Portsmouth Saturday Premier Division 2014/2015
Cosham Park Rangers vs AFC Hereford
After many seasons hanging around the lower reaches of the Portsmouth Saturday league, Cosham Park Rangers lead by the well known Kev Hicks decided it was time to get promoted and move up through the leagues to join the elite clubs who have played in the top division in Portsmouth. The likes of Wymering (06, 07 & 09), Horndean United (08), University of Portsmouth (10), Waterlooville Social Club (11, 13 & 14) and Baffins Milton Rovers (12) have been crowned as the number 1 team in the Portsmouth league and maybe one day Cosham Park Rangers might have a seat at the top table.
In the unfamiliar surroundings of Waterlooville, Cosham Park Rangers were about to move from the junior leagues to the big boys league with a game against AFC Hereford. From the time some of the Cosham Park Rangers players turned up in their Vauxhall Nova with their big 6x9’s in the back looking like they had a good time down Ports Down Hill, a determined AFC Hereford team were already out on the pitch going through their warm up and having a team talk and with the news that Cosham might only have 10 men to kick off the campaign some doubt set in that this might be a tougher campaign than the 2008/2009 season.
Minutes before kick off the sight that all Cosham Park Rangers fans and players wanted to see as Cosham Park Rangers number 1 fan Grant Allen came sprinting across the park with his bare chest showing like David Hasselhoff during his time in Baywatch then Mr Cosham himself Marty Tyyrell pulling up in his A-Team van brought the numbers up to 12 players and relief set in. Kick Off
AFC Hereford were looking the sharper of the two sides as they used the ball well and it looked like their pre-game warm up and team talk had inspired them to win the game and it was no real surprise when they took the lead. Cosham’s biggest down fall has been the height of the squad and the average AFC Hereford player over 5 foot 10 it was no surprise that from a corner an unmarked (How many times have we heard this over the years) AFC Hereford player header the ball across goal and over Marty Tyyrell to give his team the lead.
The inquest was going on about who should have been marking the player but the damage had been done and this spurred on the Hereford side but some woeful finishing and some great flag work from Dean Hicks denied them of increasing the lead. To their credit Cosham Park Rangers held their own and then a moment of history that Kev and Liz Hicks will be able to say “I was there”. Cosham Park Rangers decided to get the ball down and started to play and with a nice pass to Matt Turner he decided to do something special. He collected the ball on the halfway line and decided to go on a run towards the AFC Hereford goal. He started to pick up some speed as he beat the AFC Hereford player and then moved to the penalty area where he jinxed passed another AFC Hereford player. Watching this it reminded me of the goal Paulo Wanchope scored against Man Utd for Derby County as he got closer and closer to goal then with a blast of his foot the ball fizzed past the 7 foot AFC Hereford keeper into the back of the net.
The first goal in the top division for Cosham Park Rangers brought cheers and tears from all the Cosham Park Rangers fans and players as they had drawn level. Matt Turner turned around and with the excitement on his face he was hugged by little Danny Jafkins as they ran back to the halfway line.
Cosham then started to move out of 1st gear and started to pass the ball around but some woeful finishing for Craig Hicks and Rob Fenwick meant that the scores were level going into the last few minutes of the game. It was time for Cosham Park Rangers to start using their footballing heads and with the experienced leader Rob Fenwick, the butcher Daniel Waghorn and the unpredictable Simon Ware holding a solid line Cosham Park Rangers saw out the first half. Second Half
There was drama before the 2nd half had even kicked off as the Cosham Park Rangers left back for the day Smithy spent a few minutes cleaning his system out on the side of the pitch either feeling the effects of running around or getting rid of last night’s heavy drinking session.
The 2nd half kicked off and with the goal from Matt Turner giving the yellow army a lift they started to settle down and get the ball down and play some football and it was from some neat passing play that they should have taken the lead. Matt Turner collected a wayward pass from a AFC Hereford player and made his move towards goal. All the Cosham Park Rangers players held their breath as Matt Turner continued towards goal and with the goalkeeper in sight he pulled his leg back and fired a shot but the big AFC Hereford goalkeeper managed to make an important block to keep the teams level.
It was an end to end battle and it ended early for one of the AFC Hereford players as he picked up a 2nd yellow card for halting Grant Allen as he looked to run into the open space after skilfully turning him on the half way line. You would have thought this would have lifted the Cosham Park Rangers players but this pushed AFC Hereford forward and they should have gone 2-1 up but were thwarted by the big man in goal Robert Pearson who blocked his effort.
The next player to go in the referee’s book was the butcher Daniel Waghorn who was penalised for a foul which was a little harsh as he had won the ball cleanly. You could see the disappointment on his face as he ran back to get into position as he knew a nice fine from Hampshire FA was coming his way.
News was spreading around Waterlooville that there was a big football match taking place and many local people ventured down to watch with a crowd of around 50 people watching on and they were treated to more drama as the referee produced yet another red card. An AFC Hereford player was rightly flagged offside which he disagreed, so he took his frustration out on Cosham Park Rangers linesman Dean Hicks which was heard by the referee who then produced the red card to the shock of the AFC Hereford team.
With AFC Hereford now reduced to 9 men, Cosham Park Rangers continued to battle away but could not break down a stubborn AFC Hereford defence but with 5 minutes of this game remaining they we’re rewarded with the winning goal. Left winger Marty Tyyrell collected the ball just inside the penalty area and then unleashed n effort which hit the underside of the bar with the keeper well beaten but the ball bounced out, but to Cosham Park Rangers relief it fell to Lee Biggs who bundled the ball home from 1 yard out under no pressure to score the winning goal. Kev and Liz could not hide their excitement along with the Cosham Park Rangers players and the ever growing crowd of local people who had witnessed history.
There was one last chance for AFC Hereford who we’re awarded a free kick in a dangerous position but a ball to the back post was weakly headed towards goal where the solid Robert Pearson collected the ball and saw the game out for a famous victory.
Full Time:- Cosham Park Rangers 2 (Turner & Biggs) AFC Hereford 1
