League

Maldon Stadium
Spectators: 7500 (Terracing: 5625, Seating: 1725, VIP seats: 150) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Piers Ripley started the match with the kick off. In the 11thth minute of the game Simon Elwick who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Binsted's Jake Burley was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. Reuben Shaw sent away a hard shot on goal in the 14th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. 18 minutes into the match, Maldon's goal looked a bit too open when Piers Ripley came free, but Duncan Haigh reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 25th minute, Piers Ripley made a precise shot to the right of Duncan Haigh. Maldon's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 0-1. In the 31st minute the ball was on its way in behind Maldon's goalkeeper Duncan Haigh, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. Ivan Charlton kicked well hit freekick during the 33rd minute of the match. A hard shot by Joel Blueman from long distance, 34 minutes into the match, got Jake Burley's attention. Through a fast twist with his body, he could stop the ball from going in on his right side. Alexander Fountain sent away a hard shot on goal in the 37th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Jake Burley made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Reuben Shaw in the 40th minute of play. Duncan Haigh showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Piers Ripley, who was totally free with the ball in the 43rd minute. Rod Crossley's shot from long distance was a real pearl which went to the right and just passed Duncan Haigh - 0-2 was put on the score board in the 45th minute. The Maldon players were disheartened as they walked off the pitch after the first half. Binsted were winning 0-2.

The wind increased when Simon Elwick made the kick off in the second half. Piers Ripley received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 54th minute. Duncan Haigh tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. In the 56th minute Reuben Shaw shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Jake Burley saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. 59 minutes into the match, Alexander Fountain had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Duncan Haigh. Maldon's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Alexander Fountain was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 0-3. Sammy Osbourn's late challenge caught a Binsted's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Sammy Osbourn helped the player get up and apologised. After 64 minutes of play, the referee blew the whistle. It was a penalty for Maldon! After some fancy dribbling in the 72nd minute, Rod Crossley managed to get in a good position for a shot. Binsted's supporters rose to their feet, but Rod Crossley was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Duncan Haigh breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. An unexpectedly hard shot by Alexander Fountain in the 76th minute of play forced Maldon's goalkeeper Duncan Haigh to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After a rather tough play, Maldon's Giles Reed got a free kick in the 77th minute. The audience thought a goal was coming when Alexander Fountain got free with Duncan Haigh in the 81st minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. After some fancy dribbling in the 82nd minute, Glenn Almond managed to get in a good position for a shot. Binsted's supporters rose to their feet, but Glenn Almond was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Duncan Haigh breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Justin Collier sent away a hard shot on goal in the 86th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. When Alexander Fountain came up free with the goalie in the 88th minute, the Binsted 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 Alexander Fountain couldn't finish the play. Alexander Fountain received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 91st minute. Duncan Haigh tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Duncan Haigh didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Glenn Almond went, in the 94th minute, to the upper right corner, 0-5 was the resulting score. Binsted's fans were overjoyed with their teams well-earned victory and stayed in the stadium long after the final whistle to celebrate the win.