Big win for CB (From Barry And District News)

Big win for CB

9:20am Thursday 1st November 2012 in Sport

DOCKERS 1, CB 5

IN THIS, their first league match in a month, CB fielded a starting XI strong in first-team experience.

Three subs were available for the first time this season and, since these included top scorer Luke Bjegovic and manager ‘Rocco’ Phillips, hopes were high of a positive result.

It took only three minutes for Karl Steel and Matthew ‘Wurzel’ Bradley to demonstrate why they should not be slumming it in the ‘stiffs’. Steel raced past two defenders to send an inch-perfect cross-field pass into the path of ‘Wurzel’. The latter shot powerfully over the head of the advancing keeper. Amos Geary almost doubled the lead five minutes later but his shot from point-blank range almost cut the keeper in half. Dockers raced up field to make their first meaningful attack but found stand-in keeper ‘Nonny’ Ashton fully alert. Steel then tried his luck from 25 yards to provoke a scrambling save from the Dockers guardian. An evenly -balanced match went a further 15 minutes before Steel had another two attempts, both from distance, to open his account. The keeper proved up to the task. Ashton then produced a fine save to preserve the lead before 'Blockhead’ released ‘Wurzel’. The winger showed strength and determination to fire home his and CB’s second.

Back came Dockers, only for a player who shall remain nameless to hit the post from two yards with the goalkeeper helpless. CB broke away, Geary testing the keeper before ’Muscles’ Davies tried a cute lob which slipped over the bar. ’Wurzel’ should have completed his hat-trick some five minutes before half-time when the ball came to him in a central position inside the six-yard box. He showed how easy it is to side-foot over but netted his third from twice as far in the next minute thanks to a hotly-disputed penalty award: after a tussle for the ball in the last yard of the pitch, a Dockers defender decided the ball had gone for a goal kick and bent down to pick it up; Geary decided it had not crossed the line and attempted to play on, only to be chopped down. Alex Ferguson might have got lucky this weekend, but namesake Richard will have more luck when he remembers to ’play to the whistle’.

Bjegovic, on for Geary at the break, was quickly in action setting up the fourth goal. Firmly lashed into the net from, yes, two yards, by 25-yard exponent Karl Steel. Liam Blckmore, at centre-half for the day, came very close with a spectacular volley, whilst his partner at the back, Lee Clarke, had equally poor luck, seeing his attempted clearance strike attacker Ross Jones, who then sent Jamie Viscount through to give Dockers an unexpected lifeline. Dockers then had a short spell when some of their players produced a little bit extra and began to trouble the CB defence. The revival was shor-live, however, as Gareth Fiddler and Scott Christoferato then had shots blocked on the line. In what was degenerating into the scrappiest of games, due mainly to the swirling wind, CB still contrived to fashion chance after chance, with the ever-eager Bjegovic and the non-stop ’Muscles’ both anxious to find the net. Christoferato had a header tipped over, and Blackmore was denied by a diving keeper. Christoferato tried a shot from 35 yards without threatening the goal before Steel had his just reward for his efforts; he ran 30 yards past a couple of opponents and, seeing the keeper off his line, fired the ball goalwards from just over the halfway line and almost in the next pitch. As there were no fellow attackers in the opposition half, his shot could not be put down as a cross-cum-shot. It struck the inside of the far post and rolled into the net. A magnificent effort. Steel had another magnificent effort as the last five minutes arrived. His fiercely-struck half-volley was tipped over by the hard-working Dockers keeper. The keeper then blocked a Bjegovic shot on the line before waiting anxiously when the ball dropped invitingly for CB joint-manager Fiddler. A fresh-air shot left the keeper laughing and Fiddler thinking what to wear on the line at the next match.

All in all, this was a match which produced a surprising amount of decent football given that the cross-field wind did nobody any favours. Best for Dockers were Norris, Ferguson and Ross Jones. A question for all those who think they know the laws of the game: when Karl Steel flicked the ball past ‘Stumpy’ and ran outside him, actually leaving the field of play, and ‘Stumpy’, with his tackle half-an-hour late, brought him down, what was the ref’s decision? Was it a) yellow card for leaving field without permission or b) play on, or c) free-kick to CB. If you think it was or should have been c), should the free-kick have been taken from two feet outside the sideline……? Apart from his unorthodox tackling, ‘Stumpy’ was as usual, one of the best players on view. CB had no failures but special mention to Scott, Lee and Liam, all of whose mis-kicks provoked constant hilarity amongst the supporters and subs.