League

Longridge Stadium
Spectators: 5000 (Terracing: 4000, Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) Raphaël Baptista took the ball and in the 3 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Tim Bullard. Tim Bullard dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 0-1. An unexpectedly hard shot by Tom Stamer in the 8th minute of play forced Longridge AFC's goalkeeper Tim Bullard to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Tim Bullard came out of the goal in the 9th minute to try and stop a shot by Croydon's Tom Stamer. But to his dismay, Tom Stamer quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 0-2. In the 13th minute, Tom Stamer got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. Croydon's defense didn't have a chance, in the 16th minute, when Franz Holmes scored to the left of an out of position Wesley Johnstone, making the score, 1-2. 19 minutes into the match, Tom Stamer had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Tim Bullard. Longridge AFC's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Tom Stamer was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 1-3. Tom Stamer received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 22nd minute. Tim Bullard tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Tim Bullard showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Raphaël Baptista in the 32nd minute of the match. In the 34th match minute, Longridge AFC was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Franz Holmes to maneuver through the defense. Tim Bullard showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Raphaël Baptista, who was totally free with the ball in the 35th minute. In the 37th minute of the match Croydon got a corner. Longridge AFC's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Edilberto Tobia ran over to the corner to take the kick. The corner led to Croydon's Cui Zhi Zheng getting away a dangerous shot that went just outside the goal. In the 41st match minute, Longridge AFC was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Camron Commons to maneuver through the defense. A collision led to Longridge AFC getting a freekick after 44 minutes play. Laurence Baldwin hit a great ball. 45 minutes into the game, Raphaël Baptista cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 1-4. Tim Bullard was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. Disappointed in the 1-4 score, the home team went to the dressing room to adjust tactics for the second half.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Franz Holmes stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. In the 53rd minute, Tom Stamer got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. In the 59th minute of the match, Tom Stamer tried to roll the ball into the goal by the right post, but Tim Bullard saw his intentions and got control of the ball before it passed the line. 60 minutes into the game, Loyd Holyfield was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Longridge AFC's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Croydon the free kick. Loyd Holyfield kicked well hit freekick during the 60th minute of the match. 61 minutes into the game, Tom Stamer recieved a splendid long ball, split the defenders, and gently placed the ball to the left of Tim Bullard. Tom Stamer showed that you don't have to tear a hole in the net to score, 1-5. Croydon's Tom Stamer got a good chance for a goal in the 68th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. The Croydon fans' excitement grew in the 71st match minute when Croydon's Raphaël Baptista looked to have a clear shot with the ball near the goal. The shot wasn't hard, but the ball still rolled over the goal line to make it 1-6 before the goalkeeper had a chance to intervene. In the 75th minute, Franz Holmes hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Tom Stamer was really disappointed when he shot the ball just outside the right post instead of scoring a goal in the 76th minute. Croydon's manager could be seen on the sidelines shaking his head and muttering to himself as his team had just wasted another chance. With a little luck, Longridge AFC's Tim Bullard got control of the ball when Raphaël Baptista tried to sneak it across the goal line. After having played for 84 minutes, Tom Stamer managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Croydon's supporters crossed their fingers, but Tom Stamer was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. 85 minutes into the match, Longridge AFC's goalkeeper Tim Bullard had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Raphaël Baptista. Callum Beresford who was well placed in front of the goal fired away a dangerous shot that in the 88thth minute tested the skills of Tim Bullard when he managed to save the team from getting behind. In the 90th play minute Raphaël Baptista came free and shot an unsuspected shot which went into goal from the right pole behind a surprised Tim Bullard. 1-7. Tom Stamer recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 93rd minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. After 95 minutes of play, Croydon's Raphaël Baptista made it 1-8 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Tim Bullard was left in no man's land by his defense there! When the final whistle sounded Croydon left the ground with the victory after a much better performance than Longridge AFC.