07/01/2023 – REPORT – Alresford Colne Rangers FC versus Sudbury Sports FC

CHELMSFORD CITY RACECOURSE

ESSEX & SUFFOLK BORDER FOOTBALL LEAGUE

PREMIER DIVISION

ALRESFORD COLNE RANGERS FC.    0.                 SUDBURY SPORTS FC.            5.

Date:               Saturday 07^th January 2023              Venue:             Ford Lane, Alresford.

            Happy New Year, grassroots football is back at last, two weeks of inclement weather followed by two weeks of Christmas festivities put a dent in local football activities, hopefully these two teams have stayed fit and can run-off any extra pounds. At the start of play Alresford Colne Rangers FC sat tenth on seventeen points with Sudbury Sports FC one place behind on sixteen points, naturally, with those statistics I expected a close match.

            The match official was Emmanuel Adeeko who, on a cold and damp afternoon would be assisted by Andrew Harvey and Samuel Atkinson, another new young Assistant Referee, we hope he enjoys his experience in the ESBFL, on the occasions when he returns from, University, a decent crowd had gathered as well, to watch this match on a well-prepared pitch.

            Alresford Colne Rangers FC kicked-off, playing into the stiff blustery breeze and straight away Sudbury Sports FC but pressure on the home team with Coburn using his pace and enthusiasm to close down defenders. Coburn was the recipient of the first foul committed by Hughes but the home team defended through Higgleton and Alresford built their first attack culminating in a high lofted cross from Hughes, into the penalty area, where keeper, Hurst, advanced, calling for the high ball but could only fumble the ball away for the first corner of the match. Alresford pushed forward again, Hargreaves received the ball from keeper, Lewis, sending in a cross to Smith (R) who turned to send a low shot to keeper, Hurst. With three minutes gone this game had been fast and furious, Coburn gained a corner off Cannon, Birch was caught off-side from a pass by Tower-King then a rasping shot from Spurgeon (A) forced keeper, Lewis to save low down with the ball taking a deflection en-route. A miss-placed pass from Tower-King was gathered by Cannon but his pass inside fell to Smith (R) who had strayed off-side. On ten minutes, the first goal, Hussain had played the ball wide to Birch near the half-way line, riding two tackles AARON BIRCH strode on past both Hume and Hargreaves before beating keeper, Lewis at the near post, a fine individual goal. The Alresford, counter was immediate, keeper, Lewis sent the ball long to Hargreaves whose forward pass split the Sudbury defence, Smith (R), pounced and lobbed the ball goal-wards, the outstretched fingers of keeper, Hurst, just diverted the ball sufficiently for it to bounce past the open goal for a corner, the resulting corner being cleared by Goode. A mazy run down the left side by Coburn ended with keeper, Lewis saving low down, Gray fouled Goode, Sudbury took the free-kick quickly and set-up another fast attack down the middle of the pitch.

            The pace of the game had picked up from a Sudbury perspective, Alresford could not retain possession and looked frustrated, relying on free-kicks to get forward, one free-kick from Hume was heading towards Smith (R) but keeper, Hurst, called and caught the ball, only to be fouled near the edge of the penalty area. From the clearance, Coburn, once again dribbled down the left side towards the corner flag and eventually gained a throw-in, which went out for a goal-kick. On twenty minutes Taylor linked up with Hughes whose first time effort for a shot was snatched, the ball drifting wide for a goal-kick. A long clearance from keeper, Lewis was fielded by his opposite number and returned with more height without troubling anybody. Sudbury scored their second goal on twenty-three minutes, Hussain found Coburn, and despite being dumped on the ground by Hughes, play continued, excellent refereeing here, Coburn passed to Tower-King and from his sideways pass there was AARON BIRCH to score his second goal. Hussain was now relishing the midfield battle, a crunching tackle on Cannon was followed by another on Hughes which led to Hussain receiving treatment off the pitch before returning a few minutes later. Brownsdon blocked a forward pass from the home team, ran forward a sent in a cross that keeper, Lewis held high over the penalty spot and this game was now all about the visitors, wave after wave of fast attacking football with the home defence and midfield under pressure. Smith (R) fouled Birch, just inside the Alresford half, Coburn took the free-kick and keeper, Lewis made an excellent save high under the post and cross-bar, from his clearance keeper, Hurst was forced to venture out of his area to clear.

            Goal number three arrived on the half-hour mark but not from open play, Sudbury had forced a corner down the left side, LUCA TERMANIELLO swung in a right footed, wind assisted kick which eluded everyone to nestle in the far side of the goal net. The visitors definitely had their tails up and were playing some expansive football with confidence for such a young team, against the more experienced home team. Tower-King forced another corner, taken from the left side by Terminiello, this was headed out on the other side by Smith (R), once again Terminiello took the kick, playing the ball short to KAIDEN TOWER-KING, a quick shift of the ball from his right foot to his left and what followed was a clear shot at goal as every player became flat-footed having moved inside expecting a cross, another well worked goal though! The Alresford response came from Hughes who took aim from outside the penalty area and watched as keeper, Hurst made a fine save diving to his right side, a cross from Higgleton found Smith (R) but the Sudbury defence was quickly around him and possession was lost. Alresford continued to keep better possession as we approached half-time, three corners came in succession, all cleared without aplomb, then a rare error. When keeper, Hurst tried to clear the ball from the ground his clearance was charged down by Taylor, the ball ran loose to the right of the penalty area, both players gave chase with keeper, Hurst handling the ball just outside the penalty area, a free-kick was awarded, and a caution followed for the unlucky keeper. With the free-kick defended well, Sudbury broke forward through Tower-King who set Coburn away, keeper, Lewis was up to the task and made a full stretch save at the expense of a corner, taken by Terminiello but this time, well held by keeper, Lewis, to end a pulsating half of attacking football, well at least from one team!

HALF-TIME:    0 – 4.

            I understand that the home team got the “hair-dryer” treatment at half time from Manager Dave Dance, their first half performance as way off par by their standards, that said Sudbury had been excellent across the park. Alresford made a player change with Horne replacing Hitchman and right from the restart he looked lively, setting Hume away to cross to Smith (R) who planted the ball in the net, was this a comeback, no, Smith (R) had strayed off-side. Hussain fouled Horne and Alresford pressed forward with a long, deep cross to the far side of the penalty area where numerous players were gathered, Goode headed the ball away but only to the edge of the penalty area where, from where I was standing, an Alresford player was held back. The well placed, referee pointed to the penalty spot to que a discussion as to why, by the visitors, in my opinion it was the correct decision, the discussion was over quickly, Hume stepped up to blast the ball goal-wards, keeper, Hurst took off to his right side to make a fine save at full stretch.

            The second half was becoming a gritty midfield affair, Sudbury had a four goal cushion, rarely looking threatened in defence, Alresford, to their credit, kept plugging away, Horne found Hughes in space on the right side but his high lofted cross drifted behind with the aid of the wind. Coburn chased down a clearance from keeper, Lewis who reacted quickest to get back and collect the ball a yard or two from the goal-line. On sixty-five minutes Sudbury made their only substitution, with Spurgeon (A) being replaced by Williams, his first action was to help defend a corner that was punched clear by keeper, Hurst. Hussain put in a robust challenge on Horne inside the home half, once again Goode headed the free-kick away only for Horne to foul Henrici-Fernandes down near the corner flag at the other end. Henrici-Fernandes took the free-kick himself with Cannon heading out for a corner which was cleared by Higgleton but as Sudbury looked for more goals their eager players were caught off-side on three separate occasions.

            Smith (R) was himself caught off-side from a cross from Higgleton, from the restart Hussain intercepted a Crossfield pass cutting the ball back into the path of Birch who failed to connect, then Taylor fouled Taylor-King wide on the right side. From the clearance by keeper, Lewis, the Alresford next attack came from an error by Brownsdon whose misplaced pass fell to Smith (R) but his snatched chance did not trouble the keeper. As we approached the final minutes Hughes pulled back Hussain to earn a caution, more out of frustration, but Hussain had been involved in most of the gritty midfield foraging for the visitors. As we entered “added-time” Sudbury capped an excellent performance with a four man move, Hussain to Coburn with the final pass from Birch falling to KAIDEN TAYLOR-KING for a fine team goal.

FULL TIME:     0 – 5.

            With my knowledge of the ESBFL, I believe that the Sudbury Sports FC starting eleven are the youngest ever to start in the competition, eight players were just sixteen, three were seventeen as were the three substitutes, clearly, they are all fit and well drilled, they listen to the advice shouted from their management team, interestingly, the respective goalkeepers are coached by Andy Corton who played in goal himself and was raised in Alresford.

            Finally, turning to my “Star Player” choice, for Alresford Colne Rangers FC, keeper, Lewis made numerous saves but was well beaten on five occasions, a case of no defence there perhaps, Hargreaves did get forward down the left side, but service was generally poor. Home Captain, Higgleton, tried to get things going from an overworked defence, Smith (R) worked hard as always but rarely had a true sight of the goal, finally Taylor did his best throughout this match. For Sudbury Sports FC, again the keeper, Hurst made numerous saves, including a penalty save, defensively sound with Goode and Brownsdon commanding in the air and on the ground. Up front, the pace of Taylor-King, two goals and Birch, two goals and the guile of Coburn always looked a threat, however, midfield is where games are won or lost, Silversword, Terminiello and Hussain were quickly into every challenge with the latter player outstanding for his efforts throughout, no tackle was shirked, every pass made its mark and reached its intended destination. After that summary, it was a determined team effort from the young visitors, and their Management Team were glowing with their praise after the match had ended.

Teams:

ALRESFORD COLNE RANGERS FC:   

Colours:                        Red & Black Shirts, Black Socks & Red Socks.

Team:

Alfie Lewis., Joshua Gray., Scott Cannon., Lewis Hargreaves., Finlay Hughes., Robert Taylor., Sam Hume., Roger Smith., Jamie Hitchman., Jack Higgleton (C)., Tyler Smith.

Management:                David Dance.

Used Substitutes:           Brendon Horne.

Unused Substitutes:       Finlay Topolewski., David Dance., Peter Spencer.

SUDBURY SPORTS FC.

Colours:                        Blue Shirts, Blue Shorts and Blue Socks.

Team:

Toby Hurst., Jensen Goode (C)., Max Brownsdon., Thomas Henrici-Fernandez., Alfie Spurgeon., Mustafa Hussain., Luca Terminiello., Kaidon Tower-King., Toby Silversword., Aaron Birch., Joe Coburn.

Manager:                      Scott Egerton.

Assistant Manager:        Steven Downey.

Used Substitutes:           Kieran Williams.

Unused Substitute:         Lewis Spurgeon., Devon Raven.

Referee:                        Emmanuel Adeeko.

Assistant Referees:        Andrew Harvey and Samuel Atkinson.

Star Player:                Mustafa HUSSAIN                              (SUDBURY SPORTS FC)

MATCH NOTIFICATIONS

Fixture Secretaries of Clubs are required to notify all match details, date, venue, kick-off time, colours etc, to their opposition and any appointed official/s, at least FIVE days before the match.

KICK-OFF TIMES

January:                                                                        14:00pm

February:                                                                      14:30pm

March, to end of season:                                               15:00pm

ESBFL CUP TIES:                                                           30 minutes earlier, if necessary.

ECFA CUP TIES:                                                            Kick-Off as advertised

CUP TIES

There will be NO requirement for “Extra-Time” to be played in ESBFL Cup Matches, if scores are level at the end of “normal time” the match will proceed directly to penalty kicks.

SUBSTITUTES

The ESBFL allows ONLY FIVE SUBSTITUTES to be named before kick-off and ONLY those FIVE may be allowed to participate. Referees have been advised to consider any other named substitutes as ineligible.

Note:

In Essex County Cups (Premier & Junior & Trophy) the Rule allows FIVE SUBSTITUTES to be named and those FIVE SUBSTITUTUES may be used on a “Roll-On / Roll-Off” basis.

TEAM SHEETS

Team Sheets should be shown or sent to the Referee and the Opposition team either by text, email etc

The BLUE “League Copy” of the Team Sheet, FULLY completed, should be sent by First Class Post to reach Mick Willmore by the Thursday after a Saturday match.

This is the ONLY item of correspondence that is required by post.

(Allowances have been made for weeks where “Postal Strikes” have occurred)

RESULTS REPORTING

Rule 21(B)

BOTH Clubs shall notify/SMS the result of each Competition Match to the Competition within 30 minutes of the finish of the match. This will include Football Association and County Football Association matches.

The results of all League and Cup matches in the Competition should be reported by the FA Full-Time “SMS” (text) System.

Failure to comply with this Rule will result in a fine in accordance with the Fines Tariff.

FA FULL-TIME

The Referees marks, team, players, substitutes, goal scorers, red / yellow cards, and sin-bin, etc MUST be entered to “FA Full-Time” by the end of the Tuesday following a Saturday match (ie 48 hours after any match).

Failure to complete “FAFT” correctly and on time WILL incur a League Fine/s.

“MATCH DAY APP”

This “App” is run by the Football Association and if Clubs have any issues on its use, then please refer to ECFA in the first instance.

As a Competition, the ESBFL does not recommend use of the “Match Day App”, it has known faults and any Club using it should check that all details are fully recorded before exiting the application.

A known issue is “Referees Marks” which have a habit of dropping off once the team statistics are entered, a number of Clubs have had Fine Warnings and / or Fines for these details being omitted.

DISCIPLINE

Since the start of the season, till the end of October, there have been 35+ players dismissed and over 550 cautions, there have also been 9 reported incidences of misconduct towards players, Match officials, members of the public and county officials.

These are situations the ESBFL Management feel very strongly about, and the statistics make poor reading, the ECFA will deal with all these cases as deemed appropriate but bear in mind these actions can be very costly both for players and your, Clubs.

WHOLE GAME SYSTEM (“WGS”)

All Club Secretaries should check “WGS” on a regular basis, if you don’t, the ECFA levy a fine (25%) for late acknowledgements and payments of fines and the Club could be put into a “SINE-DIE” situation meaning they cannot play until those debts are cleared.

Club Secretaries are also responsible for adding the matches missed by players who have been suspended.

Whilst the ESBFL regularly reviews the whole Club contents on “WGS” it is not their responsibility to monitor failures by Member Clubs to follow basic procedure/s.

REFRESHMENTS

Rule 20A

The Rule {Rule 20(A)} on Page 120 of the ESBFL Handbook states:

Refreshments for BOTH teams and Match Officials MUST be provided by the home Club at half time unless these have been declined before the game.

Clubs in default shall be fined (£15.00).

NB: Whilst the Rule does not actually detail what constitutes “refreshments”, for clarity, it is in the form of drinks, these can be hot, in the form of tea or coffee or cold, eg bottled water, diluted squash or bottled energy drinks are sufficient.