League Play-Off

Hildenborough Park
Spectators: 35 (Terracing: 27, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Edward Sawyer took the kick off in the first half of the match. Silvester Kalischer charged in rather forcefully in the 3rd minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Silvester Kalischer the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. After 3 played minutes Putney got a freekick which was hit by Silvester Kalischer. When Edward Sawyer came up free with the goalie in the 4th minute, the Hildenborough 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 Edward Sawyer couldn't finish the play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Robert Smith in the 6th minute of play forced Hildenborough's goalkeeper Gus Hutchins to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 10th minute, Frazer Dryden 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. 13 minutes into the match, Putney's goal looked a bit too open when Edward Sawyer came free, but Scott Wright reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Gus Hutchins showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Robert Smith in the 14th minute of the match. Gus Hutchins took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Frazer Dryden, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Robert Smith struck a weak shot in the 24th minute. Gus Hutchins didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Putney. In the 30th minute of the match Terry Bright sent off a long shot with destination to the right of the goalkeeper, but Scott Wright skillfully saved the ball. 32 minutes into the match, Putney's goalkeeper Scott Wright had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Allan West. Gus Hutchins showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Frazer Dryden in the 39th minute of the match. After a defensive mix-up in Putney's zone, Edward Sawyer stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Scott Wright came out of the goal and Edward Sawyer tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Syd Lansdell hit a great freekick 46 minutes into the match. After a very even first half the match was still tied. The players went to their respective dressing rooms to discuss the tactics for the second half.

In the 52nd minute the ball was on its way in behind Putney's goalkeeper Scott Wright, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. Martyn Kemp's late challenge caught a Hildenborough's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Martyn Kemp helped the player get up and apologised. Martyn Kemp hit a great freekick 53 minutes into the match. In the 54th minute, Edward Sawyer 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. In the 61st minute, Edward Sawyer ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Scott Wright was frozen by the shot and now it was 1-0. In the 65th match minute, Putney was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Syd Lansdell to maneuver through the defense. In the 70th minute, Robert Smith left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Putney fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 1-1. Frazer Dryden sent away a hard shot on goal in the 75th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. 88 minutes into the match, Robert Smith had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Gus Hutchins. Hildenborough's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Robert Smith was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 1-2. An unexpectedly hard shot by Frazer Dryden in the 95th minute of play forced Hildenborough's goalkeeper Gus Hutchins to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. The Hildenborough supporters were disappointed that their team didn't take anything from the match, despite matching Putney's performance. The match ended with a win for Putney.