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14th Oct: Hope 2 Nailsea 2
This was a right rip-roaring end-to-end cracker of a game, just as Peregrine predicted. Jon Lansdown, Danny Hewlett, Mike Wood and Will Bradbury would all have started for Nailsea but were missing such were the directions to Filwood as given to them by gaffer Provis. With Feargo dropping out a few hours before kick off Nailsea gave a debut to 21 year old Howard Smith in the centre of midfield. Paul Williams was also making his first start for the club after only appearing as sub. 18 year old Andy Maggs got a run out up front.
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Hope set their stall at 3-5-2 and were always going to over run Nailsea in midfield, as we stuck to our classic 4-4-2 line up. With both teams trying to pass the ball around and at times succeeding to string a few passes together, Nailsea had great success down the flanks where Hope, with their massive height advantage, dominated the air. Ironically then, it was from a corner that the vertically challenged Nailsea took the lead. A long corner fell to Pete Noble at the back of the Hope box. Slipping backwards, Pete swung wildly with his left peg and upon hitting his foot the ball rebounded into the net, past a surprised Hope keeper.
1-0 at half time and with as expected the second half to come, gaffer Provis said some stuff about playing football and sent us back out to do battle. The second half started as the first half with the refs whistle and a centre kick. Pete Rowe, having a cracking game on the right wing, had a shot cleared of the line and young Smithy had a shot go narrowly wide. However Hope were forever a threat to the resilient Nailsea defence and they produced a fantastic move which ripped Nailsea in shreds but fortunately resulted in Hope being denied by the woodwork. With twenty minutes to go Nailsea conceded a penalty following an accidental handball from the Searle. Up stepped the Hope No 5 who hit possibly the worst penalty seen in a long time, as the ball ended up nearer the corner flag.
However Nailsea were determined to conceed a goal and shortly after we allowed a corner kick to travel like a tumbleweed, unchallenged across the face of our goal to a grateful Hope player who somewhat surprised at the gift leathered the ball into the back of the net.
With the ferocity of feral hamsters, Nailsea struck back straight from the restart. Going for the throat of the hope defence, we put them on the back foot and a lay-off by Kelvin Hall fell to Paul Williams who, running in from the left wing, leathered, nay mullered a first time left foot shot from twenty plus yards into the roof of the hope net. Get in there!
However Hope were not finished and with nothing to lose threw men forward as they went all out to attack. They forced a series of corners of which Nailsea failed to clear and eventually the height advantage told as a Hope player outjumped three Nailsea defenders to squeeze the ball between the crossbar and the keepers hands.
No sooner had we taken the restart did the ref blow up for full time. A draw was a fair result but to lose the win with 1 minute to go was a gutter. No doubt our rivals will be pleased. Paul Williams was voted man of the match with Sam Andrews voted MVP by Hope.
Report by John 'Brittonaldo' Britton
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