17/09/2019 – REPORT: Alresford Colne Rangers versus Tiptree Engaine FC

ESSEX & SUFFOLK BORDER FOOTBALL LEAGUE

PREMIER DIVISION.

ALRESFORD COLNE RANGERS FC: 3. TIPTREE ENGAINE FC: 0.

Date: Saturday 17^th August 2019. Venue: Ford Road, Alresford.

Right, we are back, and up and running, apologies from me for not being around for the first Saturday of the season but a rare opportunity to go to the Olympic Stadium to watch West Ham play Manchester City, came my way, however, with that result I don’t think I’ll be asked again! Family commitments and a holiday have also kept me away from matches but not from what has been going on as numerous calls and emails have arrived and been dealt with. As usual and after a protracted effort to agree a League Constitution we have settled for three divisions of sixteen and one of fifteen, there have of course been many requested and enforced changes, teams wanting to be demoted and others double promoted, I’m sure that won’t happen again!

The ESBFL welcome four new Clubs: Little Clacton FC., St Osyth FC., Stanway Athletic FC and Stanway Rovers FC Reserves., as well as four new Reserve teams: Cavendish FC Reserves., Elmden Rovers FC Reserves., Flitch United FC Reserves., Stanway Pegasus FC Reserves but lost Long Melford FC Reserves and Ramsey & Mistley FC.

A quick glance at current Club player strength and year on year nothing has changed as team registrations clearly show that many players have changed allegiance this season, some more than expected, others not so, but let us hope the players aspirations are fully met for their new teams, but whatever happened to player / club loyalty! Managers have also changed, and certain Member Clubs have had their work cut out to replace Managers and often the whole squad of players.

Changes to the “Whole Game System” (WGS) and “FA Full-Time” have given my Management colleagues an additional head-ache so if Member Clubs have any queries then please call a League Management member for help or advice. In addition, any Football League at Step 7 or below has now been burdened by the “Temporary Dismissal” or “Sin-Bin” process for any offence deemed to be for “Dissent”, that can, not just be verbal, but by action, for example throwing or kicking the ball away. Has anybody learned, no, seems to be the answer and several players have already been sin-binned, a Managers nightmare, as they want eleven players on the pitch, at, all times! Then the FA, in their wisdom have introduced new rules about off-side, handball, goal-kicks, penalty/spot kicks and the match official getting in the way of the ball to name a few, so please read the new rules and accept the match official/s decisions.

A decent sized crowd had gathered over at Ford Lane, Alresford for their first home match against Tiptree Engaine FC, a team recently promoted from Division One, both sides sported players that played for the respective opposition last season so to say the players knew each other was an understatement.

The match referee was Chris Green who would be assisted by Richard Oakes and Paul Sadler and on a bright sunny afternoon with a slight breeze we were almost ready for kick-off, just a matter of the “Respect” handshake to be conducted. Good to see Dick Holt and Les (!) plus Barry Vernon in attendance.

Tiptree Engaine FC kicked off towards the playground end forcing numerous throw-ins as they worked their way forward, from one of these taken by Johnson (Z), Wightman headed clear but only to the feet of Collier who sent a fine left footed curling volley towards the top left corner whereupon keeper Charles launched himself to palm the ball over the cross-bar, great effort, matched by a great save and only two minutes gone, warming up nicely as they say! A throw-in from Reynolds for Alresford fell to Rogers whose quick turn and shot found the side netting but a chance apiece so early and Johnson (J) volleyed goal-wards only for keeper, Colville to parry the ball up and catch at the second attempt. A free run from Buckland saw him cross, left footed towards the home goal, but keeper, Charles clutched the ball out of the air with ease at his near post and from his long wide clearance, Hart fouled Johnson (J) just fifteen yards past the half-way line. On nine minutes, a goal, to Alresford, the ball was played in from the left by Johnson (J), BRETT BELLAMY latched onto the loose ball and with the aid of a slight deflection buried the ball under the dive of keeper, Colville from just outside the penalty area. Two minutes later, Hart was cautioned for a foul on Balaam and Prow was spoken too by the referee for a foul on Rogers, play remained even again until fifteen minutes when Runicles (H) fouled Bellamy wide to the side of the penalty area, Bellamy chipped in a teasing ball towards the far post, no home player reacted and the ball was heading out for a goal-kick until the unfortunate CHARLIE PROW stuck out a foot and only managed to stab the ball into his own net. (Looks like Bellamy has claimed the goal on FAFT!)

Play remained fairly even, defences to the fore, Tiptree Engaine needed to get that final pass into their forwards who are all proven goal-scorers, if last seasons tally was anything to go by, on the other hand the Alresford defence led by captain Linnane stood strong, taking no chances when going into tackles and were perhaps a bit sharper to the ball coming towards them, especially Reynolds who showed some nice touches and pace to get down the right side. Reynolds made an excellent challenge on Aves and shielded the ball back to his keeper, Charles who was also on hand when Linnane got his body in the way of an effort from Buckland and on twenty-five minutes we had a water break. Tiptree Engaine had a half chance soon after, Johnson (Z) found Runicles (M) who set Collier up, but the effort was high and wide then Szmodics blasted wide from thirty yards, this after Johnson (Z) had got the ball into the feet of Collier who laid the ball off.

On thirty minutes, Balaam played the ball wide to the left finding Goodyear whose driven cross was just fractionally too high for the in rushing Johnson (J) and when Reynolds found Rogers the incoming cross was met by the head of Johnson (J) but the header flew straight at keeper, Colville. Rogers galloped away to chase a big clearance from his defence forcing Hart to head back out into play where Bellamy was lurking, but his strike failed to test the keeper. Whilst the score remained at two-nil to Alresford, the score-line did not really reflect the effort that the visitors had put in and maybe the score should have been a bit closer. Hart found Aves down the left side and when the ball reached Collier he volleyed over the cross-bar, keeper Charles, once again untroubled. At the other end keeper, Colville was forced to save from a cross from Goodyear and again when he clutched the ball under his cross-bar when across from Balaam found the head of Bellamy. The half ended with Buckland crashing into Reynolds and Goodyear wide on the far side, he was spoken too and was perhaps fortunate not to receive a caution and half time was reached with the home side remaining ahead and an interesting second half was eagerly awaited.

HALF-TIME: 2 – 0.

Alresford restarted this Premier Division match and within a minute Tiptree Engaine replaced Buckland with Galvin and when Goodyear chased back to defend, a long throw-in to the far post from Galvin was headed clear by Wightman, Galvin then fouled Goodyear, the free-kick was dire and Tiptree Engaine started again from the back. A poor challenge by Rogers on Runicles (M) led to his caution, there was no need to tackle to be honest, but players will dive in and pay the consequences! The free-kick was comfortably cleared, and Reynolds pushed forward to find Rogers who gained a corner off Aves then play switched to the other end and it was the turn of Reynolds to defend, conceding a corner, taken by Collier leading to a foul inside the six-yard box. A free-kick taken by Quinney found Collier, but defender Cant blocked the goal-bound effort for a corner, palmed clear by keeper, Charles leading to a break by Balaam with keeper, Colville punching clear, my first thought was that the keeper had caught the player before the ball, but the referee waved away all calls for a penalty!

Reynolds and Collier got away with some friendly banter out of ear-shot of the referee with Reynolds winning the ball and playing it forward to Rogers, a willing runner who showed some nice touches when on the ball, also having a deceptive turn of pace, however the long cross drifted wide and out of play. A long ball forward found Galvin but keeper, Charles, reacted quickly to close-down the danger which did not go away immediately as Linnane was guilty of a hand to ball situation just outside the penalty area, Runicles (M) took the free-kick blasting the ball against the defensive wall and safety. When Bellamy went tumbling inside the penalty area under a nudge from Quinney the referee waved away any call for a penalty, the player did get a push but did fall too easily but you see them given, no VAR here! When Rogers was pole-axed by Quinney, play continued then was brought back as the attack broke down, then Quinney and Bellamy stood toe-to-toe after a heavy challenge, both players rightly going into the book for a caution. Tiptree Engaine replaced Johnson (Z) with Hammerton who was then on the end of a superb tackle by Cant, Reynolds kept up his ratio of winning tackles, once again on Collier, another well-timed challenge and from this Newcombe who had quietly gone about his business all game picked up the loose ball, drove between two Tiptree Engaine players, run forward to release Johnson (J) and with the visitors defence stretched the low cross found SHANE GOODYEAR who had a simple tap-in chance which he took along with the celebrations as this goal effectively killed off the result.

Balaam was replaced by Cross on seventy-five minutes and three minutes later Goodyear was replaced by Osborne. A cross from Johnson (J) found the head of Rogers, once again eluding his marker but his header found the hands of keeper, Coleville. Tiptree Engaine continued to push forward, that final ball remained elusive, a high foot from Runicles (M) against Wightman led to a free-kick to the home team, with two minutes of normal time remaining, Galvin limped off to be replaced by Parkin. Runicles fouled Newcombe in time added on and when the game ended Alresford celebrated a good win, the score-line shows three goals to nil but the game was a lot closer that the score-line suggests, Tiptree Engaine must re-group and get that final ball into their forwards situation sorted out and their first foray in to the Premier Division will be assured.

FULL TIME: 3 – 0.

A decent game of football unfolded at Alresford on Saturday, the home team did enough to win, the score-line perhaps a bit harsh on Tiptree Engaine but unless you capitalise on the chances created then you might struggle, it is early days for both teams, the home team buoyed by a win against Stanway Pegasus FC last midweek and an opening draw at Earls Colne FC the season augers well.

Now, for my Player-of-the-Match choice, decent performances across both teams, for Tiptree Engaine FC, Captain, Hart stood above the rest whereas for Alresford, Rogers ran his heart out up-front without scoring but a great effort marred perhaps by a needless caution, Reynolds impressed me with his determination, strong tackling and overall distribution, Goodyear, Bellamy and Johnson (J) had the midfield wrapped up beside Newcombe, hardly mentioned in my report but always in the thick of the action breaking down attacks and then setting up the third and final goal so he just shades out Reynolds this week.

Teams:

ALRESFORD COLNE RANGERS FC: Colours: Red & Black Shirts, Black Shorts and Black Socks.

Daniel Charles., Robert Wightman., Jack Balaam., Glen Linnane., Gavin Newcombe., Ben Reynolds., Jack Johnson., Brett Bellamy., Callum Rogers., Shane Goodyear., Robert Cant.

Manager: Andrew Smith.

Assistant Manager: Darren McRae.

Used Substitutes: James Osborne., Daniel Cross., Laurence Wilson.

Unused Substitutes: Kieran Rowlands.

TIPTREE ENGAINE FC: Colours: Yellow Shirts, Blue Shorts and Blue Socks.

Keiron Colville., Elliot Aves., Zac Johnson., Charlie prow., Ryan Hart (C)., David Quinney., Harry Runicles., Michael Runicles., Aaron Collier., Jack Buckland., Jack Szmodics.

Manager: Michael Runicles and Gary Bright.

Used Substitutes: Chay Hammerton., Leighton Galvin., Christopher Parkin.

Unused Substitutes: Terry Rymer.

Referee: Chris Green

Assistants: Richard Oakes

and Paul Sadler

Player of the Match: Gavin NEWCOMBE (ALRESFORD COLNE RANGERS FC)

************************************************************************************

Additional Reporting:

YOU TUBE., FACEBOOK (x2) & TWITTER

Once again, this season the ESBFL is widening its match-day reporting coverage, in addition to a full report written by Brian Reed, our other roving reporter, Spencer Hume, has once again made himself known during the friendlies season and he will also attend games reporting via You Tube, Facebook and Twitter to communicate up-to-date information and replicate other match reports. In addition, John Campany, Vice Chairman will continue to provide a weekly summary, published in The Gazette.

****************************************************************************************

Reminder to Club / Fixture Secretaries

Once again this season the fixtures, results, referees and “kick-off” times will be shown automatically on “The FA Full-Time / The Whole Game System” ( http://full-time.thefa.com ) but would all Club / Fixture Secretaries please advise any agreed changes, as required, to Alison Willmore ( mjw1947@sky.com ) especially for evening games and for those matches being played under floodlights etc.

KO is 3:00pm from: August to October

KO is 2:00pm in: November, December & January

KO is 2:30pm in: February

KO is 3:00pm from: March to end of season

Cup Matches:

Kick-Off times for ESBFL cup matches, are generally 30 minutes earlier than those shown above but check competition rules beforehand.

Kick-Off times for Essex County Football Association cup matches are published on the ECFA web-site.

( www.essexfa.com/competitions/county-cups )

************************************************************************************

ESBFL “web-site”

The web-site for the Essex & Suffolk Border Football League is: www.esblfootball.com

Clubs are reminded that the following documents are all available on this website under Clubs / Documents etc: