Match Report

Stadium United 3 - 2 Dunton Dynamos

Divisional Cup (2nd leg) - 9th November 2008; Conditions: Mild and overcast!

Having beaten this Stadium side 4-1 a couple of weeks earlier in the first-leg of this competition, confidence was understandable high in the build-up to this second-leg encounter.

The only notable absentee for this game was Calum who was unavailable due to sickness. With Calum absent, Liam played in goal. Jack played at right-back with Cameron in the laft-back role. Billy and James G played in the central defensive roles. Harry and James M playes in the centre of midfield with Ben out on the right wing and Joran (Captain for the day) on the left wing. Up front we had George and Sonny. The four first half substitutes were Joseph, new signing Cieran, Luke and Charlie.

Before the game, the boys posed (as you'll see!) for some photos. Click on the pictures to see them in all their full-screen glory. Despite the boys best efforts, they all looked very smart in their new home kit, sponsored by D&J Fencing. Our thanks go to D&J Fencing for supporting our club with this gesture.

The game kicked off and it's fair to say the Dynamos completely dominated the early stages. Jordan played out of position in the centre of midfield but was making some outstanding passes to release the two attackers to chase onto. These passes were of a consistently good quality being accurate, perfectly weighted and well-timed. Unfortunately, we were not able to take full advantage but Sonny looked the most threatening as he broke through on goal and hit the base of the post with one of his best efforts.

Against the run of play, Stadium scored the opening goal. Breaking through the centre of our defence, the ball was swept out to the oposing left-winger who was completely unmarked. He took his time before slotting the ball past our stranded keeper.

We continued to press and eventually got a well-earned goal. Sonny once again latched on to an exquisit through-ball to smash the ball home. Despite sustained pressure, we were unable to take the advantage.

Several changes were made at half-time to ensure everyone got at least half a game and this seemed to unsettle the side. Luke replaced Cameron at left-back and Charlie replaced Jack at right-back. Cieran and Joe both came on to replace Harry and Ben respectively.

The play swang from one end of the pitch to the other with the teams effectively cancelling each other out. The Dunton side however lost its shape and bagan giving away posession cheaply. When will be learn to pass the ball rather than take players on all the time!?

Five minutes from the end, Stadium won a corner, The ball was curled in along the ground and somehow crept between the defender marking the post and the post itself. Then in the final minute, following a goalmouth scramble where we failed to clear the danger, the Stadium side got the winner. There wasn't enough time for us to mount a serious attack and we ended up losing a game we should have won.

Man-of-the-match today was awarded to Billy who gave a very solid performance at the heart of our defence. He swept up a number of Stadium attacks and was safe and secure throughout. Other strong performances came from Jordan in midfield and Sonny up-front, whilst Cameron was solid at the back.

Our thanks go to the Stadium United side who once again tested us thoroughly. A draw would have been a fair result but on this occasion they sneaked a late winner. To a neutral, this would have been a thoroughly entertaining game to watch, to a Dunton supporter however, the second-half particularly was a painful experience.