League

North Fambridge
Spectators: 5000 (Terracing: 4000, Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Harvey Lawson started the match with the kick off. After 3 played minutes Putney Rovers got a freekick which was hit by Pete Sledge. Frank Armitstead made an important save on a dangerous shot by Denny Longstaff in the 4th minute. Frank Armitstead showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Denny Longstaff, who was totally free with the ball in the 12th minute. Frank Armitstead showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Edward Lynam in the 16th minute of the match. Thanks to some nice moves John Paul Downham could shoot a difficult shot in the 17th minute, which Frank Armitstead however easily saved by the left post. When Lewis Younger fell near the penalty area in the 19th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Putney Rovers's protests and gave Lewis Younger a yellow card for diving instead. After 18 minutes of play, the referee blew the whistle. It was a penalty for Putney Rovers! 20 minutes into the game, Ivan Aspinall cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 1-1. Frank Armitstead was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. If Harvey Lawson had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 25th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. The audience thought a goal was coming when Sam Falkingham got free with Frank Armitstead in the 33rd minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Frank Armitstead took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Ben Clay, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 35th minute, one of Putney Rovers:s players had the ball in front of the goal but got pushed and fell. The referee felt it was an obvious case and blew a penalty for Putney Rovers. Ivan Aspinall shot the penalty kick by force right in the crossbar. No goal. Frank Armitstead made a fantastic save in the 40th minute, when Russ Jenkins sent off a good shot on target. The audience thought a goal was coming when Russ Jenkins got free with Frank Armitstead in the 42nd minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. 43 minutes into the game, North Fambridge City's John Paul Downham nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Frank Armitstead made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 2-1. Frank Armitstead took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Ben Clay, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. The away team players looked dejected as the walked off the pitch at half time. They had fought hard, but were still losing 2-1.

The wind increased when Ben Clay made the kick off in the second half. 51 minutes into the match, Putney Rovers's goal looked a bit too open when Russ Jenkins came free, but Frank Armitstead reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. When Pete Sledge fell near the penalty area in the 52nd minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Putney Rovers's protests and gave Pete Sledge a yellow card for diving instead. Pete Sledge hit a great freekick 52 minutes into the match. Frank Armitstead made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Denny Longstaff in the 55th minute of play. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Denny Longstaff in the 56th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Frank Armitstead saved Putney Rovers from getting behind. After some careless play in the Putney Rovers defense, Denny Longstaff kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Frank Armitstead. The Putney Rovers fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Frank Armitstead should have stopped the shot. In the 68th minute Denny Longstaff shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Frank Armitstead saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. An unexpectedly hard shot by Russ Jenkins in the 70th minute of play forced Putney Rovers's goalkeeper Frank Armitstead to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Frank Armitstead showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Denny Longstaff, who was totally free with the ball in the 75th minute. 84 minutes into the match, Russ Jenkins had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Frank Armitstead. Putney Rovers's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Russ Jenkins was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 4-1. Frank Armitstead took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Russ Jenkins, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Frank Armitstead made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from John Paul Downham in the 89th minute of play. In the 92nd minute Ben Clay shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Frank Armitstead saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After 94 minutes of play, North Fambridge City's John Paul Downham made it 5-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Frank Armitstead was left in no man's land by his defense there! There were very few away supporters still in the ground by the end of the match. Most of them had left early, disgusted by the way their team had been torn apart. North Fambridge City fully deserved thier win.