League

Costa Stadium
Spectators: 5001 (Terracing: 4001, Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) Costas FC's Pat Wicks 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. When Christopher Rothery came up free with the goalie in the 5th minute, the Costas FC 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 Christopher Rothery couldn't finish the play. Radcliffe's Samuel Butterfield played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Kris Sheringham in the 10th minute of play. After 11 minutes, Alfie Savage mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Radcliffe and the Costas FC players grew even worse after the yellow card. After a rather tough play, Radcliffe's Alfie Savage got a free kick in the 11th minute. In the 12th minute Pat Wicks shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Samuel Butterfield saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. An unexpectedly hard shot by Barrie Goodall in the 14th minute of play forced Costas FC's goalkeeper Niall Caine to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. The supporters of Radcliffe booed when Costas FC was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 18 match minutes in a wonderful position. Kris Sheringham didn't get a good kick on the ball. In the 20th minute, Hugh Drysdale hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Niall Caine took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Barrie Goodall, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Brett Sissons's late challenge caught a Radcliffe's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Brett Sissons helped the player get up and apologised. In the 25th minute, Brett Sissons hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. The audience was convinced that Barrie Goodall's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Niall Caine was relentless in the 28th minute of the game. Nicky Champion scored 0-1 in the 34th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Niall Caine, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. 38 minutes into the match, Barrie Goodall had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Niall Caine. Costas FC's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Barrie Goodall was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 0-2. The crowd was extremely unhappy with the home team's performance in the first half. They were losing 0-2.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Nicky Champion to strike the kick off in the second half. Nicky Champion fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 55th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Niall Caine having to interfere. With 58 minutes on the clock, Hugh Drysdale commited a dangerous tackle. The referee had no choice but to show him the red card. 57 minutes into the game, one of Costas FC:s players got tackled near the goal, and the referee blew for a penalty. In the 69th match minute, Costas FC was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Pat Wicks to maneuver through the defense. The long shot by Walter Boulton in the 70th minute really tested Niall Caine's skills. The ball was on its way into the goal to the left of him when he managed to stretch himself and save the shot and avoid a goal. The supporters of Radcliffe booed when Costas FC was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 70 match minutes in a wonderful position. Jo Nevin didn't get a good kick on the ball. Radcliffe's Nicky Champion got a good chance for a goal in the 72nd minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. 76 minutes into the match, Costas FC's goal looked a bit too open when Nicky Champion came free, but Niall Caine reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Ruben Clayton during the 81st minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. In a very dangerous position, a player in Costas FC fell when an opponent tried to get the ball from him in the 81st minute. Penalty! In the 82nd minute there was a penalty for Radcliffe. Walter Boulton stepped forward and shot the ball to the right of a diving Niall Caine. 0-4. Samuel Butterfield showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Christopher Rothery, who was totally free with the ball in the 88th minute. Tris Ablethorpe hit a great freekick 88 minutes into the match. 91 minutes into the match, Radcliffe's Nicky Champion sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Niall Caine narrowly saved just below the crossbar. Niall Caine showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Nicky Champion in the 93rd minute of the match. Niall Caine was in the perfect position, and the defense had done a good job marking him, but Nicky Champion showcased his skills and made a perfect shot to score 0-5 in the 94 minute of play. The Radcliffe supporters could be heard counting down the last seconds of the match. They errupted in celebration when the whistle blew, knowing Radcliffe would go home with victory in their luggage after a match that easily could have ended differently.