League

Timperley
Spectators: 6713 (Terracing: 5000, Seating: 1713, VIP seats: 0) The mood of the audience was pleasant when Jez Pickford made the kick off which started today's match. In the 3rd minute, Leon Deighton ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Martin Bancroft was frozen by the shot and now it was 1-0. Joel Bator made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Vern Wishart in the 8th minute of play. When Johnnie Barnes came up free with the goalie in the 9th minute, the Birmingham 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 Johnnie Barnes couldn't finish the play. Phil Hallam's late challenge caught a Timperley's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Phil Hallam helped the player get up and apologised. In the 13th minute, Phil Hallam hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. After 13 played minutes, Timperley's Richie Trotter shot from a long distance, and at first it looked like the ball was going into the goal, but the goalkeeper Martin Bancroft came through and got his fingers on the ball before it flew over the goal line. He then quickly gripped the ball tighter before the forwards in Timperley reached it. In the 15th minute, Jez Pickford reached a very good position and smashed the ball with a huge effort into the net, just to the left of Martin Bancroft. The goal made the score 2-0. Johnnie Barnes's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Joel Bator read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 25th minute of play. Johnnie Barnes received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 29th minute. Joel Bator tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Martin Bancroft stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Jez Pickford's shot from short distance in the 33rd minute. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Johnnie Barnes in the 35th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Joel Bator saved Timperley from getting behind. Timperley were furious when Aaron Langston was red carded, 39 minutes into the game, but the referee dismissed their protests. In the 45th minute, Johnnie Barnes 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. 46 minutes into the match, Birmingham's Vern Wishart sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Joel Bator narrowly saved just below the crossbar. When Leon Deighton came up free with the goalie in the 48th minute, the Timperley 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 Leon Deighton couldn't finish the play. The away team players looked dejected as the walked off the pitch at half time. They had fought hard, but were still losing 2-0.

The wind increased when Johnnie Barnes made the kick off in the second half. In the 52nd minute, Darren Nightingale hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Martin Bancroft made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Richie Trotter in the 53rd minute of play. After having played for 54 minutes, Vern Wishart managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Birmingham's supporters crossed their fingers, but Vern Wishart was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. When Birmingham's Johnnie Barnes in the 56th minute got a chance for a shot 56th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Timperley's goalie prevented a goal. The audience was convinced that Johnnie Barnes's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Joel Bator was relentless in the 57th minute of the game. Vern Wisharts short, quick shot in the 61stth minute got Joel Bator to make great effort and bar the ball away from getting in. Joel Bator stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Johnnie Barnes's shot from short distance in the 62nd minute. Joel Bator showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Johnnie Barnes in the 65th minute of the match. Martin Bancroft showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Leon Deighton, who was totally free with the ball in the 67th minute. After 72 minutes, Pete Shakespeare mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Timperley and the Birmingham players grew even worse after the yellow card. A collision led to Timperley getting a freekick after 72 minutes play. Pete Shakespeare hit a great ball. Birmingham's Johnnie Barnes got a good chance for a goal in the 73rd minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Johnnie Barnes was really disappointed when he shot the ball just outside the right post instead of scoring a goal in the 77th minute. Birmingham's manager could be seen on the sidelines shaking his head and muttering to himself as his team had just wasted another chance. The audience was convinced that Johnnie Barnes's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Joel Bator was relentless in the 78th minute of the game. Johnnie Barnes received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 81st minute. Joel Bator tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Joel Bator was in the perfect position, and the defense had done a good job marking him, but Johnnie Barnes showcased his skills and made a perfect shot to score 2-1 in the 84 minute of play. 87 minutes into the match, Vern Wishart notched a goal, 2-2, to the right of Timperley's Joel Bator. Joel Bator was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. In the 92nd minute, Birmingham's Johnnie Barnes ran free of his marker and smoothly shot the ball into the goal behind Joel Bator. Joel Bator yelled at his defense, as they had left him out to dry. 2-3. In the 98th minute, Sacha Longthorn 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. Birmingham's players went to the stands to thank the travelling support. The fan's backing had helped spurr the team on to a fine performance that won them the match.