Clifton St. Vincent's

B Team	vs	Portland OB A's
		Saturday November 6 2021
The B’s came in search of another much-needed league win, and today was a typical Downs weather day, with the ground soft and a strong wind coming off the sea walls towards the water tower. The game started well for the B’s who were playing against the wind, and they looked to try and keep it on the deck, as anything over chest height was being carried by the gusts. An early shot from Chailett saw the keeper spill it and Carvell was first to react but his powerful strike from only 6 yards out smashed the bar and back into play. A short time later Mansfield appeared to be caught late in the box, which the referee blew his whistle for, only to the disbelief of all players (including most of Portland) that he decided Mansfield had fouled the defender!. The B’s were struggling a little now and the wind was proving very challenging. Cooper’s kicks were only making it about 30 yards out before the wind would push it back into dangerous areas. A moment of quality (or luck) saw a Portland player strike the ball from 30 odd yards out and with the assistance of a strong gust of wind saw the ball sail into the Clifton St. Vincent's net. 0-1 to Portland. The team talk at halftime was a mixture of disbelief of how the B’s were losing, and frustration of how the typical B’s slick passing wasn’t happening. But as soon as the second half whistle was blown , the B’s wasted no time in turning the game on its head. Neat passing between Stanleigh. Aldis and Chailett in the middle was starting to create chances. An early corner saw Lopez-Bland send the ball deep to the far post where Stanleigh met the ball with a firm header into the net. 1 -1 The B’s continued to press and the backline of Campbell, Downes, Stewart and Lopez-Bland were now very comfortable with the wind behind them. Hermann was closing players down and this allowed the wingers Mansfield and Ellett to push further on. Another Clifton St. Vincent's corner saw Lopez deliver a low near post cross this time and Carvell timed his run to perfection to sweep the ball home on the half volley . 2-1 Clifton St. Vincent's. Yet another corner a few minutes later saw Lopez deliver a lovely in swinger which with the wind found the back of the net without a touch from anyone ! 3-1 Clifton St. Vincent's. The B’s now smelt blood, and weren’t about to let up……..yet ANOTHER corner saw ANOTHER class delivery from Lopez and this time Ellet found himself striding onto the ball and side footed a half volley in from close range. 4-1 Clifton St. Vincent's Portland’s belief was now non-existent and it felt like they couldn’t wait for the final whistle. A hopeful lob into the area from Stanleigh somehow bounced up over two defenders and Mansfield crept in, and with back to goal , back headed it over the GK. 5-1 Clifton St. Vincent's. With 5 mins left there was still time for one more, with Stanleigh’s very cheeky ‘Cruyff turn’ like pass found Todd in the box who , with a few Portland defenders around him , twinkle toed his way forwards and poked the ball into the bottom corner . 6-1 Clifton St. Vincent's Minutes later Portland were put out of their misery with the final whistle. Very much a game of two halves with Clifton St. Vincent's putting in their most dominant display of the season (so far!). MoM– The players voted on their MoM. Close between Stanleigh and Lopez, however this week the fantasy league teams dream with 3 assists and a goal went to Lopez-Bland ! Line up – A Cooper, M Lopez-Bland , M Campbell, T Downes , O Herman, J Stewart, R Todd , S Aldis, M Stanleigh, M Chailett , M Carvell, S Ellet , P Mansfield

B Team	vs	Saints OB
		Saturday October 23 2021
The B’s came into their 4th league match of the season feeling the pressure to get back to winning ways. With the Clifton St. Vincent's A team not playing, and missing a few regulars , the timing was fortunate for the B’s who enlisted support from Luke Jacob, Matt Wride and Max Davies. The first 20 mins went exactly as hoped. Lots of Clifton St. Vincent's dominance and high tempo pressing for the ball. Some half chances came and went, and it felt like just a matter of time before the break through. Unfortunately, that came at the wrong end with a Saints forward having had his first shot well save by Jacob, saw a bizarre lob that looked for all the world like it was heading over suddenly drop like a lead balloon into the B’s net. 1-0 Saints. The goal seemed to deflate the B’s belief and suddenly looked nervous and untidy in their play. With about 10 mins left of the half they found groove again and a delightful cross on the deck from Todd from the right wing found his left sided counterpart Finney all alone at the far post to surely equalise …….but a shuffle of the feet (Gazza ish from the Euro 96 semi) saw him only get a toe and poked it wide. With time running out a corner saw the ball fall to Stanleigh on the edge who’s tame left footed strike trickled back through a crowd to the feet of McCollough with his back to goal……who instinctively (and rather cheekily) back heeled the ball with pace & into the goal. 1 -1! The half time team talk was loud and angry (mostly thanks to Matt Wride), but all agreed that they needed to buck up their ideas. The B’s had now introduced their new French signing Chailett who was buzzing around the middle of midfield and looking very lively indeed. It was a frantic second half with both teams looking to win it. Jacob made two class saves to keep Clifton St. Vincent's in it and the backline was holding firm with Lopez, Wride, Herman, Scanlon and Pearce scrapping and giving their all. A moment of composure saw some slick passing with Stanleigh playing Chailett into the box who found himself through with the Saints keeper rushing out , Chailett audaciously chipped the lanky keeper (Davor Suker ish - Euro 96). The ball seemed to float in slow motion as it drifted towards the goal with most of the B team getting ready to celebrate ….only to see the ball clip the underside of the bar, down onto the line and up and back into play. It suddenly felt like it just might not happen for the B’s today. Both sides continued to attack each other. Davies was pinging balls into the channels for Carvell to chase down and was supported by the midfield. They just couldn’t seem to carve out any ‘sitters’. As a Clifton St. Vincent's goal kick was taken the ref declared ‘two minutes’ left to play. About a minute after that, Lopez-Bland pumped a long ball down the middle for Carvell to sprint after. The Saints CB was just ahead of him but he soon caught up and both players were tussling each other for the ball, which saw Carvell show his strength and came out of the battle with the ball at his feet and just the keeper to beat. Carvell coolly slotted the ball low and hard into the saint’s goal to spark roars of celebration from his teammates. The Saints Linesman called the ref over to suggest Carvell had fouled the CB, but thankfully the ref wasn’t having it. 1-2 Clifton St. Vincent's! The final whistle came just moments later. A big win for the B’s against an unbeaten (until now) Saints team. MoM – The players voted on their MoM. Close between Wride and Chailett , however this week the new French debutant Chailett took the most votes. Line up – L Jacob, , M Lopez-Bland , J Scanlon, O Herman, J Pearce, L Finney, J McCollough, M Stanleigh, M Davies , R Todd , M Carvell, M Wride, M Chailett

B Team	vs	Rock Crusaders
GFA cup		Saturday October 16 2021
The B’s GFA cup campaign kicked off against a solid church league team – Rock Crusaders. As the B team arrived at pitch 13 Rock were already there warming up with cones set up and a coach barking orders at them ……they were clearly up for the game! A frantic start to the game followed with neither team forcing their dominance. Fate was however cruel and for the 3rd successive game in a row the B’s conceded a very dubious penalty, this time after just a few minutes. The Rock forward has smashed the ball from all of two yards onto Herman’s face/raised arm. He then dispatched the pen calmly. 0-1 to Rock C. To the B’s credit they didn’t let the early set back affect them and if anything raised their game. The next 30 minutes the B’s dominated Rock and some slick passing saw Finney through on goal only for his goal bound shot to be tipped around the post! From the resulting corner Carvell rose like a salmon and headed the ball against the bar and out for a goal kick. The B’s pressed on and McCollough was looking lively in CM whilst the backline of Lopez-Bland, Scanlon, Herman and Pearce were dealing with Rock’s forwards very well. Carvell saw a couple of shots from distance narrowly miss the target. With 10 mins to go to the half, Rock won a corner and the resulting inswinger saw a Rock player stoop onto the ball from all of 3 yards to score. It was a bitter blow for the B’s who were so nearly back in the game just minutes before. The fine margins of football. 0-2 to Rock. Just before the halftime whistle, Rock could have made it 3 if not for an outstanding save from Cooper. Halftime change saw Lewis on, and the B’s still believed there was hope. Stanleigh, Mooney and McCollough were scrapping with the Rock midfield and the game did start to take a more heated feel to it. Another breakthrough on goal saw Cooper make a fantastic one on one save. The B’s tried their best to force a comeback and some nice through balls from Fitzsimmons and Pearce saw Carvell get into some promising positions but the goal just wouldn’t come. A moment of hesitation in the middle of the park saw Rock nick the ball from Clifton St. Vincent's and slide their forward in who punished the mistake for their 3rd goal. 0-3 Rock C. The B’s needed some divine inspiration now which Rock weren’t going to give them. The 3 goal cushion had snuffed out the B’s belief of a comeback, although to their credit, the B’s never gave up and were not about to roll over for a hiding ! They fought hard and kept on trying to carve out chances but time ran out and the game ended 0-3 to Rock. A very flattering score line it must be said. Rock probably deserved the victory and edged it on the day , but the B’s certainly didn’t deserve the score line and can take a lot of positives from a disappointing result. MoM – The players voted on their MoM. Very close between McCollough and Cooper however this week Cooper takes the applause. Line up – A Cooper, M Lopez-Bland , J Scanlon, O Herman, J Pearce, L Finney, J McCollough, M Stanleigh, J Mooney, D Fitzsimmons, M Carvell, W Lewis

B Team	vs	Retainers Reserves
		Saturday October 9 2021
Having seen that Retainers beat Sneyd 5-0 the week before, we knew this was going to be a tough game. Player/Manager - Martyn Stanleigh was sunning himself in Cornwall so handed the reigns over to Jon Scanlon and Rich Todd. A fantastic day for Football with plenty of sunshine. Jon winning the toss of the coin to ensure that their keeper has the low sunshine in their keeper’s eyes going into the second half! The match started very slowly with Retainers putting a high cross into our box and our defenders doing their best to get to the ball first, unfortunately with the ball then rolling into our own net. A tough one to deal with but unlucky for Jon Scanlon who now has his second own goal of the season. Picking up our heads back up in the first half, we were dominating possession and playing some good two touch Football into pockets of space. With most of our chances coming from great attacking movement down the wing from Mansfield and putting crosses into the box. Todd getting onto the end of one of the crosses and putting his header wide and Carvell with a good volley attempt going just over the bar! Then an opportunity from Retainers saw their player brought down in the box and given the penalty. Cooper did brilliantly to get his hand to the ball but unfortunately the ball was placed too far into the bottom corner. 2 – 0 down at half time. Second half and there didn’t seem to be a lot going on until our player was seen to be brought down in the box and rightfully given a penalty! Todd stepped up to take the penalty and unfortunately did a Bruno Fernandes! Too much power in the shot and just needed to hit it low. Nevertheless, we kept battling but again there was not a lot of chances from either team. Retainers then drawing a foul on the edge of our box and placing a really good strike into the top left hand corner with Cooper again getting his hand to the ball! I don’t think any keeper would have saved it but good attempt by Cooper! 3 – 0 down and we kept trying to pull some goals back, with Finney being the final attempt getting onto the end of a brilliant cross and just putting his header wide. The final whistle came and this was just one of those games where the only shots on target were an own goal, a penalty and a free kick. We go again next week! MoM– Awarded this week to Matt Lopez-Bland for a commanding display at RB and gave 110% for 90 mins ! Line up - A Cooper , M Lopez-Bland, T Downes, T Stock, J Scanlon, L Finney, P Mansfield, R Todd, M Carvell, Matt P, O Herman, J Pearce, W Dodds

Reserve Team	vs	Winterbourne Utd Reserves
GFA Cup		Saturday October 9 2021
The Reserves suffered from lack of player availability and came up against a very good Winterbourne Utd Reserve team. There were good performances by Seamus Nickless-Mooney and some good saves by Yusef Demirer. Clifton St. Vincent's scorers were Seamus Nickless- Mooney, Luke Chritchlow and Aaron Roberts. Clifton St. Vincent'ss cause wasn’t helped after they lost Courtney Walsh for continued dissent after 50 minutes. A couple of late goals by Winterbourne flattered the score line a little but ultimately Winterboune were the better side. The team showed good commitment and continued to battle well against a well organised side. Starting Line-up Y Demirer, A Kershaw, L Chritchlow, C Rastell, J Stewart, M Wilson, N Howell, A Roberts, C McIntosh, S Nickless-Mooney. NH

social

Contact us at: