Avonmouth travelled to play Stoke Lane Athletic for their third away game in 8 days. Following the great victory over Bristol City JSC they arrived in high spirits & were looking to continue their good start to the season.
The away side started confidently & after only 5 minutes rushed into the lead. Mitch Day sent a ball through the middle of the Stoke defence, which led to a race between Sam Reynolds & the home keeper. As the two clashed together the ball rebounded out to Prevan Rajh & with a first time shot from distance saw his effort glide smoothly into an unguarded & empty net – a great finish. This should have instigated more attacks by Avonmouth but the goal spurred Stoke on & it was they who created some scoring opportunities during the following 15 minutes. First from a throw in, a header came off the Avonmouth bar & from a free kick a cheeky back heel from a stoke player luckily went straight to Ryan Scott in goal. After 18 minutes great Stoke play on the left hand side saw a home striker take the ball past Scott, but could then only look on in despair as Jack Hewlett with great anticipation was on hand to head the ball off the line. During this period it has to be mentioned that Stoke were playing some lovely passing football & there could have been few complaints if they had scored. However, Avonmouth came through this passage of play unscathed & started to get a hold in midfield & dictate the play. On 25 minutes from a tight angle Mitch Harris produced a good save from the Stoke keeper & this was quickly followed by a shot just wide by Reynolds following a pass by James Skelton. In the previous 2 Avonmouth games striker Harris had not scored, hitting the woodwork 3 times with tremendous shots, but it was he who got the fortuitous second goal after 30 minutes. A free kick was awarded to Avonmouth near the half way line. With the resultant kick Hewlett put the ball right under the cross bar & in the ensuing challenge with the keeper the ball came off the top of Harris’s shoulder & into the net. Avonmouth continued with their momentum & a third soon followed. The ball was fed out to James Skelton on the right with little danger in sight. However, he ran at the Stoke defence & after dribbling past a couple of defenders found himself in the penalty box & as the keeper came rushing out beat him with an angled shot into the net.
Half Time: Stoke Lane Athletic 0 Avonmouth 3
In the second half Stoke started on the front foot trying to get a hold of the game, but despite all their good play & possession they were unable to really trouble the Avonmouth defence. It was the away side who created the first chance of the half when on 50 minutes a Skelton cross was hit just wide by Reynolds. A couple of minutes later Jordan Bishop just inside the penalty box had an attempt at goal but the advancing Stoke keeper just got his hand to the ball in time. Avonmouth knew they only had to keep everything tight & the points would be theirs. However, on 65 minutes the game was suddenly halted when a Stoke player slipped on the wet pitch & fell badly. It was feared his ankle was broken & an ambulance was called for. The player could not be moved from the pitch & as time passed waiting for the ambulance to arrive, a decision was made between the referee & the 2 managers that the game would stop at this point with the current score remaining as the result.
It was not the way any team would like to end a match but Avonmouth had earned the win & the 3 points. Although not at our good flowing best today we did produce a good solid battling performance. With the defence remaining solid & with the players we have we are always going to create goal scoring opportunities as it proved today. Good luck to Stoke Lane & I hope the football they try to play will produce some points during the season. Also best wishes to their injured player & hopefully a speedy recovery. Meanwhile, I don’t think many people outside of the club would have thought we would win 3 of our first 4 league games, especially in the manner that it has been achieved – hopefully we can surprise a few more as the season progresses.
Full Time: Stoke Lane Athletic 0 Avonmouth 3
