League

Eden Park
Spectators: 5000 (Terracing: 4000, Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Dale Davis got the match started through his kick off. Jo Palmer received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 3rd minute. Dean Gaskell tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. With a little luck, Radcliffe-on-Trent's Guy Gerrard got control of the ball when Gerry Dennison tried to sneak it across the goal line. Guy Gerrard made a fantastic save in the 6th minute, when Gerry Dennison sent off a good shot on target. After 7 played minutes All-blacks got a freekick which was hit by Jeremy Mortimer. After a defensive mix-up in All-blacks's zone, Jeff Mellon stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Dean Gaskell came out of the goal and Jeff Mellon tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. If Dale Davis had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 10th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Dale Davis charged in rather forcefully in the 16th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Dale Davis the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. Radcliffe-on-Trent's Guy Gerrard played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Dale Davis in the 20th minute of play. Gerry Dennison blasted a shot towards the goal in the 21st minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Guy Gerrard having to make a save. Dean Gaskell showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Lee Wilkins, who was totally free with the ball in the 23rd minute. After 24 played minutes Radcliffe-on-Trent got a freekick which was hit by Keiran Halliwell. Jeremy Mortimer struck a weak shot in the 25th minute. Guy Gerrard didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for All-blacks. If Jo Palmer had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 33rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Conan Smith hit a great freekick 34 minutes into the match. If Dale Davis had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 36th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Ollie Hellen charged in rather forcefully in the 38th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Ollie Hellen the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. Lee Wilkins might have been able to make a better finish in the 42nd minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Dean Gaskell. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Lee Wilkins ran back to his position shaking his head. In the 44th minute, Lee Wilkins left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Radcliffe-on-Trent fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 0-1. The crowd was extremely unhappy with the home team's performance in the first half. They were losing 0-1.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Jo Palmer made a kick off. Radcliffe-on-Trent's Guy Gerrard played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Gerry Dennison in the 55th minute of play. 61 minutes into the match, Radcliffe-on-Trent's Lee Wilkins sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Dean Gaskell narrowly saved just below the crossbar. After 64 minutes of play, All-blacks's Dale Davis made it 1-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Guy Gerrard was left in no man's land by his defense there! After a rather tough play, All-blacks's Paddy Rawson got a free kick in the 67th minute. 71 minutes into the match, Radcliffe-on-Trent's goal looked a bit too open when Dale Davis came free, but Guy Gerrard reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Guy Gerrard showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Dale Davis in the 73rd minute of the match. When Ollie Hellen was, once again, overly rough in his play he received his second yellow card and was ordered off the ground. 74 minutes had been played. Ollie Hellen kicked well hit freekick during the 74th minute of the match. Dale Davis received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 75th minute. Guy Gerrard tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Lee Wilkins fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 78th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Dean Gaskell having to interfere. In the 80th minute, Sly Lawton 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. 82 minutes into the game, Conan Smith was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. All-blacks's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Radcliffe-on-Trent the free kick. Jeff Mellon shot the penalty kick by force right in the crossbar. No goal. If Dale Davis had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 86th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Guy Gerrard made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Gerry Dennison in the 87th minute of play. Gerry Dennison sent away a hard shot on goal in the 89th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After a rather tough play, Radcliffe-on-Trent's Sly Lawton got a free kick in the 93rd minute. If Gerry Dennison had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 95th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. The teams fought very hard right up to the final whistle. Both sets of players were happy to go away with a draw.