Friendly League

Ironside Park
Spectators: 36 (Terracing: 28, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) The mood of the audience was pleasant when Seth England made the kick off which started today's match. An unexpectedly hard shot by Casey Oliver in the 4th minute of play forced St. Etienne's goalkeeper Joe Ellerby to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. George Halliday fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 12th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Joe Ellerby having to interfere. Joe Ellerby showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Casey Oliver, who was totally free with the ball in the 13th minute. George Halliday could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 16th minute of the match, but Joe Ellerby made a huge save. After 17 played minutes St. Etienne got a freekick which was hit by Felix Chapman. In the 17th minute George Halliday shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Joe Ellerby saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 19th minute, George Halliday ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Joe Ellerby was frozen by the shot and now it was 3-0. The audience was convinced that Seth England's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Tyrone Hartshorn was relentless in the 23rd minute of the game. Joe Ellerby was in exellent shape and made a fantastic save when he, in the 25th minute of the match, managed to get hold of the ball after a long shot from Garry Kearney. Joe Ellerby showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Lenny Carr, who was totally free with the ball in the 27th minute. 27 minutes into the game, Middlesbrough Ironopolis's Lenny Carr nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Joe Ellerby made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 4-0. Middlesbrough Ironopolis's Stan Myers got a good chance for a goal in the 32nd minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. In the 33rd minute, George Halliday hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Joe Ellerby made a fantastic save in the 36th minute, when Lenny Carr sent off a good shot on target. After 39 played minutes St. Etienne got a freekick which was hit by Harvey Branch. Seth England received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 42nd minute. Tyrone Hartshorn tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. After a rather tough play, St. Etienne's Joel Castledine got a free kick in the 43rd minute. Lenny Carr scored 5-0 in the 45th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Joe Ellerby, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. The home fans were very happy to see their team leading 5-0 at half-time.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell George Halliday to make the kick off. After 51 minutes, Sebastien Murtagh mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the St. Etienne and the Middlesbrough Ironopolis players grew even worse after the yellow card. After 51 played minutes St. Etienne got a freekick which was hit by Sebastien Murtagh. Middlesbrough Ironopolis were awarded a corner in the 53th minute after St. Etienne's defender lost control of the ball, allowing it to roll out over the line. George Halliday took the corner. The corner ended in George Halliday almost managing to get the ball behind the net, but St. Etienne's Joe Ellerby did a great save. Harvey Branch received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 54th minute. Tyrone Hartshorn tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Lenny Carr in the 56th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Joe Ellerby prevented the ball from getting in the gole. 58 minutes into the game, Middlesbrough Ironopolis's Casey Oliver nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Joe Ellerby made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 6-0. After a rather tough play, St. Etienne's Marek Chilton got a free kick in the 62nd minute. If Lenny Carr had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 63rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. St. Etienne's Joe Ellerby played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Casey Oliver in the 69th minute of play. Middlesbrough Ironopolis's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by George Halliday in the 71st minute. It was a well-played corner which Kris Stubbs managed to volley towards the net. Unfortunately, he didn't get a great hit on the ball and it went out into the grandstand. Garry Kearney kicked well hit freekick during the 74th minute of the match. After 75 played minutes, St. Etienne's Eddie Knowles shot from a long distance, and at first it looked like the ball was going into the goal, but the goalkeeper Tyrone Hartshorn 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 St. Etienne reached it. Joe Ellerby took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from George Halliday, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Joe Ellerby made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from George Halliday in the 90th minute of play. The supporters of Middlesbrough Ironopolis booed when St. Etienne was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 91 match minutes in a wonderful position. Felix Chapman didn't get a good kick on the ball. A collision led to St. Etienne getting a freekick after 94 minutes play. Marek Chilton hit a great ball. If Casey Oliver had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 95th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. It was no surprise that this one had ended in a win for the home team. Middlesbrough Ironopolis had played much better football throughout.