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MATCH REPORT
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Super second half gives Sumners victory!
Sumners Athletic 3 vs. 1 Oakwood United….
Sumners Athletic secured their first three points of the 09/10 season thanks to second half goals from Andy Rigglesworth and two from debutant Gabriele Lazzari. The plan before kick-off was to start quickly where we finished the week before and put Oakwood under pressure. Unfortunately that was not the case and Sumners found themselves a goal down within a minute. Sloppy play gave Oakwood a needless throw in the SAFC final third. The long throw was called for and missed by Joe Smith which allowed the Oakwood player to flick into the empty net – a disastrous start. Sumners continue to struggle to find any rhythm with the game becoming increasingly scrappy. Liam Crouch fired a free-kick over the bar and the Oakwood ‘keeper did well to deny Dave Bonds when he shot from the right-side of the goal. At the other end, Smith did well to turn away a shot from the Oakwood player for a corner. Sumners then attacked again and Andy Waddington’s touch was just too heavy which prevented him from getting a shot away in the Oakwood box. Both teams had a number of corners and set-pieces but were unable to capitalise on these and the score remained 1-0 at half-time.
The message at half-time was that we were still very much in the game and the next goal was crucial. We had to up the tempo and look more lively. Miles Leighton replaced Smith in goal for the second half.
Sumners started the second half like a house on fire and were level within two minutes. A long punt (sorry, perfect through ball) from Grant Clements was missed by the Oakwood defender and Rigglesworth outpaced him and the rest of the Oakwood players to clinically round the ‘keeper and slot into the empty net to make it 1-1. Sumners then continued to be the better side as they consistently attacked Oakwood and began to see more and more of the ball. The passing became a lot sharper and opportunities were being created. Waddington twice got himself into dangerous positions but was unable to get a shot away as Sumners began to spend an increasing amount of time in the Oakwood half. Lazzari was then introduced for his debut in place of Andy Sanderson. A few minutes later, Rigglesworth beat the defender 25 yards from goal and went through on the ‘keeper only for the defender to pull him back and bundle him to the ground. The referee awarded the free kick but decided not to send the defender off. Lazzari stepped up with the free-kick and saw it hit the wall. Lazzari would not have to wait long for his first goal however. After being brought down, Lazzari stepped up and fired a low free-kick underneath the wall which wrong-footed the ‘keeper and saw the ball find the net. This led to jubilant celebrations from the SAFC players. Sumners were now leading and, unlike last week, were determined to hold on to it. Unsurprisingly, Oakwood began to attack Sumners more and more with an increasing amount of corners being flung into the box and Leighton being called upon to dive to his left to keep out a header from the Oakwood captain. There were several last ditch tackles and interceptions, with a particularly important header from Marc Etherington, but Sumners continued to work hard to preserve the lead. With only a few minutes remaining, Lazzari put the game to bed when he picked the ball up 25 yards out and sent a low, exquisite curling shot into the bottom corner leaving the ‘keeper routed to the spot. A fantastic debut for Lazzari and a fantastic result for Sumners. The match ended 3-1 and it is now on to the first cup game of the season next weekend.
Jeff Coupland:
“We are pleased to have got our first points on the board and deserved that. It was a really tight game today and both teams put the other team under pressure at certain points but we managed to show that quality when it mattered and got the points. It was a good, spirited team performance and should do our confidence good ahead of next Sunday”.
Sumners Athletic:
1. Joe Smith (sub – Miles Leighton)
2. Marc Etherington
3. Scott Aitken
4. Liam Crouch
5. Grant Clements
6. Scott Coupland
7. Andy Waddington
8. Andy Sanderson (sub – Gabriele Lazzari)
9. Dave Bonds
10. Andy Rigglesworth
11. Kevin Coupland
Subs not used: Joe Hughes, Mike Ross and Matt Jolly.
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