After putting in a great display against Marlborough Casuals 10 days prior, Cavalier were hoping to build on their pre-season form with another victory against a side they drew 3-3 towards the tail end of last season. However, it was soon apparent that things weren't going to be as straight forward as anticipated, when Bremhill View turned up with a completely new look side, consisting of entirely players under the age of 20, most of which have Saturday League experience.
Manager Roger Wiltshire still had reason to be positive though, giving debuts to ex-Crossblades legend Mike Booth, and Chris Underwood, looking to regain some of his past glory from his AFC Bell days.
The game started with Cavalier spending large spells camped in their own half, but as with last week, defended well and kept the opponents to shooting from range. Cavalier broke well in the rare occassion they had the ball, using Booth and Ellicock down the flanks. Wiltshire decided to start himself upfront, hoping to cure the striker voodoo at the club. This nearly paid off midway through the half, when a neat 1-2 with Whyte found Wiltshire storming through on goal, only to drag his effort horribly wide. He nearly atoned for that mistake minutes later, when Mike Booth delicately chipped through a beautiful pass, but his shot from a tight angle went agonizingly wide.
Right before the half time whistle, a rare mistake from Dec McEniry gave a Bremhill player the chance to shoot from 30 yards, smashing the ball past the helpless Marcus Rossi in goal.
HALF TIME: 1-0.
The 2nd half started in contraversial fashion. Marcus Rossi, still getting used to playing regularly between the sticks, went down low to gather an easy shot. When all the Cavalier players turned towards the other way waiting for the punt up the pitch, they turned around to see him somehow fumble the ball into his own goal. Rossi did well to recover though, somehow clawing the ball out, with the referee claiming the whole ball had not crossed the line.
This piece of good fortune was short lived though, when Dan Rance was penalised for a bad tackle inside the box, with the ref giving an outrageous penalty decision. 10 minutes later Bremhill were again awarded a penalty, this time Carl Ledbury was the culprit.
Cavalier's legs were starting to tire midway through the half, and the wind was taken out of their sails for good when Delvin Keane was sent off by the inexperienced referee for bad language and persistent moaning. Bremhill scored a further 2 goals in the 2nd half to cap off a deserved win.
FULL TIME: 5-0.
Wiltshire's reaction: Despite the loss, there are still positives to take from the game. The opponents are going to be much better than anyone we will come up against in our Division this season. Delvin came back into the team after being absent recently, and put in a good claim to start in the centre of midfield. Mike Booth put in a good shift under new surroundings, giving Wiltshire yet another selection headache for the wide positions. As long as everyone stays committed to the cause and works hard, there is no reason why we won't win lots of game this season. This Sunday coming is another (hopefully) winnable friendly against White Horse FC. If we all put the workrate in that was on display against Marlborough Casuals then we should pick up another victory.
