League

Stamford Brids Stad
Spectators: 10858 (Terracing: 8145, Seating: 2497, VIP seats: 216) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Eddie Bryant took the kick off in the first half of the match. After 3 played minutes Defense got a freekick which was hit by Malcolm Osbourne. The audience was convinced that Calum Dingle's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Doug Sutton was relentless in the 5th minute of the game. After having played for 6 minutes, Damion Barkley managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Defense's supporters crossed their fingers, but Damion Barkley 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 8th minute, Midfielders's Calum Dingle ran free of his marker and smoothly shot the ball into the goal behind Doug Sutton. Doug Sutton yelled at his defense, as they had left him out to dry. 1-0. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Eddie Bryant in the 12th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Rex Forrest saved Midfielders from getting behind. Defense's Joel Bright got a good chance for a goal in the 17th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. After some fancy dribbling in the 19th minute, Damion Barkley managed to get in a good position for a shot. Defense's supporters rose to their feet, but Damion Barkley was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Rex Forrest breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Calum Dingle took the ball and in the 23 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Doug Sutton. Doug Sutton dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 2-0. Damion Barkley sent away a hard shot on goal in the 26th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After having played for 27 minutes, Eddie Bryant managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Defense's supporters crossed their fingers, but Eddie Bryant was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. After some careless play in the Midfielders defense, Eddie Bryant kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Rex Forrest. The Midfielders fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Rex Forrest should have stopped the shot. An unexpectedly hard shot by Damion Barkley in the 34th minute of play forced Midfielders's goalkeeper Rex Forrest to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Rex Forrest stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Joel Bright's shot from short distance in the 35th minute. The audience thought a goal was coming when Edward Hopton got free with Doug Sutton in the 38th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. 43 minutes into the match, Joel Bright had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Rex Forrest. Midfielders's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Joel Bright was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 2-2.

The wind increased when Calum Dingle made the kick off in the second half. A hard shot 53 in the game by Eddie Bryant from a close distance when the talented Rex Forrest managed to make a qualified save. Midfielders's players were relieved. Rex Forrest made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Damion Barkley in the 54th minute of play. Defense's Doug Sutton played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Edward Hopton in the 56th minute of play. 63 minutes into the match, Midfielders's goal looked a bit too open when Eddie Bryant came free, but Rex Forrest reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Defense's Doug Sutton played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Calum Dingle in the 64th minute of play. Defense's attentive Archie Knight managed to snatch the ball when Rex Chivers made a throw-in in the 67th minute of the game. Rex Forrest made an important save on a dangerous shot by Eddie Bryant in the 68th minute. If Archie Knight had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 71st minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. After a defensive mix-up in Midfielders's zone, Damion Barkley stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Rex Forrest came out of the goal and Damion Barkley tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. With his leg Rex Forrest managed to avoid a goal in the 74thth minute, when Defense's Damion Barkley fired away a shot with a lot of spin towards his right hand side. Doug Sutton showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Calum Dingle in the 76th minute of the match. Alistair Carpenter hit a great freekick 78 minutes into the match. When Sly Groves came up free with the goalie in the 80th minute, the Defense 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 Sly Groves couldn't finish the play. Defense's Damion Barkley got a good chance for a goal in the 83rd minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Eddie Bryant fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 85th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Rex Forrest having to interfere. After some fancy dribbling in the 87th minute, Rio Watkinson managed to get in a good position for a shot. Midfielders's supporters rose to their feet, but Rio Watkinson was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Doug Sutton breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. In the 88th match minute, Defense was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Joel Bright to maneuver through the defense. Doug Sutton made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Calum Dingle in the 90th minute of play. 95 minutes into the game, Christopher Dowrick was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Defense's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Midfielders the free kick. In the 94th minute, one of Defense: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 Defense. The referee gave Midfielders a penalty, 96 minutes into the game. The penalty shot was made by Alfie Walton, who made a well placed shot into the net to the right of Defense's Doug Sutton. 3-2.