Sholing3 0AFCPortchester

Scorers : Dan Mason 41, Nick Yeomans 68, Barry Mason 84

Date : Saturday 5 March 2016 - 3pm - Sydenhams Wessex Premier

Sholing : Ryan Gosney, Kevin Brewster (Barry Mason 64), Jack Smith (Owen Roundell 45), Pete Castle, Dan Miller, Jamie Bulpitt, Marv McLean, Byron Mason, Dan Mason, Nick Yeomans, Jake Hoole.  Subs not used: Alex Sawyer, Lee Webber

Yellow Card : Owen Roundell, Pete Castle

AFC Portchester : Lyall Beazley, Rob Evans, George Wells, Ryan Smart, Josh Warren, Tom Cain, Louis Castles, Joe Bye, Jason Parish, Sean Thurgood (Miles Everitt 56), Geoff Dunn.  Subs not used: Luke Sweeney, James Cowans & Dan Woodruff

Yellow Card : 

Attendance : 97

Man of the Match : Byron Mason

Referee : Matthew Russell  Assistants: Krasimir Petrov & Aleczander Ovens

SHOLING marked captain Byron Mason’s 400th game by battling to a commendable 3-0 victory over AFC Portchester at the Silverlake Arena, succumbing the visitors to their first league defeat since September 26.

Dan Mason opened the scoring with his 29th goal of the campaign after he calmly fired past Lyall Beazley via a slight deflection. Portchester’s Joe Bye missed a penalty early in the second half before Nick Yeomans’ seventh goal in as many games doubled the lead in the 68th minute, and Barry Mason headed home a late third.

Team News : Dan Miller returned the starting line-up in place of the ill Dean Faithfull. Barry Mason & Alex Sawyer came back into the squad on the bench, with both not a 100% fit. Before the game, Byron & Brewy received awards from club stalwart, Bill Boyle, to mark their 400 appearances.

The hosts started brightly with both Dan Mason and Jake Hoole finding room to shoot within the opening five minutes, but the attacking force that hit Lymington Town for five on Wednesday wasn’t as evident in the wet and windy first-half conditions at the Silverlake Stadium.

In fact, the first clear-cut chance fell to the visitor’s forward, Jason Parish. Some neat footwork down the right flank from fullback Rob Evans created an opening for Parish, but he could only blaze his shot over from 12 yards out. Up the other end, Jamie Bulpitt wriggled his way out of a scrappy midfield encounter to curl a teasing effort just wide of Beazley’s far post from outside the area.  Then Jake Hoole tried his luck from way out, and his dipping effort almost caught the keeper, but drifted onto the roof of the net.

Hailstones began to thrash down midway through the first half as neither team looked to take a stranglehold on the game – though the industrious Portchester winger Geoff Dunn appeared adamant to create something out of nothing, firing past Ryan Gosney’s goal from inside the box.

The deadlock was broken in the 41st minute, courtesy of DAN MASON's third strike of the week. The pacey frontman coolly controlled the ball from a loose clearance and had the poise the drive the ball into Beazley’s bottom right via a slight deflection.  HT 1-0

Owen Roundell replaced Jack Smith at left back for the restart. The Boatmen began the second half keen to put the game to bed as Dan Mason searched for his 30th goal of the season – his tame effort not troubling Beazley, though.

Portchester thought they should have had a penalty in the 56th minute after Dunn was felled by Kevin Brewster, but referee Matthew Russell deemed that the contact from Sholing’s most recent 400-club inductee was minimal. However, the visitors were awarded a penalty in the 60th minute as Louis Castles deep cross was falling in position for Dunn, only for the young winger to be pushed by Pete Castle. The chance to level the score line was spurned though as Joe Bye’s confident run-up was met by a skewered spot kick that went two feet wide of Gosney’s bottom left corner.

And that glaring miss proved to be pivotal in the outcome of the game. Barry Mason’s introduction offered the Boatmen more creative impetus and the hosts managed to double their lead just eight minutes after Bye’s penalty miss.

18-year-old striker NICK YEOMANS cleverly pickpocketed defender George Wells’ on the right flank and capitalised by delicately slotting the ball underneath Beazley from just inside the area.

Parish attempted to grab a consolation for Portchester but his shot sailed wide, while Dan Mason rifled his driven effort over the bar from the angle of the box. The two hailstone showers had left the pitch very heavy, but it was Sholing who looked the most comfortable with the ball at their feet.

The home side put the gloss on the scoreline by adding a third through substitute BARRY MASON in the 84th minute. Dan Mason showed great strength to hold up the ball down the left hand side before deftly laying it onto the overlapping Hoole. The 17 year old winger then delivered an inviting cross into the heart of the area where Barry Mason was on hand to leap between two defenders to plant his header into the bottom corner.  FT 3-0

Photos by Ray Routledge (click an image to enlarge)

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