League

Walton On The Naze P
Spectators: 5000 (Terracing: 4000, Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Gareth Todd took the kick off in the first half of the match. After having played for 3 minutes, Matt King managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Stourbridge's supporters crossed their fingers, but Matt King was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Walton On The Naze's Ritchie Bamford played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Leo Rain in the 10th minute of play. When Stourbridge's Leo Rain in the 13th minute got a chance for a shot 13th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Walton On The Naze's goalie prevented a goal. Garth Branston hit a great freekick 16 minutes into the match. In the 18th minute Leo Rain shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Ritchie Bamford saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Julian Hoskins charged in rather forcefully in the 21st minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Julian Hoskins the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. After 21 played minutes Stourbridge got a freekick which was hit by Julian Hoskins. In the 24th minute, Leo Rain ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Ritchie Bamford was frozen by the shot and now it was 0-1. An unexpectedly hard shot by Leo Rain in the 29th minute of play forced Walton On The Naze's goalkeeper Ritchie Bamford to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Leo Rain sent away a hard shot on goal in the 34th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. Gareth Todd fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 36th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Mickey Davis having to interfere. After 46 minutes, Nial Dawes mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Stourbridge and the Walton On The Naze players grew even worse after the yellow card. A collision led to Stourbridge getting a freekick after 47 minutes play. Nial Dawes hit a great ball.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Leo Rain was the one to do the kick off. The referee blew the whistle for a penalty in the 52nd minute of the game. One of Walton On The Naze:s players had nearly got his shirt torn off by an opponent while getting free in front of Stourbridge:s goal. Ritchie Bamford went to the wrong direction when Darryl Berry was taking care of the penalty kick which however missed the goal. Ritchie Bamford made a fantastic save in the 60th minute, when Matt King sent off a good shot on target. An unexpectedly hard shot by Leo Rain in the 63rd minute of play forced Walton On The Naze's goalkeeper Ritchie Bamford to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Leo Rain sent away a hard shot on goal in the 68th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. When Trevor Devaney came up free with the goalie in the 75th minute, the Walton On The Naze 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 Trevor Devaney couldn't finish the play. In the 77th minute, Stourbridge's Leo Rain dribbled the ball into the box and hit a shot with the outside of his foot, sending the keeper the wrong way. 0-3. In the 85th match minute, Walton On The Naze was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Gareth Todd to maneuver through the defense. After 87 played minutes Walton On The Naze got a freekick which was hit by Lewis Payne. Darryl Berry, 88 minutes into the match, dribbled the ball up the side of the field and decided to take a long shot at the goal. Unfortunately, the ball was poorly hit and landed closer to the corner than to the goal. A collision led to Walton On The Naze getting a freekick after 89 minutes play. Lewis Payne hit a great ball. Walton On The Naze's Stan Green suffered a concussion in the 90th minute, after a hard challenge, and had to leave the field. When Leo Rain fell near the penalty area in the 90th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Stourbridge's protests and gave Leo Rain a yellow card for diving instead. In the 91st match minute, Stourbridge was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Leo Rain to maneuver through the defense. If Matt King had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 95th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Walton On The Naze's Ritchie Bamford proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 97th minute of the match, managed to save Walton On The Naze from getting a goal against them. The Walton On The Naze supporters were disappointed that their team didn't take anything from the match, despite matching Stourbridge's performance. The match ended with a win for Stourbridge.