First Half Action from Paulsgrove
From the opening minutes of the game it was all Cowplain as they looked to put the game to bed early in this contest and their first real chance came in the opening 30 seconds of the match. A wayward clearance from Paul McKay who was partnering Gareth Spicer in the centre of defence found its way to the Cowplain striker who cut the ball back for a team mate but instead of testing Ian Privett he blazed the ball wide of the up right.
Paulsgrove has not been a kind place for Stronstad over the last few years and with the rain coming down and making the pitch very greasy they struggled to make any real impact in the match as Cowplain continued to pressure Stronstad in search for the opening goal but some dogged defending and the linesman flag denied Cowplain the chance to open the scoring.
After all the pressure Cowplain managed to open the scoring. As Cowplain attacked the Stronstad defence stepped up but one player was slow stepping up and this allowed the Cowplain player to get forward and his cross was powered home by left back Rich Gillam to give Cowplain a deserved lead in the match.
Stronstad had not really created anything upfront with Steve Beech playing as the lone striker but when Stronstad did create a chance they should have pulled the scores level as Steve Beech chased down a Cowplain player before robbing him and then jinking past a Cowplain defender before floating the ball to the far post where James Clarke headed wide from close range.
Then came a moment that I think changed the match for Stronstad. A through ball saw Steve Beech beat the last Cowplain defender who then took Steve Beech down when he was through on goal. Instead of sending the player off he was let off with a yellow card when everyone was expecting the offender to be red carded. From the resulting free kick from Dave George the ball appeared to strike an arm but the appeals were waved away.
Half Time: Stronstad United 0 Cowplain Xi’s 1
With the team happy with the formation and the way things are going Stronstad went out for the second half but their plans came crashing down 30 seconds after the restart as Cowplain got a second goal. The ball was played across the Stronstad penalty area to the back post where Jon Way slipped at the crucial moment which allowed the Cowplain forward to get in and slot past Ian Privett making the score 2-0.
The game should have been over but the battling qualities of Roger Campbell and Dave George managed to get Stronstad back into the game. A rare attack saw the ball fall to Paul McKay about 25 yards out whom then took aim before blasting the ball into the top corner via the Cowplain keepers hand to give Stronstad a lifeline in the match and give Paul McKay his second goal of the season.
Then came another moment of controversy as a Cowplain player had the ball but as Rich Gillam tackled the player and won the ball the referee awarded a free kick to the frustration of Rich Gillam who spoke out of term and was booked. From the resulting free kick the ball found the back of the net via a deflection to make the score 3-1.
This goal prompted manager Andy Stamp to make a double change with Gareth Spicer and Rod Robertson coming off and Jeff Needham and Robert Pearson coming on for the last 15 minutes and almost immediately Stronstad almost as a long ball from Dave George found Steve Beech who’s lay off found Robert Pearson but his effort lacked power and the keeper made a smart save before the danger was cleared.
Then with time running out Stronstad wasted a guilt edge chance as a long ball was flicked on by Robert Pearson which released Steve Beech but instead of finding the net he found the bushes. To rub it in Cowplain managed to get a 4th goal in the dying seconds of the match as Stronstad pushed up to the halfway line to catch the Cowplain players offside the Cowplain player with the ball skipped past Jeff Needham on the halfway line and had a free run at goal before slotting past Ian Privett to make the score 4-1.
Full Time: Stronstad Utd 1 Cowplain Xi’s 4
