Coalpit Heath 1901 V Avonmouth
After recent cup wins Avonmouth travelled to play Coalpit Heath for their fourth away league game in a row. Heath are old rivals & have had a decent start to the season which has included a draw against championship favourites Warmley. We have always had close & exciting matches against this team & I am sure today’s encounter will turn out to be no different.
With a very strong wind behind them Heath were immediately on the attack & following a corner after 2 minutes they almost took the lead when a striker saw his rasping shot go just over the bar. A few minutes later Ryan Scott made a good save from a shot close in & then produced another save following a chance from a free kick. Then, from an Avonmouth corner, Heath suddenly broke away & Scott was again called upon to make a save as he pushed a shot over for a corner. Despite all their possession & chances Heath could not score & Avonmouth slowly began to get on top & managed to take the lead after 25 minutes. Good play on the left ended with an excellent cross by Mitch Day finding James Skelton arriving at the back post who smashed the ball into the net from close in. However, Heath responded well & within 2 minutes where level. A free kick was awarded near the half way line & the ball was pumped into the Avonmouth penalty box. Scott made a save from a shot but the ball fell kindly to an inrushing striker & he calmly put the ball into the net. On 35 minutes Montel Riches showed great close control before releasing Skelton on the right, but unfortunately for him his shot went just wide of the post.
Half Time: Coalpit Heath 1901 1 Avonmouth 1
This time with the wind in their favour Avonmouth quickly started on the front foot & a great run by Prevan Rajh gave Sam Reynolds a chance to shoot but he saw his shot go just wide of the post. Avonmouth continued to probe & got their reward on 55 minutes. A corner was swung in & Heath where unable to properly clear & following a deflection the ball fell kindly to Mitch Harris who near the penalty spot box rammed his shot into the net. This should have signalled the time for Avonmouth to produce more chances & goals. From a throw in, Harris flicked the ball on, which was met by Skelton, but his header went straight to the keeper, this was soon followed by a Reynolds shot that produced a good save by the Coalpit goalie. Avonmouth where enjoying plenty of possession but could not find the cutting edge to get a third goal to make the game safe. As the game entered the final minutes it appeared that the away side had done enough to earn a victory but with a minute left Coalpit got their equaliser. They were always dangerous on the break & from one of these they earned a throw in on the left. The resultant ball into the box caused confusion & with a loss of concentration by Avonmouth, a Coalpit player was able to react first & pounce, drilling the ball past Scott & into the net. There were a nervous few minutes for the Heath defence but they managed to hold on with the match finishing as a hard fought draw.
In very windy conditions it was difficult for Avonmouth to get any rhythm & produce any real flowing football, however we have to be able to cope with any playing conditions & adapt accordingly. Despite this we were only a couple of minutes away from ending the day top of the table, which no one would have believed before the start of the season. The way the Coalpit players & parents reacted at the end of the match shows how getting a draw was a great result for them, & was deserved for never giving in, which is something we have done in recent weeks to gain late wins in cup matches. After so many away league games, we have a home match at last next week against another of our old rivals – Fry Colts.
Full Time: Coalpit Heath 1901 2 Avonmouth 2
