Feltham vs Eversley and California

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnPJp9ZiGYo

The highlight of a freezing day out filming was the fantastic hospitality at Feltham F.C. Everyone at the club worked hard to ensure that the Fox in the Box team were looked after and this didn’t go amiss. The football itself was decent but the game as a contest was somewhat ruined by a poor refereeing decision to disallow a Feltham goal

Feltham couldn’t have wished for a worse start to the game. Within 10 minutes, Eversley were 2-0 up and cruising thanks to Matt Baker. The first goal was very weak. A goal kick sailed over everybody and Eversley striker Matt Baker beat everyone else to it before finishing calmly. The same player made it 2-0 on ten minutes after a perfect through ball was put through to him after a quick breakaway. Once again though Feltham defended weakly. From this point until half time the game was fairly even, but unfortunately it seemed Feltham had missed their chance of getting a result due to their inability to start the game quickly enough. The best chance before half time fell to Eversley, but their striker put his effort straight at the Feltham keeper, who did well to hold the shot. Feltham had a similar chance of their own, but it was put well wide.

Eversley almost started the second half as they had the first, but a good opportunity was squandered, with the ball coming off the outside of the post after another 1 on 1 opportunity. The next incident of the match was highly controversial. An Eversley shot was easily saved by the Feltham keeper who then appeared to drop the ball before picking it up again when he went to throw the ball out, something that is illegal. However, the ref waved play on and Feltham raced up the field before two players took the ball round the keeper and finished into the empty net. The referee appeared to give the goal before reversing his decision and giving Eversley an indirect free-kick for the incident that had happened over 1 minute before. As if this wasn’t bad enough for Feltham, Eversley scored from the free kick to make the game 3-0. After looking up the rules in a rulebook on the night of the game, it appears that the referee should have allowed the Feltham ‘goal’ to stand, as he had technically given the goal and even if he hadn’t, he still shouldn’t have given a free kick for an incident that occurred a minute earlier, after play had gone on. This decision had the effect of ruining the game as a contest. This frustration for Feltham seemed to have an effect on the game, which became more physical, starting with a small fight after a challenge that didn’t seem too bad. Eversley then had a chance for a 4^th goal when presented with another 1 on 1 but the Eversley attacker complacently went for the chip instead of the simple finish, and ended up putting his shot well wide. From this point on Feltham were the better team and were pushing for a consolation goal. It looked like they would get a late goal when they were awarded a penalty in the last minute but the penalty was poor and the keeper easily saved.

The game at Feltham wasn’t the best, although if the ref had made the correct call and given Feltham their goal it could have been different. However, despite this, the whole Fox in the Box team enjoyed the friendly atmosphere at the club. We were all looked after very well and even offered a free pin badge, free programme, free tea and biscuits, free entry and even more on top of that. At Fox in the Box, we’d definitely recommend a day out at Feltham for a non-league groundhopper or somebody new to non-league. Please note that Feltham are merging with Bedfont Town at the end of the season to become BEDFONT AND FELTHAM F.C.

Molesey vs Colliers Wood

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_daSpn1Y-EA

A cracker of a cup tie in the Surrey Senior Cup saw Molesey narrowly beat Colliers Wood to secure a game against Sutton United in the Quarter Final. The night started disappointingly for me, with the news that the match programmes had not arrived, meaning for the first time in 2 years I didn’t have a match programme from a game I’d been to. The excitement of the game soon made up for this though. Right from the off it looked clear that Molesey were the more physical team who would put more crosses in and be superior in the air, whereas Colliers Wood had more skill on the ball and would look for delicate through balls to find the net. The contrast in the two teams styles of play made for an interesting game.

Molesey started stronger and took a deserved lead when Paul Cross got on the end of a cross after 15 minutes. This setback seemed to fire Colliers Wood up and after putting pressure on their opponents they eventually equalised in the 24^th minute courtesy of a Mario Embalo volley. Molesey seemed to be second best from this point on and struggled to create much in the way of chances, with Colliers Wood passing them off the pitch at times. Despite their dominance though, Colliers Wood couldn’t get another goal before half time

Molesey came out stronger in the second half and pressed Colliers Wood more, breaking up their passing game. Both teams cancelled each other out and there wasn’t as much excitement as in the first half, although a few good chances came along. The first incident of the second half was a bizarre one. Everyone in the ground though Colliers Wood had taken the lead when they put the ball into the net at around 50 minutes but the ‘goal’ was correctly disallowed as the ball had gone in through the side netting. The Wood should then have taken the lead but their centre forward put wide when 1 on  1 with the Molesey keeper. The second half finished with both sides hitting the crossbar from set pieces

Extra time was a very exciting affair that really summed up what the Surrey Senior Cup can mean to clubs despite its lowly status. Colliers Wood took the lead when two strikers cleverly beat the offside trap and the ball was squared to Mario Embalo, who couldn’t miss. Molesey threw men forward and got an equaliser when Centre back Kristian Webb flicked the ball up on the edge of the box before firing home, a truly fantastic finish. Both sides then went for the winner before Molesey were awarded a penalty for handball. Joe Pratley-Jones stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way to send Molesey into the quarter final where they will face Sutton United.

Corinthian-Casuals vs Maidstone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x42ey6UaPME

A very one sided game at St Georges fields that was never really a contest finished 3-1 to the visitors. Title challengers Maidstone started the better team and took the lead on 8 minutes, after a horrific defensive error from a Casuals player, in which he tried to clear the ball but miskicked, giving Ian Draycott a clear opportunity that he did not miss. Despite their large number of fans, Maidstone were constantly out sung by the vociferous home fans, who never gave up hope. Maidstone went on to hit the bar before half time and go into the break without the home side having a shot on target. The scoreline at half-time was kind on Casuals, especially considering that Maidstone had missed an open goal minutes before the break. The second half started the way the first had ended, with Maidstone well on top. They extended their lead to 2-0 on 50 minutes thanks to a well taken goal by Alex Flisher and after missing many good chances finally sealed the game 7 minutes later, due to a Shaun Welford header. To their credit though, Corinthian didn’t collapse and concede more goals and even had the time to pull one back when a perfectly weighted through ball found Steve Goddard, who just about managed to squeeze his shot underneath the keeper. Despite this goal, there was never a threat of a comeback and Maidstone saw the game off with ease and should really have added a fourth when Casuals defender slipped, allowing a Maidstone striker a free run on goal, but he put his shot wide. The game finished with the home supporters in good spirits despite their loss.

Walton Casuals vs Ramsgate

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFLDWlgFN84

A fairly dull game that had its lively points on this Tuesday night, including a wonder goal from Ramsgate striker Ian Pulman, to help his side secure a point against Walton

Ramsgate were much the stronger side in the first half and had one great chance to take the lead with a header that went just wide, when it should really have found the back of the net. Not long afterwards Ramsgate did take the lead with Ian Pulman beating 3 men on a run from inside his own half before curling a shot over the goalkeepers head. The keeper will feel he should have saved the shot though. Minutes later Ian Pulman had a great chance but somehow fired wide when it would have been easier to score. The first half finished with Ramsgate 1-0 up and looking dominant

Ramsgate started off the second half with another great chance, again missed by Pulman after he rounded the keeper but put his effort over from a tight angle. After this Walton seemed to become a different team and came close on a few occasions before they were awarded what looked like a soft penalty. Mu Maan converted it to make the game all square. Walton continued to press and almost won the game at the end when a close range header was well saved by the keeper

Bedfont Sports vs Epsom and Ewell

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rT5RiPV5rrc

A setting under the low-flying planes landing at Heathrow provided a fantastic footballing spectacle and a fantastic winning goal.

From the moment we walked into the ground we instantly realised that Bedfont Sports are a friendly, well run club. The idea of not charging for juniors is fantastic and will surely draw in more fans for the future and could therefore see the side making a huge profit in the future. We settled down at the far side of the ground behind the dugouts ready to film the game. The first half was a dull affair and the first game with our new tripod was looking like another dull game for us to film. The first real chance of the game was right on half-time, with Epsom and Ewell forward Kyle Hough getting through on goal but he struck his shot straight at the keeper, who had a bit of help from the mud. The second half was much more lively and ,as is traditional for Fox in the Box, we had an early goal from Bedfont’s Jordan Vidal. The Epsom ‘keeper’s goal kick fell to Bedfont and they played a magnificent ball through the centre with Vidal finished well to make the score 1-0 to Bedfont. From this point on Epsom and Ewell seemed to dominate the game with Bedfont only threatening on the counter. Many good chances were missed before Mark Jarman converted an Alex McGregor through ball to level up the game. Epsom seemingly were going all out for the winner but it was looking like the game was going to end up 1-1 before Epsom were awarded a free-kick about 25 yards from goal. Alex McGregor stepped up and curled an absolute beauty into the corner of the goal, sparking wild celebrations from his side. A small fight followed in which both sides were lucky not to see any red cards. The full time whistle blew not long after. Both managers waited to give interviews before their team talks which was a nice touch and helped us to finish up the day a lot earlier than normal and get 2 points of view on things. Bedfont Sports and Epsom & Ewell provided a great day of football and I would definitely recommend Bedfont and probably Epsom too as sides to visit in the future.