NEW BRADWELL ST PETER 1-1 HARPENDEN TOWN
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 3RD 2011
The first home game of the new season kicked off in warm late summer sunshine. Both sides were keen to attack, moving the ball quickly around the pitch to their opponents penalty area. St Peters kicking down the slope were soon threatening the Harpenden goal, and it wasn’t long before the breakthrough came when Gary Flinn was fouled in the penalty area. The referee immediately pointed to the penalty spot and Ben Hill stepped up to calmly drive the ball home in the corner. One nil to St Peters within five minutes.
Both sides continued to create chances and the visitors thought they had equalized in the 21st minute, only to have their goal ruled offside by the referee’s assistant. The game became a midfield battle as both teams tried to establish supremacy. St Peters had Gary Flinn booked on 24minutes. There were few other clear cut chances and the teams went in at half time with no further score.
The second half started in the same fashion but the visitors soon upped the tempo and looked increasingly dangerous as the game went on, going close on a couple of occasions. The Peters defended well and absorbed the visitors pressure while also creating a few chances themselves.
Eventually though the pressure on the New Bradwell goal told as the visitors equalized in the ninety fourth minute as Denys deflected shot wrong footed the Bradwell keeper to level the scores. There was only time to restart before the referee blew the final whistle. The Peters were disappointed to only come away with a draw especially as they had held out right until the final few seconds of the game against the unbeaten Harps.
The result left the St Peters sitting in seventh place in the table, two places below their opponents. They will be hoping to pick up wins against Bedford and Chesham in the forthcoming days.
NEW BRADWELL ST PETER V ASTON PARK
SATURDAY 17TH SEPTEMBER 2011
New Bradwells county cup campaign kicked off with a home tie against Aston Park from the Aylesbury & District League, Premier Division.
New Bradwell started very strong forcing 4 corners in the opening few minutes, Aston had to wait a full 10 minutes to even get into Peters half. When they did however they had two shots at goal. The first was on target hit by Strong but it did not cause Ben Donaldson any problems in the Peters goal. The second 2 minutes later by Karwancinski went just wide.
For the next 15 minutes the action was end to end, but then Rob Mooney was in the right place at the right time to tap in New Bradwell’s first goal following a trade mark Ben Hill pass. From the re-start Aston Park attacked in depth forcing a corner which was cleared. The ball was exchanged between the teams in midfield on several occasions, Donaldson finally collecting the ball from a Hance shot. Ben hit the ball up field which was collected by Sean Carr, his half chance was saved. Derrick McDonald tested Astons keeper out with a good shot but he was up to it and pulled off a good save. The last few minutes of the half returned to the end to end game seen so often that afternoon.
Only 30 seconds into the 2nd half Derrick McDonald went close to a second Peters goal. The difference between the two sides was starting to show. Corners and free kicks were raining in on the Aston Park goal, another goal was on the cards and sure enough up pops Derrick again and this time over the top of the keeper to make it number 2.Ben Hill made it 3 with a cross/shot two minutes later and New Bradwell knew they had done enough.
Goal number 4 involved the same two Peters players as the first, Ben Hill threading the ball through for Rob Mooney to score. Aston to their credit did not give up and Ben Donaldson was forced to make a good save. They almost got one back this time Ben was unable to get to the ball but it went just wide. Aston Park had looked good at times and perhaps deserved a goal, but we have all seen and indeed been in the same position and we all know football can be cruel, the unlucky Grant Karwancinski scored in his own net in the last few minutes to make the final score New Bradwell 5.0 Aston Park.
The Berks & Bucks Intermediate Cup 2nd Round draw followed the following Tuesday and we have a trip to Slough to face Chalvey Sports WMC of the East Berkshire League on Saturday 15th October.
NEW BRADWELL ST PETER v LONDON COLNEY
SATURDAY 24TH SEPTEMBER 2011
In breezy but dry conditions London Colney kicked off with the slope in their favour and quickly got in to their stride putting early pressure on the home side. Despite being forced to field a weakened side it wasn’t long before the visitors threatened the Peter’s goal and after only eight minutes striker Matt Newman latched onto a pass that the New Bradwell defence failed to cut out and closed in on goal before firing a low drive across the face of the goal into the corner of the net. Shortly after, the Hertfordshire side created two more clear cut chances only to be denied by poor finishing. At this stage it looked quite ominous for Peters as the men in blue took the initiative at every opportunity to try and expose any weakness in the home sides defence and it wasn’t long before they went two nil up as number seven Frankie Jowle drove in a fierce shot from the left hand side of the area after 12 minutes. New Bradwell did try and respond positively and upped the tempo. After 17 minutes they won a free kick and as the ball came across in to the penalty area was headed in to the corner of the net. Unfortunately the effort was ruled out by the referee. Within the next five minutes the men in Claret and Blue suffered the misfortune of having two men booked in quick succession, as firstly Mat Clinch was cautioned for a foul and then Gary Flinn followed after incurring the referee’s displeasure. The home side wouldn’t give up and challenged for every ball and eventually it was Sean Carr who pulled a goal back for the Peters driving the ball in to the net from close range to make it 2-1 at half time.
Still Peters had to beware of the threat carried by the away side. On thirty five minutes Greg Shaw and Danny Fitzgerald combined to cause confusion in the New Bradwell defence. Fitzgerald heading just over the bar. Then on forty two minutes the home keeper was forced to save one handed again from Fitzgerald. 2-1at half time.
New Bradwell kicked off and both sided contested the ball keenly in the middle of the park but the more potent threat was still carried by the visitors. On fifty three minutes they had a free kick 25 yards out from the Peters goal. Matt Newman drove the ball low and just wide of the left hand post. On 59 minutes Frankie Jowle had a header punched away by James Howarth and on seventy one minutes the home keeper was again called upon to make a good one handed save from a free kick given away by Jack Leadbetter.
Matt Newman was put through on goal from a speculative high ball to the edge of the area, but his lob over keeper Howarth also just cleared the bar.
Peters were given a lifeline in the final couple of minutes when Ross Stone was felled inside the penalty area. The referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Ben Hill stepped up to take the resulting spot kick but lifted his shot over the bar much to the relief of the visitors. That was Peters last real effort on goal and the game finished 1-2 to London Colney
NEW BRADWELL ST PETER v CRANFIELD UNITED
TUESDAY 27TH SEPTEMBER 2011
Cranfield came to The Recreation ground in good form having lost only once,
(to London Colney) since their opening day defeat to St Albans City Reserves.
The visitors started in well putting pressure on the New Bradwell goal from the start probing the defence for any weaknesses. However, it wasn’t until the fifteenth minute that the Bedfordshire side forced Howarth in the Bradwell goal to make a good save after a fine effort from Reynolds.
The game ebbed and flowed as both sides tried to find a way through the opposition defence with Peters having the better of the territory and the possession, their superiority finally paying dividends in the25th minute when Derrick McDonald slid a low cross home to break the deadlock.
Cranfield looked dangerous on occasion with Sam Evans going close on 33 minutes then being denied shortly after when put through one on one with the Bradwell keeper who blocked the pacey number eight’s shot then managed to recover to just in time to hook the ball away tosafety from the on rushing Nathan Peacock. The score remained 1-0 at half time.
The second half started with both sides showing a willingness to get the ball forward and create chances. After five minutes of the second half a low drive to the corner from Leadbetter, forced Joe Burdiak in the Cranfield goal to save at his left hand post. From the resulting corner Matt Clinch headed in to put the home two nil ahead.
The second goal seemed to galvanise the visitors in to action and they upped the tempoas they searched for a way to reduce the deficit with number ten Stuart Reynolds looking dangerous whenever he managed to break free from the New Bradwell defence.
It was against this run of play that the hard working Ben Hill managed to wrestle possession away from the cranfield midfield and release Derrick McDonald who cut inside the Cranfield defence to fire in a low cross that Sean Carr drove home to make it three nil on the hour.
It would have been easy for the Claret and Blues to think that the game was safe, but if anyone had any such thoughts they would be in for a rude awakening as Cranfield immediately went on the attack from the restart and as the New Bradwell defence was opened up by a slick through ball Sam Evans crossed for Peacock to slide the ball in to Peters net. The away side could have scored a second a few minutes later as another low cross from the left hand side found Peacock in acres of spaces with the goal wide open, only to shoot wide.
With the home side living dangerously, it was only a matter of time before a second goal came for the men in red and white. The ever dangerous Stuart Reynolds found himself in space and as the ball came to him he showed good control of the ball on the chest, turning and volleying the ball into the corner of the net to reduce the defecit to one goal.
New Bradwell had an opportunity to seal the win in the last couple of minutes with the home sides number ten clean through against the keeper, but seemed to be caught in two minds about where to place his shot and consequently slid the ball just wide of the far post. That miss proved to be irrelevant however as Bradwell hung on to run out 3-2 winners.
NEW BRADWELL 3-2 CRANFIELD
Attendance 67