingers, but Matthew Dawson was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Phillip Barber showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Cliff Bond in the 8th minute of the match. Phillip Barber took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Brandon Stockton, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. After 12 minutes of play, Black Country's Cliff Bond made it 0-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Phillip Barber was left in no man's land by his defense there! In the 16th minute Cliff Bond shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Phillip Barber saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. 17 minutes into the game, Nigel Sheringham cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 0-2. Phillip Barber was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. In the 22ndth minute of the game Matthew Dawson who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Black Country's Jason Rawlings was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. With a little luck, Black Country's Jason Rawlings got control of the ball when Andrew Clayton tried to sneak it across the goal line. Phillip Barber showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Cliff Bond, who was totally free with the ball in the 29th minute. After a defensive mix-up in Assassins FC's zone, Cliff Bond stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Phillip Barber came out of the goal and Cliff Bond tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Nigel Sheringham received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 41st minute. Phillip Barber tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. The audience was convinced that Cliff Bond's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Phillip Barber was relentless in the 44th minute of the game. In the 46th match minute, Black Country was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Francis Banks to maneuver through the defense. Disappointed in the 0-2 score, the home team went to the dressing room to adjust tactics for the second half.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Cliff Bond to make the kick off. Nigel Sheringham received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 55th minute. Phillip Barber tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Tyrone Holden hit a great freekick 56 minutes into the match. After a rather tough play, Assassins FC's Curtis Shipton got a free kick in the 57th minute. In the 58th minute of the match Shane Faulkner sent off a long shot with destination to the right of the goalkeeper, but Phillip Barber skillfully saved the ball. A collision led to Assassins FC getting a freekick after 62 minutes play. Tyrone Holden hit a great ball. Black Country's Jason Rawlings played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Matthew Dawson in the 65th minute of play. Andrew Clayton struck a weak shot in the 66th minute. Jason Rawlings didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Assassins FC. If Andrew Clayton had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 70th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. If Matthew Dawson had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 76th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. Brandon Stockton received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 83rd minute. Phillip Barber tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Phillip Barber made an important save on a dangerous shot by Nigel Sheringham in the 84th minute. An unexpectedly hard shot by Cliff Bond in the 86th minute of play forced Assassins FC's goalkeeper Phillip Barber to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Jason Rawlings showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Matthew Dawson, who was totally free with the ball in the 98th minute. The Black Country players were relieved to hear the final whistle blow to end the match. The away crowd was happy to see their team win after a very tight game.