League

Rawdon Park
Spectators: 7500 (Terracing: 5875, Seating: 1575, VIP seats: 50) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Jeremy Carpenter started the match with the kick off. An unexpectedly hard shot by Greg Perkins in the 3rd minute of play forced Snailbeach and Stiperstones City's goalkeeper Russ Mansfield to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Tyrone Brookman kicked well hit freekick during the 6th minute of the match. After 8 played minutes Rawdon got a freekick which was hit by Hayden Vassell. After a defensive mix-up in Rawdon's zone, Denny Little stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Wally Haxby came out of the goal and Denny Little tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. After 18 minutes of play, Snailbeach and Stiperstones City's Jeremy Carpenter made it 0-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Wally Haxby was left in no man's land by his defense there! In the 21st minute the ball was on its way in behind Rawdon's goalkeeper Wally Haxby, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. After some fancy dribbling in the 23rd minute, Jeremy Carpenter managed to get in a good position for a shot. Snailbeach and Stiperstones City's supporters rose to their feet, but Jeremy Carpenter was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Wally Haxby breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Wally Haxby made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Jeremy Carpenter in the 24th minute of play. In the 30th minute there was a penalty for Snailbeach and Stiperstones City. Mark Rush stepped forward and shot the ball to the right of a diving Wally Haxby. 0-2. Adam Harrison hit a great freekick 32 minutes into the match. Denny Little fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 36th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Wally Haxby having to interfere. After a defensive mix-up in Rawdon's zone, Jeremy Carpenter stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Wally Haxby came out of the goal and Jeremy Carpenter tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. In the 49th minute Jeremy Carpenter shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Wally Haxby saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After the first half Snailbeach and Stiperstones City were leading 0-2. They had played with great self confidence throughout the first half and fully deserved their lead.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Craig Seagrave stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Hayden Vassell during the 54th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. Jeremy Carpenter scored 0-3 in the 56th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Wally Haxby, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. After a rather tough play, Snailbeach and Stiperstones City's Adam Harrison got a free kick in the 58th minute. Rawdon's Craig Seagrave got a good chance for a goal in the 61st minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Doug Wright charged in rather forcefully in the 65th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Doug Wright the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. In the 65th match minute, Rawdon was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Doug Wright to maneuver through the defense. Denny Little fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 76th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Wally Haxby having to interfere. If Jeremy Carpenter had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 79th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Wally Haxby made an important save on a dangerous shot by Denny Little in the 80th minute. A collision led to Rawdon getting a freekick after 81 minutes play. Tyrone Brookman hit a great ball. After having played for 82 minutes, Denny Little managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Snailbeach and Stiperstones City's supporters crossed their fingers, but Denny Little was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. In the 85th minute, Rawdon's goalie took a deep sigh of relief after Denny Little fired away a hard shot that went just outside the left post. Jeremy Carpenter sent away a hard shot on goal in the 98th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. When the final whistle sounded Snailbeach and Stiperstones City left the ground with the victory after a much better performance than Rawdon.