League

Spa Park
Spectators: 5000 (Terracing: 4000, Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Casey Shephard got the match started through his kick off. Derek Dobbs made an important save on a dangerous shot by Stuart Pearce in the 4th minute. FC Leamington's Phillip Easter suffered a concussion after 6 minutes and had to leave the field. After 6 minutes, Chesney Craven mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Coppull and the FC Leamington players grew even worse after the yellow card. In the 7th minute, Chesney Craven hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Dean Ward received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 9th minute. Derek Dobbs tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. In the 10th minute, Sean Lawson hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Lloyd Alcock sent away a hard shot on goal in the 15th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Dean Ward in the 19thth minute had a little luck and got a chance for a shot in front of the goal. Without hesitation aimed to the right of Derek Dobbs, who managed to lunge to the right direction and made a save. Lloyd Alcock was extremely unlucky when he, in the 21st minute, took a shot that hit the right post and went out. After a defensive mix-up in Coppull's zone, Dean Ward stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Derek Dobbs came out of the goal and Dean Ward tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Dean Ward's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Derek Dobbs read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 31st minute of play. Derek Dobbs showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Lloyd Alcock, who was totally free with the ball in the 35th minute. Dean Ward could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 37th minute of the match, but Derek Dobbs made a huge save. Kurt Clare sent away a hard shot on goal in the 38th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Stuart Pearce could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 41st minute of the match, but Derek Dobbs made a huge save. FC Leamington's Dean Ward got a good chance for a goal in the 45th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Thanks to some nice moves Dean Ward could shoot a difficult shot in the 47th minute, which Derek Dobbs however easily saved by the left post. The first half was very even, with the score at 0-0 when the whistle went for half-time. The players welcomed the break and quickly retired to the dressing rooms.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Dean Ward made a kick off. After some fancy dribbling in the 54th minute, Kurt Clare managed to get in a good position for a shot. FC Leamington's supporters rose to their feet, but Kurt Clare was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Derek Dobbs breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Dom Eslworth hit a great freekick 58 minutes into the match. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Casey Shephard in the 59th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Dave Plumber saved FC Leamington from getting behind. Dean Ward fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 61st minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Derek Dobbs having to interfere. Derek Dobbs made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Bradley Litchfield in the 65th minute of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Casey Shephard in the 68th minute of play forced FC Leamington's goalkeeper Dave Plumber to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. If Dean Ward had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 72nd minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. When Bradley Litchfield came up free with the goalie in the 75th minute, the FC Leamington 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 Bradley Litchfield couldn't finish the play. Kurt Clare sent away a hard shot on goal in the 79th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Lloyd Alcock charged in rather forcefully in the 82nd minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Lloyd Alcock the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. After some fancy dribbling in the 86th minute, Dean Ward managed to get in a good position for a shot. FC Leamington's supporters rose to their feet, but Dean Ward was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Derek Dobbs breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. After a rather tough play, Coppull's Sean Lawson got a free kick in the 88th minute. Derek Dobbs didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Dean Ward went, in the 89th minute, to the upper right corner, 1-0 was the resulting score. FC Leamington walked away with a well-earned victory that was much celebrated by the crowd.