Clifton St. Vincent's

A Team	vs	Torpedo A’s
		Saturday November 26 2022
Clifton St. Vincent’s had been ravaged by poor availability this week and two of the sides went out with the bare XI, of which the A’s were one of. They even lacked a recognised GK, and so one half of the management Matthew Lopez-Bland stepped up and put the gloves on. The weather had now turned to the kind of conditions one would expect of this time of year. A strong wind and gloomy skies overhead. The game started with the A’s playing ‘uphill’ and into the wind and so it was no surprise that the ball was largely bobbing around in their own half mostly. Any clearances overhead height weren’t getting much distance. Torps were sending testing balls over the top and the backline of Woolston (making his debut), Wride, Pearce and Gadd were busy people clearing up and trying to protect Lopez-Bland as best they could. Vincent’s central midfield was Stanleigh and Crutchlow (who someone kindly pointed out had 85 years of life experience between them) with Cowland and Finney either side of them. K Mooney and Cotton led the line and chances were few and far between in the opening half hour. Just when it felt like the half might be heading for a 0-0, and goal kick from Vincent’s found a powerful header from Crutchlow which was flicked on by K Mooney to Cotton, who played Finney into the box , who then fired it across the area for K Mooney to fire the ball high into the net. A very well worked goal. Clifton St. Vincent’s 1-0 Torpedo The A’s were satisfied at the halftime huddle, and knew that they needed another goal to see this one through. With the wind now in their sails and running ‘downhill’, Vincent’s were the more dominant team and for the most part had Torpedo on the back foot. Again though, for all their possession the clear-cut chances weren’t happening. Lots of half chances and corners came and went and then midway through the half, a Torps shot which deflected off a Vincent’s player skidded through the area and fell extremely kindly to a Torps player who from very close range gave Lopez-Bland no chance. The A’s players were adamant that the scorer had been stood in an offside position throughout, but the Referee wasn’t interested and awarded a goal. Clifton St.Vincent’s 1-1. Torpedo The A team rolled their sleeves up and went on the offensive. The pitch (18) was probably the smallest on the downs, and this did not suit the A’s who craved more space in which to play their passing football. They huffed and they puffed but they just couldn’t get that big chance they needed. With just a few minutes left K Mooney got to the ball a spilt second before the defender and was caught inside the area. Penalty to Vincent’s It felt like an age passed from penalty award to getting the ball back on the pitch but finally it was placed on the spot and Cotton had taken the responsibility. He placed the ball to the GK’s left who dived down and got a hand on it turning it around the post. Now at the moment Cotton hit the ball, at least two Torpedo players had encroached the area, not just a little bit, but significantly, one in particular was almost in line with Cotton when he hit the ball. Clifton St. Vincent’s pleaded with the Referee who ironically had warned all players about encroachment prior to the kick. The referee declared he hadn’t seen it as he had been ‘focused on the goalkeeper’. That was to be the last golden chance for the A’s and the game soon ended all square. Although some Vincent’s players felt a huge injustice with some of the key decisions of the game, it was also worth looking at the positive of a point, on the back of a very challenging week for the club as a whole, with poor player availability. Only time will tell if it was a point gained or two dropped. The A’s closest challengers (the old enemy) were on the pitch next door, so having learned they’d won, it now means the A’s cushion reduces from 3 points to 1. Final Result; Clifton St. Vincent’s 1-1 Torpedo MoM – The A’s manager Lopez-Bland shortlisted Finney & K Mooney for this week’s MoM. He finally decided Finney was the worthy winner this week, which for anyone who knows these two’s complexed love/hate relationship would know that can’t have been easy call for him. Line up – M Lopez-Bland, S Woolston, J Pearce, M Wride, O Gadd, , L Finney, M Stanleigh, J Crutchlow, J Cowland, K Mooney, M Cotton

A Team	vs	Portland OB Reserves
		Saturday November 19 2022
The players continued to be spoiled with lovely weather conditions on the Downs. A mild temperature and not a breath of wind made for a great afternoon of football. The A team were back in league action after two weeks of cup fixtures. The A’s dominated the opening exchanges and had reverted to their trusted 4-4-1-1 formation (or 4-5-1 as most prefer to call it). For all their possession and control though, the A’s were finding the final pass a little illusive and couldn’t create any real clear cut chances. Some nice exchanges between K Mooney and Cotton saw the latter sweep a pass into the box, where Finney had timed his run nicely to smash the ball from several yards out, but frustratingly saw it crash against the bar and back out. Stanleigh then went on a good run driving past two Portland players only for another defender to chop him down just outside the box and was shown a yellow card for his troubles. The resulting free-kick was disappointingly straight at the wall. The Clifton St. Vincent’s backline of Miller, Lopez-Bland, Pearce and Gadd were in good control of any Portland attacks and they restricted them to just a few tame efforts which GK Jacobs dealt with accordingly. Portland’s best chance came from a long high ball over the top which was allowed to bounce twice meaning the Portland forward got a chance to leap highest and head the ball goal wards, but thankfully just wide. Vincent’s midfield of Finney, Stanleigh, Scott, Mansfield continued to try and carve out some chances for the attackers and on the half hour mark the patience finally paid off. K Mooney found Stanleigh just outside the box, who swept the ball out to the right wing where Miller picked it up and delivered a very inviting cross which Cotton met nicely to guide the ball beyond the GK. Portland 0-1 Clifton St. Vincent’s. This goal gave everyone a lift and the gaps in the Portland backline started to open up a bit. Scott was dominating the midfield as the CDM and allowing Mansfield and Finney to get higher up the pitch. With just a couple of minutes to go Finney found Cotton just outside the area, who spun away from his marker with the ball shifting onto his left foot and pinged a shot into the far corner. Great finish. Portland 0-2 Clifton St. Voncent’s. Half-time came and went with no changes and all players knew the next goal was going to be ‘massive’. Both sides were a little lethargic in the opening 10-15 mins of the 2nd half, and neither side looked likely to cause any real problems. Portland had a goalmouth scramble which saw a snapshot fly high over the bar. Vincent’s then introduced two subs. A debut for Jack Hobbs and a return of fans favourite Jon Crutchlow, both of whom settled into the game with ease. The A’s were again the stronger team in the second period, and they pressed for another goal. K Mooney made a great run which saw him skin his marker, and then fizz a ball across goal but no one was close enough to make contact. The A’s were knocking the ball around now with some real confidence and swagger. Even when pressed well, there was no panic and there were always options for an open player with Miller, Lopez-Bland, Pearce and Gadd all providing easy options for a pass, to then start again from the back. A cross from wide by Stanleigh saw a presentable chance for Finney to head home, but he missed the target narrowly. Crutchlow and Hobbs were seeing plenty of the ball and it was the latter who received a through ball from Finney inside the box to swivel and fire a great shot into the far corner for a debut goal. Portland 0-3 Clifton St. Voncent’s. The 3rd goal effectively ended the contest and with only a few minutes left the game fizzled out a bit. The final whistle saw the A’s continue their incredible run and adds even more motivation and importance for next week’s league game. MoM – The A’s management shortlisted Scott/Stanleigh/Cotton for this week’s MoM, but ultimately went for Harry Scott for a tireless display in midfield. Tackles and passes galore for his teammates which just goes to show its not all about who sticks the ball in the net. Line up – L Jacobs, H Miller, M Lopez-Bland, J Pearce, O Gadd, M Stanleigh, H Scott, L Finney, P Mansfield, M Cotton, K Mooney, J Crutchlow, J Hobbs Final Result - Portland 0 – 3 Clifton St. Vincent’s A’s

A Team	vs	Torpedo B's
All Saints Cup Group Stage		Saturday November 12 2022
The A’s came into this fixture in scintillating form and unbeaten in all competitions thus far in the 22/23 season. The weather for mid-November was unreal, with conditions more like late August. The calm and peaceful setting was very fitting for the minutes silence in remembrance of the great wars. The A’s wasted no time in taking the game to Torpedo. They launched forwards with real purpose and the midfield (in an experimental diamond formation) of Scott, Stanleigh, S Mooney & Cowland were supporting K Mooney and Cotton up top. The breakthrough didn’t take long with the ball falling kindly to S Mooney’s feet, and from the edge of the box he drilled a shot low and into the bottom corner. 0-1 CSV. The A’s were soon two to the good when Matt Cotton was fed the ball from a K Mooney flick on. He moved into the box and hit a sweet left peg shot low passed the Torps GK. 0-2 CSV. Torps occasionally sent some searching passes in behind the CSV backline but Miller, Wride, Pearce and Gadd were rarely threatened and dealt with anything thrown their way. Scott sitting as the deepest midfielder of the diamond also offered the backline good protection. GK Cooper had a few tame efforts to deal with which of course he did with no issues. Another neat exchange of passes saw Stanleigh ping the ball into the channel for K Mooney to chase down. Still quite wide of goal, he breezed past the Torps defender and from a very tight angle fired the ball past the keeper. 0-3 CSV. Soon after a Stanleigh corner found Cotton who’s header was initially saved but fell kindly back to him, where his second attempt was clawed out by the keeper, but sadly for him it was a good foot or so over the line as he did do, and the referee was well placed to see it and award the goal. 0-4 CSV. Halftime talks were generally positive although CSV now had the ‘uphill’ to deal with as well as a bit of a breeze picking up which they would be playing into. A switch of personnel saw Finney, Elkerton and Gernon enter the fray. Now in fairness to Torpedo, they came out determined not to have a repeat of the first half and started with some pressing of their own. Numerous early attacks resulted in an in-swinging corner that alluded everyone and went straight into the CSV net. 1-4 CSV. Panic then set in when Torpedo scored another from a pinball goalmouth scramble. 2-4 CSV. There were mixed shouts from the CSV camp, with some raging so loud that players by the water tower might have heard it, and others asking for calm. Thankfully not long after, some slick passing released Miller down the right wing, and he hit a screamer from a tight angle giving the GK no chance. Post-match banter would question if Miller’s shot was actually a cross but he was adamant that he ‘saw a gap’ and the benefit of doubt was given. 2-5 CSV. The goal put some life back into CSV’s play and soon after a nice link up between Gernon and K Mooney saw the latter square the ball across the face of goal but before Gernon could make contact, a Torps defender desperately tried to get a foot on it and steered it into his own net. 2-6 CSV. There was still time for the A’s to switch off again and have a mini implosion which saw two quick fire Torpedo goals. The first was a very unfortunate slip from Peace, who as the last man , couldn’t make up the ground on the Torps forward who took advantage of the misfortune. The next was a free kick that was whipped in with pace and for all the world looked like the player who turned it home was well offside ………..however the Torps players shouted for a goal claiming the ball had hit a CSV player on the way through , which the referee agreed with. 4-6 CSV. Just as Torps might have started believing a comeback was possible, a nice move saw S Mooney play a lovely through ball to his brother. K Mooney made no mistake carrying the ball into the box and then poking the ball past the GK. 4-7 CSV. The final whistle brought a sense of relief to CSV who hadn’t anticipated such a Topsy-Turvey 2nd half. The full-time team huddle was a balanced view of the game, with Wride offering a slightly more critical appraisal of the performance and Finney looking for the positives. Even with a below par showing, the A’s won the game and notched their highest haul of the season (as well as their highest goals against!). They now look forward to a huge league game next week where they’ll be fully motivated to keep an unbeaten run going and ensure the poor spells of this game are not repeated! MoM – A’s Manager Finney decided to go for Kez Mooney this week for two well taken goals and also two assists (if we count the OG). Strong stats ! Line up – A Cooper, H Miller, M Wride, J Pearce, O Gadd, M Stanleigh, H Scott, S Mooney, J Cowland, K Mooney, M Cotton, L Finney, J Elkerton, G Gannon

B Team	vs	NCSF Res
		Saturday April 23 2022
The final game of the season saw the B team up against bottom of the table side NCSF Reserves. The wind was whipping up across the downs and the ground underfoot now felt more like concrete than grass. The B’s had lost a couple of players to illness on match day morning, and the invaluable Sam Kay had deservedly been promoted right the way up to the dizzy heights of the first team. The B’s kicked off and with the wind behind them, knew that they needed to make the most of the first half. Vincent’s dominated from the off and were looking to unlock a fairly stubborn NCSF defence. The backline of Copper, Finney, Lopez-Bland, Stock and Stevens had a quiet opening 15 minutes with only the occasional counter from NCSF. There weren’t any clear cut chances for the B’s with a half chance from a poorly cleared corner falling to Stanleigh who tried a volley from the edge of the box which fizzed over the bar by a foot or so. On 20 minutes the breakthrough came for St. Vincent’s with a long throw into the box from Stevens, which McIntosh met with a deft touch to steer it past the keeper. Clifton St. Vincent’s 1- 0 NCSF Res. The midfield of Gompels, Chailett, Stanleigh, Davies and McIntosh were causing NCSF problems and midway through the half McCollough joined the action. With 10 mins to go to the break, a high ball into the box saw an NCSF defender try and use Gompels as a climbing frame to try and get higher than him, resulting in a blatant penalty which the referee gave instantly. As always, the ever-reliable Chailett stepped up to notch his 13th goal of the season for the B team (he’s got some for the A’s too). Clifton St. Vincent’s 2-0- NCSF Res. The halftime break allowed the B’s to assess the conditions of the next 45 mins. With the wind now against them they knew this half would be a different ball game. As suspected NCSF used the wind to hit it long and high down the middle, and for the first 15 mins Vincent’s struggled to get the ball into the opposition half. The B’s found their groove again though, and despite the conditions started to play the ball about on the deck and move the ball forwards with purpose. A slick move saw Compels turn his man on the edge of the box and hit a half volley which saw the ball agonisingly off the inside of the post and then hoofed away to safety. NCSF to their credit never gave up and created a few half chances of their own. They certainly weren’t playing like a bottom of the table side. With 15 or so to go, and nice exchange of passes between McIntosh and Chailett, saw the latter ping a lovely cross into the danger zone where McIntosh met the ball with a diving header, with the ball looping over the stranded keeper. It looked like a very deliberate header although post match de-brief would see McIntosh confess rather candidly that the ball pinged off his shoulder. Clifton St. Vincent’s 3-0 NCSF Res. The goal against the wind was the crushing blow that killed off NCSF’s spirits and the game slowed down somewhat in the final stages. Some resilient defending from the B’s ensured that a clean sheet was had in what was a solid result for the B’s last game of the season. Although they knew the title was out of reach, a win has put the B’s into 2nd spot and they now hope Saints lose/draw their last game so that they can claim runners up. It’s been a memorable season for the B team. So close yet so far. Only 3 league defeats all season. There have been most certainly a few ‘what if’ moments and a draw with Phoenix early in the season is indeed one where one more goal could have changed the fortunes of both teams. The 2-2 draw with Sneyd also springs to mind where the B’s hit the underside of the bar in the final few minutes, and of course the recent 2-1 defeat to Saints OB which frustrated all the players involved with a slightly below par day. All in all, a very enjoyable campaign and player/manager Stanleigh is very proud of all the players that have helped along the way. A top 3 finish and a Quarter final in the All Saints cup is something all the players can be very pleased with. Onwards and upwards to next season MoM - A strong showing for Stock, Gompels, Chailett and Mcintosh for the final vote of the season, with McIntosh taking the award for two very well taken goals (a wonderful shouldered finish) Line Up - A Cooper, L Finney , T Stock , M Lopez-Bland , J Stevens, M Chaillet, M Stanleigh , J Gompels , M Davies, C McIntosh , M Carvell, J McCollough

B Team	vs	Saints OB B's
		Saturday April 16 2022
The day of destiny finally arrived for the B team with the knowledge that a win would see them finish at the very least in 2nd place. It was a scorcher on the downs and even the warm up was breaking sweat amongst the players, and the ground way to firm to take a stud. The game kicked off at a rapid pace with both teams testing each other out. The Vincent’s backline of Finney , Lopez-Bland, Downes and Stevens were soon aware that the focal point of Saints OB attacks was to hit their big fella up top who was powerful and pretty damn quick for a guy over 6’ tall ! After the opening exchanges settled down, the B’s enjoyed some pressure with the midfield of Gompels , Stanleigh , Kay , Chaillet and Danhawoor all pinging their passes around with real intent , looking to unlock the Saints’ defence and find McIntosh in behind . Despite numerous decent passages of play going forward, the B’s couldn’t create any real clear-cut chances. Saints were a real threat when they hit their long ball into the danger man up top and it required some excellent tackles from the B’s backline to clear their lines. Some good work from Gompels found McIntosh in on goal and with the best chance of the half he saw his shot just wide into the side netting. Close! Jack Pearce joined the action on 35 mins to continue his comeback from injury. The final period of the first half was a little nervy from both sides and a draw at the half-time whistle was probably fair. The B’s gave themselves a good talking to and agreed that they hadn’t hit anywhere near top gear yet. They certainly needed something more if they were to win this one. The restart saw another frantic period of play and it was only several minutes in when Vincent’s didn’t clear their lines when the opportunity was there to do so, and saints punished them working the ball into the area for their danger man to steer the ball home. Clifton St. Vincent’s 0-1 Saints. To their credit, the B’s didn’t feel sorry for themselves and like many times before this season they had to face the task of coming back from being behind. The B’s pressed for an equaliser and we’re finding the saints backline quite resilient. It was starting to feel like carving out a clear-cut chance just might not come. The B’s then won a throw and Stevens decided rather than hit the mixer he’d pick out Sam Kay lurking outside the area unmarked. Kay took one touch to take the pace off the throw and then struck a sweet 25 yard strike that looped over the saints GK into the net. A truly wonderful goal. Clifton St. Vincent’s 1-1 Saints Vincent’s felt fuelled by this goal and they fully deserved to be back on level terms. The game was now on a knife edge with both teams pushing for a winner. With about 15 mins to go, a B’s goal kick saw the ball only travel half way out of their own half and Saints pounced on the opportunity. Their winger worked the ball across the area for his teammate to score from close range. Heartbreak for the B team who had worked hard to get back level and certainly didn’t make Saints work particularly hard for their goal. Clifton St. Vincent’s 1-2 Saints. The B’s did not wallow in their own self-pity though, and started to throw caution to the wind hitting balls in to the channels for the front players to chase. The B’s won a number of corners and free kicks around the edge of the area but just couldn’t find that special bit of creativity that they have had in abundance of all season. A late surging run saw Gompels into the box and appeared to get pulled down by a Saints player. The screams for a penalty could be heard a far as the water tower but the referee did not agree with the appeals from Vincent’s and it felt like that might be the decision that sealed the B’s fate. Into the final few minutes the play got more and more desperate with Vincent’s hitting long balls in the hope a mistake may be made but Saints to their credit were focused and saw the game out. A bitter blow to the B’s who would have been guaranteed 2nd spot with a win. They now sit 3rd with Saints overtaking them by two points. Just one more game left, however the B’s will be looking to finish the season on a high and put this week’s disappointment behind them ….. and hope that just maybe some very unlikely results happen elsewhere so that they can finish higher than 3rd. MoM - A variety of players got a nomination this week with no stand out landslide. However getting a handful of votes and pipping it by one, was Sam Kay (AGAIN) who wins his third MoM award in a row! Line Up - A Cooper, L Finney , T Downes, J Stevens , S Kay, M Chaillet, M Stanleigh , J Gompels , K Danhawoor, C McIntosh , J Pearce

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