League: Over 45s

Swift FC vs Nailsea Vets 45’s

Swift Report:

A very pleasant, extremely even and remarkably incident free game to report… Swift went ahead early on and then Nailsea equalised late on before the dreaded penalties…

Nailsea Report:

Thanks to the league committee for all the support in the last few weeks to make sure we were in good shape to get playing football again.

This opening game of the season was bookended by two goals, one in the first five minutes as a lack of concentration at the back by Nailsea let Swift in and one late on by Alex Plenty to level the score and take this cup tie to penalties. In between the two goals both teams shared possession quite evenly; Nailsea making good use of the width but lacking a final ball to really carve out any clear-cut chances. Swift had several opportunities on goal but the ever-dependable Lee McGreevy between the sticks kept Nailsea in the game.

5 minutes from time with an equalizer starting to look unlikely, Alex fired home low into the left corner of the net from 8 yards out in a crowded box to level the score. In the final two minutes Nailsea’s had two chances to nick a late win with a shot cleared off the line and Rich Wood pulling off a good stop in goal for Swift.

So, this was one for the neutral as we went to penalties. Fortunes ebbed and flowed; 3-3 after the first 5 penalties so sudden death and after Swift crashed a spot kick onto the cross bar, Mark Evans cooley drilled the ball top left to give Nailsea the win. This game could have gone either way so unlucky to Swift but we wish them luck as they embark on their league games.

Swift 1 – Nailsea 1

 

vs
vs
vs
vs

Easton Cowboys 45’s vs Red Star 45’s

EC report:
We played on the 4G at Lockleaze. Result was a 3-1 to Red Star.
Red Star seemed a bit less rusty than the Cowboys. They had a few chances before they finally broke through and scored a good goal to take a 1-0 lead into halftime.
Red Star scored a second which looked offside but was given by the dodgy Cowboys linesman. We should never let him have the flag.
We pulled back a goal when our strikers to allow Gio to score in his first game. There wasn’t long left but we were coming back into the game when Red Star broke through the middle and their striker got taken out by a despairing tackle. Blatant penalty but missed by the ref. Our keeper then threw the ball to one of the Red Star players and allowed him to score.
Red Star Report:

The Cowboys clearly wanted to stake a claim on this new season, but the Red Star manager claimed to have smelled cup silver in these Lockleaze hills and he wasn’t to be disappointed.

Red Star started with a 7 pass sequence that eclipsed all of last years stats in an instant. Things were looking promising and they continued to impress with everything but finishing. The gaffer rolled his dice around the half hour mark, putting Alex up front after a five decade wait. He repaid the gamble with a cool finish under pressure.

1-0 at half time and with energy levels needing careful management, Red Star elected to circle the wagons and defend their precious lead. When Waj added a second after a tidy cut back by Alex it looked like they’d made it to the promised land of the next round, but when the Cowboys pulled one back with 5 minutes to go things were briefly on a knife edge. This was soon blunted though when a clear penalty was missed by the otherwise solid ref and confusion and disbelief brought the game to a standstill. The ball (technically still in play) rolled lazily round the 6 yard box until a Red Star player tidied it away into the back of the net. It is of enormous credit to the Cowboys that they swiftly and unilaterally agreed that a goal should be given. That effectively was the end of the contest and a merciful final whistle confirmed the result soon after.

Excellent performance from Red Star, solid in all departments and optimism high for the season ahead. Fantastic to be back playing on a very good pitch in a well fought footballing contest.

vs