League

Tewkesbury
Spectators: 8477 (Terracing: 6344, Seating: 1964, VIP seats: 169) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Denzil Alsop got the match started through his kick off. Sidney Groom made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Pierce Armstrong in the 2nd minute of play. If Ray Hales had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 3rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Ray Hales received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 5th minute. Sidney Groom tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. When Pierce Armstrong came up free with the goalie in the 9th minute, the Lancing AFC 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 Pierce Armstrong couldn't finish the play. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Pierce Armstrong in the 11th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Sidney Groom prevented the ball from getting in the gole. 16 minutes into the match, Tewkesbury's goal looked a bit too open when Ray Hales came free, but Sidney Groom reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. 20 minutes into the match, Lancing AFC's goalkeeper Ron Briant had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Barney Dimmock. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Fitz Gray during the 20th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. Fitz Gray hit a great freekick 20 minutes into the match. Tewkesbury's Barney Dimmock got a good chance for a goal in the 22nd minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Barney Dimmocks short, quick shot in the 27thth minute got Ron Briant to make great effort and bar the ball away from getting in. Pierce Armstrong's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Sidney Groom read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 28th minute of play. In the 33rdth minute of the game Ray Hales who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Tewkesbury's Sidney Groom was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. Ray Hales struck a weak shot in the 34th minute. Sidney Groom didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Lancing AFC. If Ray Hales had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 37th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Pierce Armstrong in the 40th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Sidney Groom prevented the ball from getting in the gole. In the 41stth minute of the game Ray Hales who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Tewkesbury's Sidney Groom was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. Sidney Groom didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Ray Hales went, in the 43rd minute, to the upper right corner, 0-1 was the resulting score. The Tewkesbury players were disheartened as they walked off the pitch after the first half. Lancing AFC were winning 0-1.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Ray Hales to make the kick off. When Ray Hales came up free with the goalie in the 51st minute, the Lancing AFC 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 Ray Hales couldn't finish the play. If Ray Hales had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 55th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. Denzil Alsop kicked well hit freekick during the 62nd minute of the match. Ray Hales hit a great freekick 73 minutes into the match. With his leg Sidney Groom managed to avoid a goal in the 75thth minute, when Lancing AFC's Pierce Armstrong fired away a shot with a lot of spin towards his right hand side. Pierce Armstrong received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 81st minute. Sidney Groom tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. If Pierce Armstrong had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 83rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. A collision led to Tewkesbury getting a freekick after 84 minutes play. Kirk Spencer hit a great ball. Tewkesbury's defense didn't have a chance, in the 87th minute, when Ray Hales scored to the left of an out of position Sidney Groom, making the score, 0-3. Ray Hales received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 90th minute. Sidney Groom tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. The audience thought a goal was coming when Pierce Armstrong got free with Sidney Groom in the 95th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Lancing AFC played a much better game than Tewkesbury and deserved their victory. The Tewkesbury players were clearly disappointed as they left the ground.