After 4 away league games in a row it was at last nice to be able to play one at home. On a lovely sunny afternoon with a large crowd present we were up against another of our old rivals Fry Club Colts. They finished in the top half of the division last season & were only 3 points behind us at the start of the day so we knew we were in for a hard game today.
The Colts were quick off the mark, looking lively & a real threat up front with a couple of big strong strikers causing problems so it was no surprise when they went ahead after 17 minutes. Avonmouth had a throw in close to the Fry penalty box but the ball was quickly cleared by the away defence & from a break on the left hand side a Fry striker passed the ball inside for his strike partner, who then hit a hard shot into the net from just inside the penalty box. Minutes later it became 2 –0 when following an unfortunate Avonmouth mistake an alert Fry striker, intercepted the ball & calmly placed it into the net. At this moment Avonmouth looked in disarray & it seemed a heavy defeat could have been on the cards, however they are made of stern stuff & after 23 minutes they pulled a goal back. Following good play on the right by James Skelton, the ball was played to Luke French whose excellent first time cross was headed in at the far post by Prevan Rajh. This was the lift the home side wanted & they were now in the game & slowly but surely were beginning to get on top. On 37 minutes they almost got the equalizer when following more good play on the right Mitch Harris saw his thunderous shot well saved by the Fry keeper. However, the last real chance of the half fell to the Colts. They were awarded a dubious free kick on the edge of the box & from the resultant kick Sam Reynolds flying to his left produced a great save to prevent Colts going further ahead.
Half Time: Avonmouth 1 Fry Club Colts 2
This time from the restart Avonmouth started brightly & on 42 minutes were level. On the right hand side Josh Beecham did a delicate flick on for Skelton to run onto & after evading a few tackles he unselfishly pulled the ball back to Harris who had the easiest of chances to put the ball into the net. The momentum was now with the home side & within 2 minutes they took the lead. After a great pass by Rajh, Skelton suddenly found himself clear & with great calmness he slid the ball past the advancing keeper against a post & into the net. Incredibly 3 minutes later Avonmouth went further ahead with almost an exact replica goal. Again, a superb pass by Rajh enabled Skelton to time his run perfectly & place his shot past the onrushing keeper. However, Colts did not give up & on 50 minutes got a goal back. A corner was not properly cleared & when the ball came back into the area a Fry player from a tight angle hit his shot into the corner of the net – 4 goals in 10 minutes. The game now became an even more tough but fair physical encounter with personal battles all over the pitch. Despite this there was some good football being played with Avonmouth coming close on a couple of occasions. A dangerous Beecham free kick into the box eluded everyone & went just wide of the post & then from a throw in a Raj header was cleared off the line. The next goal was to be vital & on 70 minutes it arrived. Another throw in went into the Fry penalty box & the ball eventually fell to Raj who slammed his low shot into the net. However, the game was not over yet & Colts pushed forward for another goal. From one of these breaks on 78 minutes a cross came in from the left & unfortunately as he was rushing in to help his defence an Avonmouth player put the ball into his own goal. The pressure was now on for the remaining minutes but the Avonmouth team held on to claim a fabulous victory.
So another nail biting game for everyone involved with the club. This was a hard, physical but fair match with both teams putting in 100% for their colleagues. To have gone 2 – 0 down against a team like Fry Colts & come back to win in the manner that we did says a lot for the boys & management at the club. Near the end of the match there was a collision between Mitch & their keeper who had to be helped off the pitch & also afterwards – hope it is nothing to serious & that he is back playing soon. Some said that for 25 minutes in the second half we played unbelievable football in all areas of the pitch & all this is going to have to continue if we want to remain where we are in the league, second at the moment. The man of the match award was a very difficult decision today with an outstanding performance from all the players. Despite a great performance by James Skelton the award for overall performance was given to Alex Wilkins.
Full Time: Avonmouth 5 Fry Club Colts 4
