Biting off more than you can Chew

Barely Athletic 1 - 1 Chew Magna (4-2 on penalties)

                         Kieran
Dave H    Danny        Batts    John T
Allan          Scott        Chris    Mike
                 Adam        Gareth

Subs: Al G, Bob, Ian G

Chris suggested that his version of the match report would start with “It was a dark and stormy night”, but actually Barely Athletic continued their cup defence in bright sunshine. The stormy wind was in place however, with powerful gusts blowing left to right across the pitch which would test the judgement of both teams.

With five first-team regulars missing (Paul, Paul, Sam, Rich and Jim) there was unnerving space in the dressing room before the match. The depleted team expected a tough challenge today...

Barely began with high-tempo pressing as Scott, Chris, Gareth, Allen and Adam combined to force mistakes from the normally assured Chew defenders. Mike's long throws and Kieran’s long kicking cause some consternation as well, but the Gegenpress isn't a long-term option and Chew started to get into the game as the half went on.

Kieran was the busier of the keepers in the first half but was only stretched when pulling out a full-length dive to thwart a one-on-one. John T and Dave H saw a lot of the ball and needed to be solid to keep their wingers at bay. Then Al’s delayed bus finally arrived and Mike subbed himself off before Al was even changed. Meanwhile Danny and John had time for a hilarious running-away-from-the-ball mix-up and Scott had a brace of rasping shots collected by the keeper.

At the break Ian came on for Danny to provide fewer step-overs, but many more trademark last-ditch sliding tackles.

The second half became increasingly bad-tempered, with a lot of complaining, more foul throw-ins than we saw all last season, and an ongoing war of words between Gareth and almost everyone. On today’s evidence some may be tempted to call Chew's central midfielders cloggers but I’m sure they were just frustrated at their inability to get near Scot as he hared around the midfield winning challenges in a most Loftus-like way.

Chris was struggling with the remains of flu but managed to keep up with the pace throughout the second half. Twenty minutes in he surged into the box to finish Barely’s slickest move after Al and Gareth had exchanged passes.

The lead was short lived though, with a suspiciously offside-looking striker getting in behind Barely’s rear guard and spanking it into the corner of the net.

Mike rang the changes, hurling himself and Bob into the fray and Barely weren't going to fold. Collecting possession from another long goal kick Gareth found space and threaded the ball through to Adam, who beat one man, rounded the Keeper and resisted the temptation to kneel and head the ball over the line, only to discover the linesman's flag unjustly chalking his goal off. Then the same thing happened at the other end, although that guy was clearly miles offside and funny-looking.

The second half proceeded with Mike winning more headers then any player reasonably should, Ian diving into more last ditch tackles, Batts haring down the wing, some spectacularly wayward shooting (it was the wind, alright?) and Kieran taking the sweeper-keeper motif a little too far when jinking between two attackers as they bore down on him...

The last ten minutes saw some desperate defending, the highlight of which was from a free-kick on the edge of the D - as Kieran leapt to palm the top-corner-bound shot past the post.

And then it was penalties.

1:0 – Chris started things by sending the keeper the wrong way and calmly rolling the ball into the net.
1:1 – Chew respond with one that Kieran gets a hand to but can't keep out.
2:1 – Scot copies Chris exactly.
2:2 – Chew reply with an excellent low, hard shot that Kieran can’t get near.
3:2 – Kieran steps up to slot his own penalty home with aplomb.
3:2 – Then, with an arm thrust out at a surprising angle, he manages to reach a powerful shot and Barely have the advantage!
3:2 – Gareth swaggers up to the spot and blasts it over the bar – advantage over…
3:2 – But Kieran spots the nerves of the next Chew player, and stands up tall to parry the straight-down-the-middle shot and take the advantage again!
4:2 – And Adam thumps the last kick of the game off the goalie’s glove and into the net!

And with that Barely tucked into the delicious treats provided by Mike (veggie sausage rolls and pork pies) and Bats (fairy cakes) and headed to the bar with some mutterings about getting away with robbery...

The man-of-the-match award was won by seven clear votes. Congratulations Kieran!

Axes Ground

Axbridge 2 - 4 Barely Athletic

Kieran

Dave                Ian                 Danny                 Batts

Darren                 Chris              Scott                    Richie

 Jim                 Bob 

Subs: Gareth, Allan, Adam, Sam, Paul L

Paul Loftus took charge of Barely as part of their new guest-manager regime, and his win record remains intact after Barely survived a stern test of their ongoing annus mirablis - as yet, unbeaten in the calendar year of 2017. Axbridge know how to play good football, and for the first few minutes of this game they were giving Barely the runaround, with some neat touches and interplay to keep tidy possession of the ball.

But Barely are made of sterner stuff themselves these days, and started inching their way into the contest before any subs were called for. Both teams had their moments and Barely were grateful that Kieran, as ever, was quick off his line on more than one occasion. However, Barely's own chances were snatched at or seemed to bobble wide or sail high. Was it going to be one of those games? Thankfully not, as Jim refused to go down despite the close attention of three defenders - he wriggled through all of them and powered the ball hard and low past the keeper to give Barely the lead.

With the bit between his teeth, the smart money was now on Jim to grab his second and so it was - after sporadic attacking down the Barely left was repelled, the ball came to Mr Siemens via Richie, and he provided a deft finish from just inside the box to put the way team two goals to the good.

Axbridge were far from out of it though, and looked continuously to counter-attack with long balls from their defensive midfield pairing. One such sortie down the Axrbidge right was squared and tucked away to put the home team back in the hunt - half-time arrived with the score at 2-1 to Barely.

By now Paul was already rotating the subs, with Adam on up front alongside Gareth, and Sam and Allan in midfield. Jim's hat-trick would have to be another day, as he had to go early.

The second half began much as the first had ended; with both teams eking out half-chances and not taking them thanks to either wayward finishing or smart goalkeeping. That changed however when Darren - who was busy all game - found a way past the goalkeeper to put Barely 3-1 up. That had a visible effect on the away team, who had their strongest period of the game as they threatened the Axbridge goal again and again, and finally had their reward with a goal for the purists: Richie played the ball wide to Darren from midfield, Darren surged down the left and into the box, where he squared for Gareth. the big man helped it on to the steam train that was Richie - as the defence and goalie moved to their left, he steered it neatly the other direction: 4-1 Barely and surely now the jig was up?

No. Axbridge probably felt, not unreasonably, that the scoreline flattered Barely a little, and as the endgame approached they stepped up their game and produced a goal to rival Richie's - a delightful move down the Barely left ended with the centre-forward sending the defence the wrong way as he pulled the deficit back to two goals. Axbridge pushed and pushed, but they couldn't find another, and they began to feel the heat of the Darren/Gareth/Adam combo at the back, as Barely now created chances on the counter, but neither team added to the score.

A great day at the office all around and Richie, as he so often does, took the man of the match award as Barely's march through 2017 continued unabated - for now, at least.