Match Reports - march 2008
Saturday 29th March
TOWN EASE PAST THE VICS AND ARE NOW UNBEATEN IN SIX
Stratford Town - 2 - Malsom 48 Byrne 59
Biddulph Victoria - 0
Town were comfortable winners against their visitors from the Potteries on Saturday and in doing so extended their current unbeaten run in the MFA to six - four victories and two draws.
For the third game running Micky Moore named an unchanged starting line-up and the five subs were the same as at Westfields on Thursday evening. The conditions were not easy with a swirling and gusty wind and frequent showers, but to their credit both teams endeavoured to keep the ball down as best they could and play some decent football.
Town were quickly into their stride and in only the 5th minute a neat move involving Jack Byrne and Steve Ruck set up a chance for Sam Malsom whose shot was scrambled round the post by Vics’ keeper Dan Reed.
Barely a minute later Byrne sent Jerome Grandison free down the right touchline and the tall Mark Chandler did well to clear his cross as it hovered in the wind, while shortly after Grandison had a shooting chance himself when he beat Lyndon Hill to a Jamie Petty pass but he fired wastefully over.
The diminutive Ashley Lawton was beavering away up front for the Vics, and he went close in the 12th minute with a shot that was deflected away for a corner after a break from midfield by Edward Hope.
In general though it was Town who had the majority of the possession and Nick Mowl went close to breaking the deadlock in the 24th minute when the hard working Malsom set up a chance for him on the edge of the penalty area but the midfielder’s effort was narrowly too high.
Nevertheless the Vics were more than capable of threatening Town’s goal when they got the ball. Aaron Kelter was not far away with a shot from distance on the half hour mark and then Matt Quinn went close after a good run down the right by Michael White.
With half time approaching Ruck had a great opportunity following a Grandison cross but his shot hit Byrne much to the Vics relief before being hacked away, while at the other end the tricky White went on another dangerous right wing foray turning Town left back Michael Crawford inside out before his firmly struck shot was well held by keeper James Dormand.
Half Time - Stratford Town 0 Biddulph Victoria 0
Town probably felt that they should have been in front at the break and it only took them three minutes of the second period to put that right. Petty played the ball into the penalty area from the right, Byrne touched it on and the alert Malsom tucked it in from close range for his third goal in five appearances.
This hard won lead was almost thrown away a few minutes later when a mistake by Crawford allowed White a clear run at goal, but Dormand was quickly off his line to block, and in the 59th minute Town gave themselves some breathing space with a second goal. The energetic Malsom showed great persistence on the right flank to make space for a cross and Byrne escaped his marker to slide the ball past Reed from six yards out for his eighth goal of the season.
Now two down and with the wind, if anything getting stronger, the Vics clearly felt that it was not going to be their day, and Town dominated the rest of the game. Ruck was close with a rasping effort after a neat exchange of passes with Malsom and Crawford had an effort from the edge of the penalty area well held by Reed down to his right.
Malsom was now causing the Vics defenders all sorts of trouble with his willingness to chase and harry, and in the closing fifteen minutes he had three chances to add to his tally. Firstly he picked up a loose throw out from Reed to shoot just wide of the unguarded goal from 20 yards out, next he sent Ruck sprinting down the left with a perfectly weighted pass and his first time shot from Ruck’s subsequent cross was only inches wide, and then he robbed the dozing Hall to be one-on-one with Reed but his lob over the keeper drifted wide of the far upright.
So Town are suddenly in a decent run of results although sadly far too late to achieve anything positive this season.
Of more immediate significance is the fact that this was keeper James Dormand’s last game as his loan period has now expired and he will return to Halesowen.
The 38 year old Chris Taylor has been signed from Bromsgrove to take over for the rest of the season, and he should make his Town debut next Saturday at Rocester - potentially the hardest of the five games that are left.
TOWN : Dormand, Robinson, Crawford, Mowl (Faulds 84), Pringle, Love,, Grandison (Oakley 89), Petty (Donaghey 88), Malsom, Byrne, Ruck.. Unused Subs - Snape & Overton
BIDDULPH : Reed, Marrow, Hall, Kelter, Chandler, Smith, White (Butler 72), Hope, Lawton, Platt, Quinn. Unused Subs - Burge, Clarkson, Malbon & Murphy
Town Yellow Cards - Mowl & Ruck
Biddulph Yellow Cards - Marrow
Attendance - 141
Man of the Match - Sam Malsom - was a threat to the Vics up front the whole game - took his goal well and then made the second for Byrne in an enthusiastic all round performance .
Match Stats
Town - GA 18 OT 8 HW 0 CW 1 FC 15 OS 3 YC 2 RC 0
Biddulph - GA 10 OT 4 HW 0 CW 3 FC 6 OS 2 YC 1 RC 0
Thursday 27th March
A HARD WON POINT AT WESTFIELDS
Westfields - 1 - Day 51
Stratford Town - 1 - Grandison 16
This game was originally scheduled for Easter Monday but due to Westfields involvement in the Herefordshire County Challenge Cup Final - they beat Pegasus Juniors 2 – 1 - it had to be rearranged for Thursday evening which meant a long midweek trip for Town and their supporters. The hosts certainly showed no hangover from their Cup success and it was a hard fought match ending in a point for each side.
After the demolition of Cradley last Saturday Micky Moore chose the same starting line-up, and although Mark Faulds and Harry Donaghey came onto the Subs bench they did not get into the action as unusually none of the five Town subs were called upon.
It was obvious from the kick-off that the state of the pitch would prevent this being a footballing classic. It had been waterlogged last week and had now dried out so that the top was rough and uneven making ball control difficult and its bounce impossible to predict, and consequently the game for the most part was scrappy and untidy.
Town almost made an early breakthrough when an underhit back pass from Mark Hibbard nearly let in Sam Malsom and keeper Adam Jones had to be out quickly to kick clear. Westfields’ first chance arrived in the 15th minute when the tricky Jamie Edwards fed Simon Gwilliam whose well struck effort was smartly saved by James Dormand.
Play immediately switched to the other end as the lively Jack Byrne made good ground down the left before squeezing between two defenders on the edge of the penalty area and threading the ball through to Malsom whose first time shot was parried a full stretch by Jones. The ball ran loose and Jerome Grandison was first to react with a clinical finish to put Town in front with his 10th MFA goal of the season.
Barely a minute later Byrne again battled away on the edge of the area to make room for an effort of his own which didn’t miss by much.
As the half reached its midway point however the action became confined to the midfield area and neither goal was seriously threatened. There was a nasty little incident in the 22nd minute when Richard Robinson was hacked down from behind by Matt Aubrey resulting in a scuffle involving players from both sides. When order was restored Aubrey received a yellow card - on another day it could have been red - and Town’s Ashley Pringle was also carded for his contribution to the proceedings.
Shortly after it was Robinson who saw yellow when he exacted some sort of revenge by cutting down Edwards as he attempted to breakaway down the Westfield left.
Jamie Cuss tried his luck from distance as Westfields sought an equaliser before the break, but in the final few minutes of the half it was Town who suddenly looked the more likely to score. Grandison shot across goal from the right, Jones turned a crisp effort from Jamie Petty over the bar and then had to be smartly off his line to beat Grandison to a long ball from Steve Ruck.
Half Time - Westfields 0 Stratford Town 1
Westfields were quickly away after the interval forcing a corner within 30 seconds of the restart from which Aubrey got in a header which was a comfortable save for Dormand. Town responded with a Petty free kick which was only narrowly wide, but Westfields drew level in the 51st minute. Gwilliam outmuscled Ruck to collect a long clearance down by the right corner flag and his cross to the far post was met by midfielder Ashley Day whose volley from 10 yards out gave Dormand no chance.
Town went close to regaining the lead within five minutes when a move involving Petty, Malsom and Ruck led to Byrne beating Jones to a cross but Hibbard was on hand to hack the loose ball clear, and then a Ruck header was deflected away for a corner before the midfield stalemate which had characterised the first half resumed.
Dormand kept Town on level terms in the 66th minute when he went full length to his right to turn away a fierce free kick taken by Scott Jacksont, and Westfields went close again in the 70th minute when Aubrey’s header from a left wing corner was cleared off the line by the well positioned Petty, but as the game entered its final ten minutes it was Town who were the stronger.
Byrne was not far away with an effort from 20 yards, a Petty shot from a similar distance clipped the post and Michael Love was close with a header from a Petty free kick but Westfields hung on, and after a combative 90 minutes a point apiece was probably fair enough.
TOWN : Dormand, Robinson, Crawford, Mowl, Pringle, Love, Jerome Grandison,, Petty, Malsom, Byrne, Ruck.. Sube - All Unused - Donaghey, Faulds, Oakley, Overton & Snape
WESTFIELDS : A Jones, Allam, Hibbard, Day, Jackson (Sparey 67), Green, Cuss, Gwilliam, D Hill (Craddock 64), Aubrey, Edwards. Unused Subs - P Jones, J Hill & Pugh (GK)
Town Yellow Cards - Pringle, Robinson, Ruck & Byrne
Westfields Yellow Cards - Aubrey
Attendance - 53
Man of the Match - Michael Love - another very solid performance in the Town backline
Match Stats
Town - GA 12 OT 3 HW 1 CW 6 FC 17 OS 3 YC 4 RC 0
Westfields - GA 9 OT 5 HW 0 CW 4 FC 17 OS 3 YC 1 RC 0
Saturday 22nd March
TOWN HIT CRADLEY FOR SIX AGAIN !!
Stratford Town - 6 Malsom 16 Crawford 24 Petty 28 Love 31 Byrne 42 Pringle 67
Cradley Town - 1 Swann 62
Town’s only game over the Easter weekend was on Saturday against basement side Cradley at cold and windswept Knights Lane. The Black Country outfit have been propping up the MFA table all season and Town had hit six against them in their away game in December, but Cradley’s recent results have been showing some improvement and in their previous match they had battled to a creditable draw against fourth placed Rocester .
Town were therefore expecting a stiffer test this time round, but some devastating first half finishing led to Town going in at half time five up, and a further strike in the second period equalled their previous tally with unusually all the goals being scored by different players.
There were two changes to the starting line-up from last Saturday at Boldmere. Richard Adams was still troubled with his hamstring and so as at Boldmere Sam Malsom replaced him up front with Jack Byrne coming in for the unavailable Martin Thompson. John Snape had recovered from his broken toe sufficiently to be named on the subs bench.
The early exchanges gave little indication of the goal glut that was to come. Both sides struggled in midfield to cope with the stiff breeze, and it was fully ten minutes before a semblance of a chance was created when a flowing Cradley move led to Richard Ward feeding Ryan Rowe whose effort was blocked by the alert Mick Love.
Town were now finding their feet however and a long ball down the right from Richard Robinson almost put Byrne in but he was denied by keeper Lee Villers sprinting off his line to clear. Byrne then shot just over after latching onto a weak clearance from Josh Gunter before Town took the lead in the 16th minute. A shrewd Jamie Petty pass sent Steve Ruck on a menacing run down the left and when his shot was only parried by Villers striker Malsom was on hand to slot the loose ball home colliding with the post in the process Happily he was able to resume after treatment.
Cradley tried to hit back straightaway, Town keeper James Dormand had to go full length to his right to save from Ward after good work from Dan Greaves and Mark Swann before Town extended their advantage in the 24th minute. Ruck was fouled by Joe Cole by the left corner flag and Petty hoisted the free kick over to the far post where Michael Crawford climbed to head in his first goal of the season.
Four minutes later it was 3 - 0 when Cradley conceded a free kick 30 yards out and Petty’s strike was deflected off the wall to totally wrongfoot the unfortunate Villers.
Then within three minutes it was four for Town when a Petty corner from the left after a Malsom effort had been headed behind by Cole was volleyed in by the unmarked Love.
On the run of play Cradley probably didn’t deserve to be four down and some of their heads started to drop. Town were now totally dominant and they went five up in the 42nd minute with the best goal of the game when Love burst through down the inside left channel and pulled the ball back to Byrne on the edge of the penalty area whose first time effort rocketed into the net before Villers could move.
Half Time - Stratford Town 5 Cradley Town 0
Town attempted to carry on where they had left off as the second half got underway. The influential Petty was soon involved hitting a precision pass out to Ruck on the left who cut inside the floundering Gunter only for his shot to be deflected onto the bar and and away to safety.
However to their credit Cradley were now showing more spirit and pacy substitute Matt Inniss set up a chance for Rowe which he blazes wastefully over before Cradley made their second substitution bringing on Justin Grandison - one of Jerome’s younger brothers - to add a bit of spice in midfield although the pair seemed to give each other a fairly wide berth in the half hour or that remained.!!
Edward Flory was Cradley’s third substitute in the 62nd minute and he made an instant contribution as his first touch was to loft a left wing free kick into the Town penalty area from where it was bundled into the net by Mark Swann to end Town hopes of a second successive clean sheet.
As if stung by this reverse Town soon restored the five goal margin. A Petty right wing corner was only half cleared and Jerome Grandison picked up the loose ball to float over a cross to the far post where it was headed home by Ashley Pringle meaning that three of Town’s back four were now on the scoresheet.
Inniss was continuing to look lively on the Cradley right and should have done better when put through clear on goal with ten minutes to go but he pulled his shot well wide with only Dormand to beat. At the other end Adam Overton set up a chance for Malsom which was well saved by Villers and then Malsom again tested the Cradley keeper with an effort from distance which was only held at the second attempt.
All in all this was a solid performance by Town but clearly Cradley do not provide the greatest test in the MFA. Nevertheless at the very least this has to be a good confidence booster for the remaining seven matches of the season.
TOWN : Dormand, Robinson (Muddyman 72), Crawford, Mowl (Overton 81), Pringle, Love (Snape 70), Jerome Grandison,, Petty, Malsom, Byrne, Ruck.. Unused Subs - Oakley
CRADLEY : Villers, Gunter, Griffin, Farrington, (Justin Grandison 54) D Swann, Cole, Greaves (Inniss 36), Karim (Flory 62), M Swann, Rowe, Ward. Unused Subs - Bates & Givens
Town Yellow Cards - None
Cradley Yellow Cards - Gunter
Attendance - 117
Man of the Match - Jamie Petty - ran the show in midfield and his precise delivery of set pieces led directly to three of the goals.
Match Stats
Town - GA 16 OT 10 HW 1 CW 4 FC 11 OS 6 YC 0 RC 0
Cradley - GA 11 OT 4 HW 0 CW 2 FC 11 OS 1 YC 1 RC 0
Saturday 15th March
TOWN GO BOLDLY AND WIN AT BOLDMERE
Boldmere St Michaels - 0
Stratford Town - 2 Ruck 40 Malson 88
Town achieved arguably their best result since the turn of the year with a battling victory at Church Road against sixth placed Boldmere St Michaels to notch up only their third win in the last fifteen MFA games. It was also their first clean sheet during that period as well and that was undoubtedly a crucial factor in securing the welcome three points.
With the squad down to the bare bones Micky Moore retained the same starting line-up as against Friar Lane on Wednesday evening with Jack Byrne - returning after suspension - having to be content with a place on the subs bench.
The game got off to a scrappy start with all the action concentrated in midfield, but before a quarter of an hour had been played the travelling Town faithful feared the worst as Richard Adams - who had been so impressive on Wednesday - had to go off with a recurrence of his hamstring problem. As it turned out however they need not have worries as Sam Malson came off the bench to give an “Adams like” display up front and notch the late goal which clinched the result for Town.
Initially this change had little impact on the overall pattern of play and it was fully 20 minutes before either goal was seriously threatened. Then a long ball played forward by Kirk Smith set Nathan Gough free but although he took it round the advancing James Dormand he had been forced wide and his shot from a narrow angle found only the side netting.
Martin 'Cloonsey' Thompson gets close attention form the Boldmere defender.
The action soon returned to the congested midfield area with both sides’ play characterised by misplaced passes and unforced errors, but Town at last managed their first attempt on goal in the 32nd minute when Malson - who was already showing a welcome willingness to run and chase - tried his luck with a shot from 25 yards out which was not too far away. Barely a minute later he made a good run down the right only for his low cross intended for Martin Thompson to be cut out by Dan Parker, and then he showed strength and determination down the left to earn Town’s first corner.
Nevertheless it seemed certain that the interval would be reached scoreless until in the 40th minute the hard working Steve Ruck produced a goal out of nothing. Picking up a loose ball some 20 yards out his first touch took him past full back Adam Swain and with his second touch he sent the ball over keeper Ryan Price and it dipped under the bar to give Town an unexpected lead.
It's in - Sam Malson celebrates as Steve Rucks volley hits the back of the net along with Board Member Phil Day - Rich Munday looks on.
Within a couple of minutes he almost made it two when he latched onto a weak clearance and his crisp right footer was pushed away by Price at the base of his right hand post.
Suddenly the Mikes woke up and got involved in the action as well. Smith had a shot from distance comfortably held by Dormand and both Chris Sterling and Ricky Baker had efforts blocked as the last five minutes of the half saw more goal attempts than the previous forty.
Half Time - Boldmere St Michaels Stratford Town 1
Town made a lively start to the second period with the energetic Malson just too high with an effort from distance and then Thompson only inches away from connecting with a low cross from Richard Robinson with the Mikes defence in disarray. The Mikes hit back with the Town defence doing well to deal with a couple of dangerous free kicks into their penalty area, but the game soon slipped back into the midfield skirmish which had taken up so much of the first half and there continued to be little in the way of creative play or flowing football.
Jamie Petty on the ball
Shortly after the hour mark the Mikes tried to freshen things up by making three substitutions in quick succession, and as the game entered its last twenty minutes they set about upping the tempo and forcing Town back in search of an equaliser.
Their best chance arrived in the 76th minute when Baker’s low centre from the left was met at the far post by Rob Simcox but Dormand reacted brilliantly to push his close range effort onto the post and when it rebounded to Simcox the Mikes skipper put it wide. A right wing cross from substitute Max Russell then flashed across the Town six yard box without anyone getting a touch, fellow substitute Chris Hughes tried an overhead kick when a clearance fell to him and the third Mikes substitute Tom Stevenson then had a free header from a Russell cross which he wastefully directed straight at Dormand.
Gradually however Town weathered the storm and made the game safe in the 88th minute. A long ball down the left touchline from Michael Crawford was collected by Ruck and his pinpoint cross was headed past Price by the perfectly positioned Malson with the minimum of fuss.
Town still had to survive some seven minutes of added time but the Mkies’ only real effort in that time was a late header from Adam Wood which was well held by Dormand and Town saw it out with spirit and determination to the end.
.
TOWN : Dormand, Robinson, Crawford, Mowl, Pringle, Love, Grandison,, Petty, Thompson, Adams (Malson 13), Ruck.. Unused Subs - Byrne, Oakley, Overton & Muddyman
BOLDMERE : Price, Swain Brown (Russell 62), Poole, Parker, Wood, Simcox, Smith, Sterling (Stevenson 71), Gough (Hughes 67), Baker.. Unused Subs - Joshi & Lane
Town Yellow Cards - Mowl
Boldmere Yellow Cards - Smith
Attendance - 83
Man of the Match - Steve Ruck - on only his second start since December 1st after returning from injury he put in a hard working performance on Town’s left flank and not only scored the first goal but laid on the second as well.
'Just the two today Gaffa, one screamer and one assist", exclaimed Rucky
Match Stats
Town - GA 8 OT 4 HW 0 CW 3 FC 20 OS 5 YC 1 RC 0
Boldmere - GA 12 OT 4 HW 1 CW 1 FC 8 OS 1 YC 1 RC 0
Wednesday 12th March
TOWN GO AHEAD EARLY BUT FRIAR LANE BATTLE BACK TO DRAW
Stratford Town - 1 Grandison 4
Friar Lane & Epworth - 1 Wright 58
After two and a half weeks without a game Town returned to MFA action on Wednesday evening when they entertained Friar Lane and Epworth at Knights Lane. When these two teams met at Friar Lane at the end of September it had been a top of the table clash with neither side having lost up to that point, and Town produced arguably their best display of the season to sweep the Lane aside with a scintillating 5 – 1 victory.
Both sides have struggled to find any consistent form since however with the Lane having slipped to 13th in the table while Town - who have played a game more - were one place and two points below them, and thus there was little at stake other than pride this time around.
The significant team news before kick-off concerned the return of Richard Adams who - apart from a brief substitute appearance in early January - had been out injured since the Causeway match on December 15th. Richard Robinson, Jerome Grandison and Steve Ruck also returned to the starting line-up while the subs bench included two new faces in Sam Malson who has apparently recently been released by Plymouth Argyle and Mark Muddyman who has been at Redditch United.
Town got off to a bright start with Adams clearly determined to make up for lost time, and it was clever play by him which led to Town taking the lead in only the 4th minute. Gaining possession on the left of the Lane’s penalty area he spotted Grandison unmarked on the right and a precise pass gave him an easy opportunity to slot the ball past keeper Ben hall for his 10th goal of the season..
Within a minute it was almost one apiece as Nick Mowl lost the ball in the Town penalty area and Kris Stevenson was quickest to react only for Mick Love to get back and clear his effort off the line.
That scare apart Town generally had the better of the play and were close to doubling their advantage in the 16th minute when Jamie Petty set up a chance for Adams whose shot cannoned against Hall’s right hand post with the keeper beaten. Shortly after Adams picked up a loose ball on the right just inside the Lane half and sprinted into the penalty area before shooting fractionally over the bar .
Ruck was next to threaten with a shot from distance and Love was close with a header from a Ruck corner before Martin Thompson was also not far away with a header from a long Michael Crawford cross as Town continued to dominate..
Nevertheless the Lane should have levelled the score in the 33rd minute when Jamie Sharman got away down the right to whip in a cross which Stevenson somehow put the wrong side of the post from close in with the Town defence nowhere. Another chance came their way in the final minute of the half when Lewis Gibbons went on a twisting run down the middle before unleashing a fierce effort which Town keeper James Dormand did well to push away for a corner..
Half Time - Stratford Town 1 Friar Lane & Epworth 0
Town were first to attack after the break with Petty trying his luck from 20 yards which went narrowly past the post, but the Lane were now playing some decent football and Town started to look vulnerable. Tall central defender Dan Gibbons went close with a header from an Adam Smith free kick with Dormand beaten and it was little surprise when they equalised in the 58th minute. when Lewis Gibbons floated over a cross from the left which was headed back across goal by Dan Hodgkinson for the unmarked Elliott Wright to smash it past Dormand from six yards out.
Town tried to respond with Adams instigating a number of promising moves. He laid on another chance for Grandison which this time was blasted wastefully over and then Thompson had a couple of useful efforts saved by Hall who then did well to turn away a well struck free kick from Petty.
The Lane however continued to give as good as they got and in the 74th minute Sharman forced Dormand to save low to his right and then the Town keeper had to push away another goal bound shot from Wright.
With the game entering its final ten minutes both sides pressed for a winner but it was Town who created the best chance of a second goal when a Crawford cross was flicked on by Thompson to substitute Malson who was only six yards out but he scuffed his shot and it was an easy save for a relieved Hall who then comfortably held a long range affort from Love.
Thompson also went close with a header from an Adams cross while at the other end Lane substitute Aaron Dignan caused some problems for Town with some tricky late runs down the right but a draw was the right result to a generally entertaining game played in a good spirit.
Town may well find it more difficult on Saturday however when they travel to top six contenders Boldmere and much will depend on whether Adams can get through another 90 minutes unscathed.
Town supporters will certainly hope so.
.
TOWN : Dormand, Robinson, Crawford, Mowl, Pringle, Love, Grandison (Malson 72),, Petty, Thompson, Adams, Ruck.. Unused Subs - Oakley, Overton & Muddyman
FRIAR LANE : Hall, Trevor, Smith, Westley, D Gibbons, Wright, Sharman, Turner (Dignan 78), Stevenson (Phillips 64), Hodgkinson, L Gibbons. Unused Subs - Nonel
Town Yellow Cards - None
Friar Lane Yellow Cards - None
Attendance - 135
Man of the Match - Richard Adams - gave the Lane defenders problems all evening with his pace and trickery and only the width of the post prevented him from marking his comebach with a goal - as long as he stays fit he will be a real asset up front for Town in the remaining matches of the season.
Match Stats
Town - GA 18 OT 6 HW 1 CW 4 FC 7 OS 3 YC 0 RC 0
Friar Lane - GA 11 OT 6 HW 0 CW 5 FC 8 OS 4 YC 0 RC 0
