Following last weeks GFA Cup win, Avonmouth today got back to league matters & welcomed Stoke Lane Athletic. Although bottom of the league they had recently pulled off the shock result of the season by beating championship favourites Warmley, so despite the fact we were the current league leaders we could not underestimate our latest opponents & knew we would have to play well to repeat our 3 – 0 win against them earlier in the season.
The away side started very confidently & after only 5 minutes one of their strikers suddenly found himself on his own with only the keeper to beat but goalie Sam Reynolds produced a great save with his legs to deny Stoke the lead. However, after 10 minutes Avonmouth against the run of play took the lead. After a great tackle & play by Prevan Rajh, the ball fell to James Skelton who ran at the Stoke goal & as the keeper run out expertly slid the ball past him into the net. Avonmouth gained confidence from the goal & soon afterwards a great pass by Sam Eastwood gave Mitch Harris the chance to score but he hit his shot over the bar. However, Stoke soon got a stranglehold on the game & deservedly got an equaliser on 27 minutes. There seemed to be little danger in the Avonmouth penalty box however a miss kick by a defender went straight to a Stoke striker who from close range drilled his shot into the net. Within 3 minutes the away side took the lead when a cross in from the right was cleverly played back to an incoming player whose crisp shot found the back of the net. Just before half time it became 3 – 1 when from outside the box a Stoke player produced a great strike that gave Reynolds no chance in goal.
Half Time: Avonmouth 1 Stoke Lane Athletic 3
Avonmouth started brightly in the second half but it was Stoke who again scored next. A corner was floated in & an effort on goal was saved on the line by Luke French however, the rebound fell nicely to a Stoke player who from close in fired into the net – by going 4 – 1 up Stoke seemed to have the game won. One of the Stoke strikers had caused the Avonmouth defence problems all afternoon, however they took the tactic to defend their lead & put this player back into midfield. This gave Avonmouth the initiative to attack and within minutes another great pass by Eastwood gave Harris a chance but unfortunately his thunderous shot came off the bar with nobody following in to tuck the rebound into the net. A Skelton shot produced a good save from the Stoke keeper & following a great run & cross by Rajh, Harris from close in hit his shot over the bar. With less than 15 minutes left Avonmouth needed a goal & it came when interlinking play by Skelton & Harris ended up with Harris’s shot being well saved by the keeper but the ball then fell kindly back to Skelton who gladly put the ball into an empty net. This was the lifeline Avonmouth wanted & they soon got another when a long ball out of defence by Jack Hewlett enabled Harris to lob the keeper & despite the efforts of 2 back peddling Stoke defenders the ball eluded them both to nestle in the net. With time running out Avonmouth laid siege on the Stoke defence & eventually got the equaliser when defender Dan Steven gave himself the opportunity to shoot & he made no mistake with his effort hitting the back of the net. Could there be time for a winner was the question but the referee soon blew for the end of another pulsating Avonmouth match.
Yet again today Avonmouth showed that they never give in no matter how many goals we are behind & will always have a chance with the amount of goal scoring opportunities we can create. Stoke Lane today showed their result against Warmley was not a fluke & I am sure that if they continue to play their passing football & perform as they did especially in the first half they will be moving up the table fast. Next week we have an interesting game away at Warmley – I wonder what excitement that will bring?
Full Time: Avonmouth 4 Stoke Lane Athletic 4
