On a gloomy Sunday morning Avonmouth welcomed St Aldhelms in the third round of the Avon Youth Cup. It was a chance for the home side to match themselves against a team in the top half of division 1 & found them unusually starting a game as underdogs. Within the first minute Avonmouth had a great chance to take the lead when after a strong run Mitch Harris found himself clean through with only the goalkeeper to beat but saw his shot go tamely wide of the post. Saints had their first real shot on goal after 10 minutes when Goalkeeper Davis gathered the ball at the second attempt. Both teams made a good start but as the game wore on it became a midfield battle, with few clear-cut chances. You could sense that the first goal would be vital today & it came on 25 minutes. A hopeful cross into the Avonmouth box by Aldhelm’s Bartle evaded everyone & with a cruel bounce on the mud the ball beat the diving Davis. Avonmouth responded with some attacking play & on 33 minutes created their best move of the match. Harris collected the ball in midfield & swept it out wide to Jeriel Riches on the right who then put in a lovely cross for twin brother Montel whose header was brilliantly saved by the keeper. Then at then the other end a good shot by an Aldham player outside the box produced a good save by Davis. Although 1 down at the break Avonmouth had given a decent account of themselves in the first half & looked capable of doing well in the second.
Half time: Avonmouth 0 St Aldhelms 1
After the break Avonmouth made a tactical change by pushing Jack Hewlett into midfield however the first chance of the half fell to Saints when after a good save by Davis, the ball was put over the bar by the oncoming striker. Unfortunately for the second division side the reprieve did not last long & on 43 minutes the second goal came. After some good play on the left hand side an excellent cross came in & Roberts rose to place a powerful header past the diving Davis who had no chance of saving. At 2-0 there was still a chance that Avonmouth could get back into the game & from a corner Hewlett headed just over the bar. The next goal would be crucial but on 52 minutes Saints delivered the killer blow. A free kick on the edge of the box seemed to have been cleared however the ball came straight back in & despite a great save by Davis the ball came off the bar to the inrushing Churchley who was easily able to head the ball into the net. Avomouth attacked & tried to get a goal back but could not quite create a clear chance to score. This also gave opportunities for Saints to mount counter attacks & a further goal seemed inevitable. This came on 64 minutes when from a cross into the box, the ball was expertly volleyed home from close in by Churchley to make it 4-0.
After a close first half that could have gone either way St Aldhelms managed to run out convincing & worthy winners. They were always up for the battle, strong in all areas & as the match wore on seemed to want & win most of the 50 – 50 challenges - good luck to them for the rest of the competition & season. After almost a year since their last defeat Avonmouth have lost 2 matches in a row but against good opposition. In both matches some heads appeared to go down – losing in games is something they will have to deal with as they meet better opponents especially next season if they play in division 1. As we are now out of both cups at least we can now fully concentrate on getting the desired results & achieve promotion & look forward to playing St Aldhelms again next season.
Full Time: Avonmouth 0 St Aldhelms 4
