Clifton St. Vincent's

First Team	vs	Green Park Rangers Firsts
Norman Hardy Cup		Saturday November 27 2021
Clifton St Vincent’s Firsts arrived chastened by a series of three consecutive defeats and looking to get back to winning ways in the Norman Hardy Cup. The chilly and blustery conditions alongside the rugby-player like statures of the opposition didn't bode well for a game of quality football, but captain Davies' experience in the toss paid off as the Vincent’s kicked off into the gale for the first half.  It very quickly became apparent that Green Park Rangers Firsts had turned up intent on putting Vincent’s off their stride with an early series of strong challenges. Fortunately Vincent’s were not swayed by their opponents' somewhat physical approach and took an early lead in the first half following one of many excellent Murison deliveries and one of an equal number of goalmouth scrambles eventually tucked home by Hatwell and (apparently) assisted by Mitchell. Clifton St. Vincent’s 1 – 0 Green Park Rangers Firsts   Inspite of the continued robust approach of their opponents Vincent’s continued to play their football and were rewarded with a second goal. As the half ticked on and frustration threatened to build, Reeve expertly twatted home a loose ball inside the box following yet another Vincent’s' corner. 2-0 As the proverbial floodgates eked open, Ayunga's ever-present threat was rewarded with a slight deflection helping his effort into the bottom corner. Clifton St. Vincent’s 3 – 0 Green Park Rangers Firsts As the half drew to a close, what can only be described as a pea roller by the otherwise energetic Mooney inexplicably rolled past the keeper's lazily outstretched palm to make it a deserved 4-0 going into the break.  Clifton St. Vincent’s 4 – 0 Green Park Rangers Firsts The second half started with Green Park Rangers' tails ever so slightly up, boosted by the wind at their backs, and goalkeeper Hobbs tipped over what was surely their first effort on goal. From the following corner, Hobbs, still shocked at the audacity of the opposition to have a shot on target, played a game of 'to-me-to-you' with the opposition forward, with a couple of dropped balls and glaring misses finally resulting in an early second-half goal for Green Park.  Clifton St. Vincent’s 4 – 1 Green Park Rangers Firsts With temperatures rising Green Park sniffed an unlikely comeback. Hatwell was bundled over in the box to reward St Vincent's with a chance to put the opposition back in their box. Unfortunately, as is becoming firmly established tradition for Clifton St Vincent’s. It was Ayunga's turn to put the resulting penalty wide of the post, much to the delight of the sin-binned member of the opposition. Thankfully, Vincent’s didn't have to wait long to get their just rewards with Mooney following up an Ayunga effort to tuck home for 5-1.  Clifton St. Vincent’s 5 – 1 Green Park Rangers Firsts As the half wore on, Hobbs was momentarily flummoxed at the ball making a rare foray towards his 18-yard box, momentarily forgetting the rules of football and attempting to handle outside the penalty area. Unfortunately, Green Park chose to demonstrate a moment of quality from the resulting free kick, a sumptuous delivery being headed home to make it 5-2.  Clifton St. Vincent’s 5 – 2 Green Park Rangers Firsts With the game descending to a confusingly friendly end, Gardner picked the ball up in the middle third and squared to Hatwell to make it 6-2, and to end this interminable match report.  Clifton St. Vincent’s 6 – 2 Green Park Rangers Firsts Line-up: R Hobbs, S Gardner, W Mitchell, A Reeve, C Woosey, D Davies, R Blackman, O Hatwell, K. Dahnawoor, M Murison, S Ayunga. Subs used: S Mooney SG

B Team	vs	Torpedo B's
		Saturday November 20 2021
Clifton St. Vincent’s came looking for their 4th league win in a row. They were unsure on the quality facing them given that Torps A team didn’t have a fixture! The opening exchanges were very much in Vincent’s favour and they looked quicker to the ball all over the park. It was only 10 mins in when Stanleigh chipped a ball into the box for Finney to chase who got to the ball a split second before the Torps GK & defender and chipped the ball over the keeper into the net. Clifton St. Vincent’s 1-0 Torpedo This seemed to wake Torps up a bit and they started to find their way back into the match creating a few chances of their own but none good enough to beat Ashley ( a Clifton St. Vincent’s living legend who had stepped in this week to cover GK). The B’s created the better chances and Chaillet’s shot was spilled by the GK allowing Todd to score from close range, but the linesman’s flag was up early. The backline of Lopez-Bland, Stock, Hermann, Stewart dealt with the Torps attacks well and it was clear their preferred method of attack was from long throw ins, of which they had quite a few! At half-time, Clifton St. Vincent’s were satisfied with the performance but not the score line and they knew the next goal would be “massive”. The second half was scrappier and saw several Vincent’s player s on the end of some very robust challenges!! All of which went unpunished. With the score line finely balanced, Vincent’s paid the price for not killing the game off, as a route one ball down the park saw Hermann and Stewart both miss their attempts at clearing their lines and the Torps forward sneaked in to steer the ball past Ashley for 1-1. Clifton St. Vincent’s 1-1 Torpedo To put it mildly …….CSV were livid. They had been the better team by far and now were playing with an urgency but also with a nervousness about dropping points to an inferior opposition. The slick passing wasn’t so slick anymore and they themselves were now resorting to long balls. A tasty challenge from Hermann saw him go in the ref’s book , it’s just a shame he waited until now to start getting the cards out. Vincent’s then saw a seemingly legitimate goal by Finney ruled out for handball which no Torps players appealed for. With 10 mins left to go, Torps sent a forward racing into the box and Lopez’s outstretched leg caught the player. Penalty to Torps. It suddenly felt very gloomy on Pitch 29 with the game appearing to be heading for an away win with 0 points for the home side. The Torps forward stepped up ……..and blasted his shot over the bar! Sheer and utter relief for Vincent’s. Five minutes later Mansfield charged into the box and touched the ball past the Torps GK who brought him down, penalty. The skipper Stanleigh stepped up. Now until this season, Stanleigh had missed 3 penalty’s in 20 plus years on the Downs ……. unfortunately for him ……he saw his shot hit the post meaning his 3rd pen miss this season has doubled his career misses in a matter of 7 games! It just felt like it was going to be one of those afternoons. With a minute left …..Hermann sent the ball forward to Mansfield who collected the ball just inside the Torps half. He ran , and ran …..and ran pushing the ball past two torps defenders and suddenly found himself on the edge of the area …..he pushed the ball past one more defender and with Vincent’s players either side of him screaming for the ball, he pulled the trigger and fired it past the GK to spark screams of joy from the whole of the B team !!!!! 2-1 Clifton St. Vincent’s 2-1 Torpedo The final whistle came a minute later and what a win this could turn out to be for the B’s. Stanleigh has officially stepped down from Penalty duties ……for a little while anyway. MoM– The players voted on their MoM. A landslide (and very easy decision) ….Pete Mansfield for saving Stanleigh from a week of sleepless nights with his wonderful solo winner ! Line up –M Ashley , M Lopez-Bland , O Hermann , T Stock , J Stewart, , S Aldis, M Stanleigh, M Chailett , R Todd , J McCollough l, L Finney , P Mansfield , S Ellett

A Team	vs	Seymour United As
GFA Minor South Cup		Saturday November 20 2021
A much improved performance saw the A’s through to the third round of the Gloucestershire cup. The first 20 minutes was played at the usual breakneck pace, but the A's soon settled down moving the ball around well and creating a number of chances. The Seymour threat focused on long balls forward and a (very) long throw - but this caused few problems as keeper Dan Smith comfortably plucked these out of the air as the biggest guy on the pitch. The A’s finally broke the deadlock towards the end of the half. Good work from Jon Scanlon breaking from midfield and finding Max Davies at the back post who smashed in off the bar from 12 yards. 10 minutes later the A’s made it two. Dan Wride held the ball up in the penalty area and picked out Jon Scanlon who slotted home from close range. 2-0 up at Half-time. The second half followed a similar pattern but it wasn’t till late on that Clifton St. Vincent’s wrapped it up. A superb long ball from Jon Crutchlow (or defensive clearance, depending on who you ask) found Dan Wride who raced away and finished with a great strike from an angle - making up for striking a penalty straight at the keeper shortly before. The A’s will play the third round on the last weekend before Xmas at Hanham Abbotonians.

Reserve Team	vs	Sneyd Park Reserves
		Saturday November 20 2021
The Reserves took on an as yet unbeaten Sneyd Park Reserve side on a very grey day on the Downs. Early exchanges were fairly even with both sides showing high levels of commitment and creating some chances. Mark Aplin hitting the Sneyd crossbar whilst at the other end Yusuf Demirer acrobatically tipping a Sneyd Park header over the bar. The Reserves were playing some good football displaying excellent commitment and attitude in what was proving to be a very tight game. The whole team were clearly up for this long awaited encounter and it eventually paid dividends. Clifton St. Vincent’s won a free kick 5 metres outside the Sneyd penalty area and Nick Howell struck the ball low and true past the wall into the bottom left hand corner of the Sneyd net. Clifton St. Vincent’s Res 1 - 0 Sneyd Park Res. The first half continued in the same vein with the Reserves playing good football and giving Sneyd no rest on the ball and finished the half with a well deserved 1-0 lead. The second half started as the first half ended with the closely fought contest continuing. The Reserves continued to press Sneyd and threaten their goal. Sneyd continued to battle and the game changed rapidly after an incident in the Reserves penalty area led to the Clifton St. Vincent’s keeper being sent off for violent conduct. Mark Aplin took the goal keeper’s jersey and Sneyd equalised from the penalty spot. Clifton St. Vincent’s Res 1-1 Sneyd Park Res With Clifton St. Vincent’s down to 10 men Sneyd took the initiative and soon the lead. Scoring from close range. Clifton St. Vincent’s Res 1-2 Sneyd Park Res Despite the setback of going down to 10 men the Reserves rallied. Demonstrating superb attitude and true team spirit in putting Sneyd under huge pressure and wrestling the initiative back. Their efforts were rewarded 5 minutes from the end when Mark Aplin muscled in the equaliser from very close range. Final Score Clifton St. Vincent’s Res 2-2 Sneyd Park Res. The Reserves equipped themselves very well against a typically well organised and unbeaten Sneyd Park Reserve side. Their attitude and levels of commitment were exemplary and they played some excellent football at times. On this showing and if they continue to improve it bodes well for the rest of the season. Team Y Demirer, J Laxen, L Chritchlow, C Rastell, A Kershaw, S Stephens, A Roberts, N Howell, T Brennand, M Aplin, J Kitenge, J Stevens, H Lawrence.

B Team	vs	Clifton Vale
		Saturday November 13 2021
A fine day for football with the conditions feeling more like late summer than late Autumn. The B’s were looking for a 3 rd win on the bounce. Clifton Vale were a strong physical team and the opening exchanges made it apparent that a tough game was unfolding. Indeed, Vale got through on and Clifton St. Vincent’s were relieved to see the shot dragged wide of goal. Clifton St. Vincent’s pushed on themselves and Carvell found himself one on one after robbing the Vale CB. He advanced into the box only for a Vale defender to make a last-ditch tackle just as he was about to pull the trigger. Soon after Clifton St. Vincent’s found the breakthrough. Lopez sent a through ball into Carvell who flicked it out into the channel where Finney cut inside, firing a shot to the far side of the goal where Mansfield appeared to finish from literally inches but (very honestly) declared the ball was over the line, and so finally Finney gets the goal he’s been craving for a LONG time. 0-1 Clifton St. Vincent’s Clifton St. Vincent’s continued to press and soon after a lay off from Mansfield saw Aldis with a glorious chance, but his shot fired well over the bar. The back line of Cooper , Lopez, Scanlon, Downes and Stewart were dealing with the direct approach from Vale very well, and the B’s took their lead to halftime. Now shooting up hill, Clifton St. Vincent’s were braced for an even tougher half, however it didn’t seem to play out that way. If anything, we were finding more space and fitness levels were impressive, especially Chailett and Aldis in the middle. Indeed, it was these two combining on the edge of the area 10 mins into the 2 nd half which allowed Chailett to get his shot off from the edge of the area which was too powerful for the Vale keeper. 0-2 Clifton St. Vincent’s Soon after the B’s effectively killed the game, when Mansfield sent a long ball for Carvell who beat the defender and then coolly pushed the ball past the GK and fired home from a tight ish angle. 0-3 Clifton St. Vincent’s Clifton St. Vincent’s continued to attack and a pacey run into the box saw Mansfield tripped. Penalty. Stanleigh stepped up to take it and was bemused by the GK who took his gloves off and placed them on the ground next to him. As Stanleigh ran to the ball the GK picked up one of the gloves and threw it towards Stanleigh. The spot kick was saved but Stanleigh scored from the spill, however the ref ordered a re-take and booked the Vale GK. The second attempt was buried with no mistake. 0-4 Clifton St. Vincent’s. The Vale GK was soon in the Clifton St. Vincent’s box for a corner and when it was cleared Clifton St. Vincent’s won a free kick on the half way line. Aldis spotted the GK was still not back in his own net yet and so fired a shot from the kick into the open net. Only for the Ref to spoil the moment and declare the ball should have been several yards further back! There was still time for one more with a fierce drive from Aldis on the edge of the area , who’s shot avoided the legs of a very crowded area, and into the net . 0-5 Clifton St. Vincent’s! There seems to be something the B team just loves about shooting uphill on pitch 21 (5 goals last week, 4 goals this week). MoM– The players voted on their MoM. Close between Finney & Chailett , however this week the MoM goes to Martin for another fantastique performance. Tres Bien !!! Line up – A Cooper, M Lopez-Bland , J Scanlon, T Downes , J Stewart, S Ellett , S Aldis, M Stanleigh, M Chailett , M Carvell, L Finney , P Mansfield

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