League: Muller Over 50s Div 2

Russell Athletic 50s vs St Brendan’s RFC OB

MATCH REPORT FROM ST. BRENDAN`S

This was a double header as the reverse fixture on 9th Jan was cancelled due to the weather.

Russell only had 10 men so we made them up to 11 from our side. We went in at half-time 3 up but came under a lot more pressure in the second half but somehow we managed to keep them at bay, including a clearance off the line. We added 2 more goals late on to make it look like a more comfortable win than it was. Our goals came from Lee Hodson(a hat-trick), Kev Shanahan and Steve Parry.

Nailsea Vets 50s vs Reclinosaurs

A game of two halves – literally!  Since we’d be unable to schedule a new date for the postponed game earlier in the season, we agreed to play this match as a doubleheader; with each half counting as a separate result.

Nailsea fielded a few new faces and we’re hopeful this was an introduction for a growing squad next season. Lee Philips was lively on the right hand side of midfield for Nailsea and provided two assists for Lee Cogan to put us up 2-0 after half an hour. The first was a header from a well floated cross and the second was a bullet of a shot into the top left corner as Cogs cut inside onto his left foot from a Lee P pass inside. Shortly before half time Cogs notched his hat trick drilling low into the net picking the ball up from a rebound after a Matt G shot. The score could have been higher being it not for some heroics from Russ in the sticks from Reclinosaurs. Result 3-0.

The second half started in a similar fashion to the first with Nailsea confident on the ball and dominating possession. After 5 minutes new boy Steve Lester ran onto the ball in the centre of the pitch and from 40 plus yards out hit a dipping shot into the roof of the net. This seemed to rally Reclinosaurs who began to boss midfield and create more of a threat. After 15 minutes play was stopped when an aerial challenge (quite innocuous and nothing sinister) resulted in Nailsea left back Shane out cold as he fell and landed on the back of his head. He was taken off to hospital for observation and we all hope he has a full and quick recovery. Play restarted after a 10 minute delay and Reclinosaurs dominated possession with Nailsea sitting deeper on the edge of their box but managing to defend resolutely. Russ made a couple more saves from a couple of rare Nailsea attacks to keep Reclinosaurs in with a chance but Nailsea managed to hold out for another 3 points.

Played in a good spirit in perfect conditions on a sunny Sunday morning.

Reclinosaurs vs Nailsea Vets 50s

A game of two halves – literally!  Since we’d be unable to schedule a new date for the postponed game earlier in the season, we agreed to play this match as a doubleheader; with each half counting as a separate result.

Nailsea fielded a few new faces and we’re hopeful this was an introduction for a growing squad next season. Lee Philips was lively on the right hand side of midfield for Nailsea and provided two assists for Lee Cogan to put us up 2-0 after half an hour. The first was a header from a well floated cross and the second was a bullet of a shot into the top left corner as Cogs cut inside onto his left foot from a Lee P pass inside. Shortly before half time Cogs notched his hat trick drilling low into the net picking the ball up from a rebound after a Matt G shot. The score could have been higher being it not for some heroics from Russ in the sticks from Reclinosaurs. Result 3-0.

The second half started in a similar fashion to the first with Nailsea confident on the ball and dominating possession. After 5 minutes new boy Steve Lester ran onto the ball in the centre of the pitch and from 40 plus yards out hit a dipping shot into the roof of the net. This seemed to rally Reclinosaurs who began to boss midfield and create more of a threat. After 15 minutes play was stopped when an aerial challenge (quite innocuous and nothing sinister) resulted in Nailsea left back Shane out cold as he fell and landed on the back of his head. He was taken off to hospital for observation and we all hope he has a full and quick recovery. Play restarted after a 10 minute delay and Reclinosaurs dominated possession with Nailsea sitting deeper on the edge of their box but managing to defend resolutely. Russ made a couple more saves from a couple of rare Nailsea attacks to keep Reclinosaurs in with a chance but Nailsea managed to hold out for another 3 points.

Played in a good spirit in perfect conditions on a sunny Sunday morning.

Re-Union vs Nailsea Vets 50s

Absolutely no complaints tonight. Nailsea started excellently  and ripped us apart to lead 4-0 after 25 minutes. We played  well for the last hour and got back to 4-3 but Nailsea were worthy winners . Always an enjoyable game.

 

Unfortunately I was away for this fixture but big thanks to ReUnion for accepting the father and sons rule to be played since this was the only way we could pull a team together with late injuries and illness hitting the squad. I understand we kept the fresh young legs at the back on the whole so hopefully they weren’t deemed to overly influence our performance which by all accounts got off to a great start with 4 goals in the first half an hour. ReUnion made a great comeback to make it a competitive encounter as it so often is against these guys.

Reclinosaurs vs Re-Union

A good game on a tricky surface at the Met school, where Reclinosaurs achieved their goal of doing better than in the 10-0 reverse in the previous game with Re-Union. First half was fairly even, the Saurs conceded a soft goal from a corner, but created chances of their own, before Re-union spurned two great opportunities to increase the lead just before the break. After HT Re-Union came out with renewed vigor and scored two good goals. Tony scored a superb direct free kick to pull one back, then a mix up at the back gifted RU a fourth. Saurs weren’t finished though and immediately struck back when Rev tucked a shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the area. Fitness began to tell and as the Saurs ran out of legs RU added two more from defensive errors. Congratulations to RU, who now look certain to claim the div 2 title.

Russell Athletic 50s vs Nailsea Vets 50s

Unfortunately Russell have struggled to get a team together so they’ve had to cancel for a second time and agreed to award Nailsea a 3-0 walkover win. Good luck for keeping their squad together next season when we hope to play them again.