League

Halton Holegate
Spectators: 5000 (Terracing: 4000, Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Len Dunne kicked off to start the match. The supporters of Rowner booed when Halton Holegate was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 4 match minutes in a wonderful position. Louie Ottaway didn't get a good kick on the ball. If Len Dunne had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 7th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. After 8 played minutes Halton Holegate got a freekick which was hit by Drew Silk. Len Dunne struck a weak shot in the 9th minute. Jeff Warden didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Rowner. Pete Blackhurst's late challenge caught a Rowner's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Pete Blackhurst helped the player get up and apologised. After 18 played minutes Halton Holegate got a freekick which was hit by Pete Blackhurst. Jeff Warden stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Shane Hornsby's shot from short distance in the 19th minute. Wesley Wellings showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Dennis Poate, who was totally free with the ball in the 21st minute. In the 23rdth minute of the game Len Dunne who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Halton Holegate's Jeff Warden was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. In the 25th minute of the match Orson Whittingham sent off a long shot with destination to the right of the goalkeeper, but Jeff Warden skillfully saved the ball. In the 29th minute Dennis Poate shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Wesley Wellings saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Halton Holegate's Jeff Warden played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Shane Hornsby in the 30th minute of play. After having played for 34 minutes, Shane Hornsby managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Rowner's supporters crossed their fingers, but Shane Hornsby was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Shane Hornsby struck a weak shot in the 36th minute. Jeff Warden didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Rowner. If Len Dunne had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 38th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Wesley Wellings showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Louie Ottaway in the 41st minute of the match. Dennis Poate struck a weak shot in the 42nd minute. Wesley Wellings didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Halton Holegate. If Louie Ottaway had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 47th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. After the first half the score was level. The break gave the players a chance to catch their breath, whilst the managers went over the tactics with them again.

The audience was convinced that Dennis Poate's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Wesley Wellings was relentless in the 52nd minute of the game. Jeff Warden took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Len Dunne, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. When Louie Ottaway came up free with the goalie in the 70th minute, the Halton Holegate 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 Louie Ottaway couldn't finish the play. Wesley Wellings showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Dennis Poate in the 72nd minute of the match. Louie Ottaway sent away a hard shot on goal in the 74th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. John-Paul Hardcastle's late challenge caught a Halton Holegate's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. John-Paul Hardcastle helped the player get up and apologised. After 75 played minutes Rowner got a freekick which was hit by John-Paul Hardcastle. Dennis Poate received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 76th minute. Wesley Wellings tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. If Dennis Poate had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 85th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. If Shane Hornsby had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 88th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Shane Hornsby fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 91st minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Jeff Warden having to interfere. Louie Ottaway fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 93rd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Wesley Wellings having to interfere. After 95 minutes of play, Halton Holegate's Louie Ottaway made it 1-0 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Wesley Wellings was left in no man's land by his defense there! The referee blew his whistle, and the match came to a close. The players exchanged shirts and headed down the tunnel. The Halton Holegate fans cheered their team off the field, for while Rowner had put up a good fight, they were unable to come out of the game with any points to show for their effort.