On a grey morning Avonmouth met new & unknown opposition in the form of Longwell Green a team who had not lost since the opening day of the season. On a nice wide pitch Avonmouth made an unusually slow start and the first real chance fell to the home side when from a long ball, a Longwell striker beat goalkeeper Davis to the ball but saw his shot stopped from going in by Mitch Day who managed to clear from danger. However the reprieve did not last long & on 9 minutes they took a deserved lead. From a good ball through the middle Josh Langdon ran into the box, shrugged off a defender to slip the ball past the advancing Davis into the net. Avonmouth responded & a few minutes later from a Mitch Harris cross, Jeriel Riches hit his shot wide. The away side were beginning to get on top & on 24 minutes got a deserved equaliser. From a defensive clearance the Longwell defence seemed favourites to gather & clear but Harris did not give up & managed to get to the ball first & chip his shot over the goalkeeper. A few minutes later from a good cross in from Sam Reynolds, Charlie Parker headed against the bar. Then after another good run, Reynolds cut in & saw his shot saved by the keeper. Just before half time Avonmouth had turned it around & were ahead. From a good cross in Parker headed down to Harris who from outside the box unleashed a terrific shot into the top of the net giving the keeper no chance.
Half time: Longwell Green 1 Avonmouth 2
From the restart Avonmouth were quickly on the front foot & after 37 minutes a Harris shot from outside the box produced a good save by the home goalkeeper. Then from a corner Jack Hewlett headed straight at the keeper and another Reynolds shot created a further save. Avonmouth were playing some decent football with lots of probing but most shots were not on target. Due to an injury to the Longwell goalkeeper there was a lot of extra time, which produced moments of excitement. From a corner Avonmouth again hit the bar & from the following scramble the ball ended up safely in the keepers arms. Then Harris from a great angled shot beat the keeper but a Longwell defender somehow managed to head the ball clear over the bar. In the dying minutes Longwell had a breakaway but the shot was sent wide. Avonmouth seemed to have got the 3 points but with almost the last kick of the match Bryce Edwards hit a speculative shot from outside the box that managed to bounce over the diving Davis and make it 2-2.
In a good match to watch Longwell Green showed that you should never give up as anything can happen. They played with spirit & the goalkeeper was excellent despite hurting himself when he collided against the post – good luck to them for the rest of the season. After recent cup defeats Avonmouth put the effort in today & on another occasion with the chances created could have scored many goals. But with only a 1 goal lead chances need to be taken & we unfortunately this time paid the penalty. For the time being, we still remain unbeaten in the league & top of the table.
Full Time: Longwell Green 2 Avonmouth 2
