League

Starke
Spectators: 6743 (Terracing: 5000, Seating: 1743, VIP seats: 0) Starke AFC's Truman Vera started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. Clearfield's Donny Tucker got a good chance for a goal in the 3rd minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Sammy Ezell in the 5th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Freddie Napier prevented the ball from getting in the gole. Clearfield's Marshall Young played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Truman Vera in the 8th minute of play. In the 9th minute, Donny Tucker left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Clearfield fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 0-1. After recieving a nice pass, Clearfield's Odell Hopkins tried to score from far away in the 14th minute, but the ball went over the crossbar. In the 15th minute, Simon Lane hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Simon Lane charged in rather forcefully in the 19th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Simon Lane the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. The supporters of Clearfield booed when Starke AFC was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 20 match minutes in a wonderful position. Simon Lane didn't get a good kick on the ball. 21 minutes into the match, Sammy Ezell had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Freddie Napier. Starke AFC's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Sammy Ezell was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 0-2. Clearfield's Donny Tucker got a good chance for a goal in the 29th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. In the 33rd minute Donny Tucker shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Freddie Napier saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Freddie Napier stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Sammy Ezell's shot from short distance in the 42nd minute. After 46 minutes, Pierre Reed mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Starke AFC and the Clearfield players grew even worse after the yellow card. A collision led to Starke AFC getting a freekick after 46 minutes play. Pierre Reed hit a great ball. Rufus Sherwood fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 48th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Freddie Napier having to interfere. Luck had favoured the away team in the first, and they walked off with a 0-2 lead.

The wind increased when Sammy Ezell made the kick off in the second half. 55 minutes had been played when some careless play by Starke AFC's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. Odell Hopkins was slow to take the kick. During this time Clearfield's players had a chance to rest. The corner led to Clearfield's Winston Carson getting away a dangerous shot that went just outside the goal. After a defensive mix-up in Starke AFC's zone, Sammy Ezell stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Freddie Napier came out of the goal and Sammy Ezell tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Starke AFC's Freddie Napier played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Sammy Ezell in the 71st minute of play. Odell Hopkins charged in rather forcefully in the 79th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Odell Hopkins the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. Fernando Gorman placed the ball on the penalty spot and got himself ready to shoot. Post out! Pierre Reed fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 83rd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Marshall Young having to interfere. Starke AFC's Freddie Napier played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Sammy Ezell in the 91st minute of play. Donny Tucker fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 92nd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Freddie Napier having to interfere. After having played for 97 minutes, Pierre Reed managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Starke AFC's supporters crossed their fingers, but Pierre Reed was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal.