League

The Tecton
Spectators: 7312 (Terracing: 5687, Seating: 1600, VIP seats: 25) The mood of the audience was pleasant when Glenn Rushforth made the kick off which started today's match. Dudley Divers's Russell Ashton played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Les Mulligan in the 5th minute of play. If Todd Shipley had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 7th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Les Mulligan might have been able to make a better finish in the 11th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Russell Ashton. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Les Mulligan ran back to his position shaking his head. Russell Ashton showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Les Mulligan in the 14th minute of the match. Todd Shipley sent away a hard shot on goal in the 20th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. The audience was convinced that Glenn Rushforth's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Russell Ashton was relentless in the 22nd minute of the game. Russell Ashton took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Les Mulligan, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. 25 minutes into the match, Dudley Divers's goal looked a bit too open when Glenn Rushforth came free, but Russell Ashton reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Russell Ashton showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Les Mulligan in the 28th minute of the match. In the 33rd minute, Dudley Divers's Ricky Mason ran free of his marker and smoothly shot the ball into the goal behind Casey Crocker. Casey Crocker yelled at his defense, as they had left him out to dry. 1-0. If Les Mulligan had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 37th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. 37 minutes into the game, Les Mulligan cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 1-1. Russell Ashton was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. The New Teamname fans' excitement grew in the 43rd match minute when New Teamname's Les Mulligan looked to have a clear shot with the ball near the goal. The shot wasn't hard, but the ball still rolled over the goal line to make it 1-2 before the goalkeeper had a chance to intervene. Luck had favoured the away team in the first, and they walked off with a 1-2 lead.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Ricky Mason was the one to do the kick off. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Glenn Rushforth in the 53rd minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Russell Ashton prevented the ball from getting in the gole. In the 53rdth minute of the game Glenn Rushforth who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Dudley Divers's Russell Ashton was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. 56 minutes into the match, Todd Shipley dribbled the ball past the defender and swiftly kicked the ball to the left of Russell Ashton, 1-3. In the 63rd minute, Drew Bull hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. When Les Mulligan came up free with the goalie in the 64th minute, the New Teamname fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Les Mulligan couldn't finish the play. 65 minutes into the match, Dudley Divers's goal looked a bit too open when Glenn Rushforth came free, but Russell Ashton reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. If Wally Heslop had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 67th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Les Mulligan received a nice pass, split the defenders, and ran untouched towards the goal. Russell Ashton came out and tried to block the shot, but Les Mulligan slotted it home off the left post making it 1-4 in the 70th minute. 73 minutes into the match, New Teamname's Les Mulligan sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Russell Ashton narrowly saved just below the crossbar. Glenn Rushforth sent away a hard shot on goal in the 76th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Russell Ashton made an important save on a dangerous shot by Todd Shipley in the 77th minute. With his leg Russell Ashton managed to avoid a goal in the 81stth minute, when New Teamname's Les Mulligan fired away a shot with a lot of spin towards his right hand side. After some fancy dribbling in the 82nd minute, Stan Carey managed to get in a good position for a shot. New Teamname's supporters rose to their feet, but Stan Carey was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Russell Ashton breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. After having played for 83 minutes, Glenn Rushforth managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. New Teamname's supporters crossed their fingers, but Glenn Rushforth was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Bart McRobbie hit a great freekick 84 minutes into the match. If Les Mulligan had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 85th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Russell Ashton made an important save on a dangerous shot by Todd Shipley in the 88th minute. After a defensive mix-up in Dudley Divers's zone, Glenn Rushforth stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Russell Ashton came out of the goal and Glenn Rushforth tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Dudley Divers's Russell Ashton played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Glenn Rushforth in the 93rd minute of play. New Teamname played a much better game than Dudley Divers and deserved their victory. The Dudley Divers players were clearly disappointed as they left the ground.