League

Croughton
Spectators: 6723 (Terracing: 5000, Seating: 1723, VIP seats: 0) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Rex Akins got the match started through his kick off. Danny Godsall charged in rather forcefully in the 3rd minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Danny Godsall the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. STAR FC's Loyd Pinder got a good chance for a goal in the 5th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Sonny Challis fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 9th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Conal Marenghi having to interfere. In the 12th minute, Darius Husband hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Kurt Beckman made an important save on a dangerous shot by Ralf Small in the 13th minute. 15 minutes into the match, Croughton's goal looked a bit too open when Loyd Pinder came free, but Conal Marenghi reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Rex Akins was really disappointed when he shot the ball just outside the right post instead of scoring a goal in the 16th minute. Croughton's manager could be seen on the sidelines shaking his head and muttering to himself as his team had just wasted another chance. Rex Akins sent away a hard shot on goal in the 16th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Conal Marenghi came out of the goal in the 23rd minute to try and stop a shot by STAR FC's Jake Bromley. But to his dismay, Jake Bromley quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 0-1. Loyd Pinder struck a weak shot in the 26th minute. Conal Marenghi didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for STAR FC. The supporters of Croughton booed when STAR FC was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 27 match minutes in a wonderful position. Glen Beckwith didn't get a good kick on the ball. After 29 played minutes STAR FC got a freekick which was hit by Darius Husband. A hard shot by Stefan Scargill from long distance, 31 minutes into the match, got Kurt Beckman's attention. Through a fast twist with his body, he could stop the ball from going in on his right side. After some careless play in the Croughton defense, Sonny Challis kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Conal Marenghi. The Croughton fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Conal Marenghi should have stopped the shot. After having played for 42 minutes, Jake Bromley managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. STAR FC's supporters crossed their fingers, but Jake Bromley 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 43rd minute, Loyd Pinder 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. Sonny Challis received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 44th minute. Conal Marenghi tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. In the 46th minute, Glen Beckwith made a precise shot to the right of Conal Marenghi. Croughton's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 0-3. Disappointed in the 0-3 score, the home team went to the dressing room to adjust tactics for the second half.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Jake Bromley to make the kick off. 61 minutes into the match, Croughton's goal looked a bit too open when Loyd Pinder came free, but Conal Marenghi reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. 62 minutes into the game, Bob Beadel was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Croughton's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave STAR FC the free kick. Bob Beadel kicked well hit freekick during the 62nd minute of the match. Croughton's Conal Marenghi proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 67th minute of the match, managed to save Croughton from getting a goal against them. Sebastien Bagshaw fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 68th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Conal Marenghi having to interfere. Glen Beckwith received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 70th minute. Conal Marenghi tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Conal Marenghi made a fantastic save in the 72nd minute, when Darius Husband sent off a good shot on target. After 74 minutes of play, Croughton's Rex Akins made it 1-3 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Kurt Beckman was left in no man's land by his defense there! 79 minutes into the game, STAR FC's Matthew Ashton nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Conal Marenghi made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 1-4. Conal Marenghi showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Loyd Pinder in the 82nd minute of the match. The supporters of Croughton booed when STAR FC was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 83 match minutes in a wonderful position. Glen Beckwith didn't get a good kick on the ball. After 85 minutes, Sebastien Bagshaw mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the STAR FC and the Croughton players grew even worse after the yellow card. When Danny Godsall came up free with the goalie in the 87th minute, the Croughton 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 Danny Godsall couldn't finish the play. In the 90th minute Jake Bromley shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Conal Marenghi saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After some fancy dribbling in the 91st minute, Loyd Pinder managed to get in a good position for a shot. STAR FC's supporters rose to their feet, but Loyd Pinder was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Conal Marenghi breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. STAR FC's Darius Husband got a good chance for a goal in the 93rd minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. When Glen Beckwith came up free with the goalie in the 96th minute, the STAR FC 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 Glen Beckwith couldn't finish the play. The Croughton fans had already started to leave before the final whistle blew. STAR FC were clearly better and deserved to take the win.