Thameside Lions 1-2 New Russellers
Oliver Brown
Matthew Brittle
First Half:
It wasn't long into the game that the first real chance for Russellers was provided, which was so close to providing a lead. Nice exchanges through the away side reached Benjamin Lovell, who found a lovely pass into the run of Oliver Brown's path, who quickly shot towards goal, only for it to hit the goalkeeper, the post, and the crossbar all in one go. That set the tone although New Russellers quite frankly looked half asleep in this half.
The deadlock was broken when a corner from Michael Barnshaw came up short, intentional or not, it found the front post run of Oliver Brown, who volleyed off of his left foot through the keeper and defender on the line. 1-0, and it looked good for the away side.
Other than that, the first half provided a stale outing, which had few meaningful chances although the surge was ending with the home side pressing with the uplifting wind and the blazing sun shining.
Second Half:
Russellers now had the upper hand having the wind in their favour, but it didn't seem to make a huge difference, as it was end to end stuff, but not the good end to end. The home side had one player, likened to the appearance of Jonjo Shelvey, who was winning every header, first and second, which was frustrating to say the least.
On the pitch next to our game, a fight had occurred between A&Z Sports and another team, with a bounty of fists being thrown into the mix. Both Russellers and Thameside players were distracted by this, but it was Russellers who paid the price. Once the goalkeeper had finally retrieved the ball, a long kick evaded two away side heads, and went through to their striker, who just about got his shot off despite the efforts of Tom Kerby, leaving the consistently brilliant Grant Tugwell reaching just short of the deflection. 1-1, and there was a sense of panic from the away side.
This led to a huge ramp up of pressure from New Russellers, who contained the ball in the opposition half fantastically, and when a rare break occurred for the home side, strong challenges from the back 4 prevented anything from coming.
Closing in on the final few minutes, no one wanted half time and it looked as if both teams would have to slum it out. All of a sudden, a corner came of a good bit of play. Barney whipped in what he deemed to be "one of his worst corners ever", but it reaches the foot of Nathan Cross, who swings at it but makes soft contact, and surely the goalkeeper would collect it. But a quick foot out from Matthew Brittle pushed the ball past the keeper, and time froze as the ball rolled towards the goal. IT'S IN! The away side go mental as the win is within touching distance, celebrating before reshaping.
One last chance fell to a counter attack from Lovell, Brown, and Brittle, but that killer pass and finish just was not there. The full time whistle blew, and New Russellers had finally booked their place in the County wide draw in the last 16.
