Fareham0 4Sholing

Scorers : Own Goal 7, Lee Wort 17, Dan Mason 38 & 60

Date: Saturday 26th January 2019 - 3pm - Sydenhams Wessex Premier

Venue: Cams Alders

Fareham Town: Declan McCarthy, Ethan Jones, Dan Bonavia (Will Capper 60), Leigh Shadbolt (Josh Brocklebank 67), Shawn Benjamin, Garry Moody (c), Matt People, Lewis Stockford, Simon Woods, Gary Austin, Andrea Carrera. Unused Sub: Curt Robbins

Yellow Cards: Shawn Benjamin

Sholing: Ryan Gosney, Owen Roundell, Jack Smith (Kev Brewster 84), Pete Castle, Dan Miller, Owen Royl, Alex Sawyer, Byron Mason (c) (Bradey Norton 75), Dan Mason (Brad Targett 69), Lee Wort, Jake Hoole. Unused Subs: Marvin McLean & Ryan Mackney

Yellow Cards:

Attendance: 119 (approx 40 Sholing fans)

Referee: Catalin Tanase   Assistants: Paul Scott-Munden & Ben Cripps

Boatmen cruised to a comfortable victory at a ground where in the past, they have rarely felt comfortable or got positive results.  However, today was a straight forward three points as Sholing chalked up win number 21 of the season without having to extend themselves, but they did extend their lead at the top of the table to 15 points.

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Team News: There was a change for both full back positions, with TJ unavailable and Marv rested, so Owen Roundell came in at right back and Jack Smith slotted in on the left.  Another change was in the dug-out, where Marc Diaper & Ian Calder took charge, with Dave Diaper up in the midlands, casting his eye over new FA Vase opposition, Sporting Khalsa.  There was a landmark 200th appearance for Ryan Gosney in goal and this game would see "Gos" collect his 91st clean sheet, a remarkable record for any goalkeeper at any level.

Before kick-off there was a minutes silence in remembrance of former Fareham Town manager Trevor Parker who sadly passed away earlier this week.

Sholing came firing out of the blocks and scored quickly in the seventh minute with an almost identical goal to their first against Team Solent last weekend. A corner by Alex Sawyer was flicked on by Lee Wort into the 6 yard box where it deflected in for an own goal.

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The Boatmen continued to dominate and control possession, doubling their lead with a well taken goal in the 16th minute. A chipped pass from Byron Mason in centre midfield saw both Dan Mason & LEE WORT on the chase, with Wort getting to the ball to firstly muscle space from the defender to allow him to smash a powerful 15 yard drive past the keeper for his 36th goal of the season.

Fareham Town had a brief spell of play in which they got themselves into decent positions on both wings, However, their final cross was not always accurate enough to test the Sholing back-line, which led to the majority of their attacks easily breaking down. A couple of shots flashed wide of the uprights, but nothing to trouble Gosney.

After Alex Sawyer’s left foot half volley flew just over the bar, it was soon 3-0 to the Boatmen in the 38th minute when fine attacking move led to Lee Wort forcing a great save by Declan McCarthy. The ball rebounded back to Wort and he squared the ball to DAN MASON to cheekily back flick it into the net.

As the half time whistle blew the score-line reflected the way that Sholing had dominated & controlled the play against a home team that looked short of belief that they could cause an upset. HT: 0-3

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The second half started in exactly the way the 1st ended, with Sholing dominating possession but not working the keeper. This did change in the 56th minute when a free kick by Alex Sawyer from 25 yards was clawed brilliantly out of the top corner by McCarthy. On the hour mark it was 4-0 to the Boatmen when another wicked inswinging corner by Alex Sawyer went all the way to the far post where Fareham had left the leading goalscorer in non league football, completely unmarked and DAN MASON had the easy task of just nudging the ball over the line for his 44th of the season.

Fareham were relieved to see Dan Mason subbed, but his replacment, Brad Targett worked their defence straight away with his effort deflected wide for a corner. Down the other end Fareham's best moment of the game was a well struck low shot from 30 yards that was brilliantly saved by Ryan Gosney, who not only dived to stop it, but quickly gathered up the rebound.

The final 15 minutes turned into the Dec McCarthy show as he made three saves in a matter of minutes to deny the Boatmen a rout. With the Fareham defence tiring, former "Creeksider" Bradey Norton was put through on goal and a powerful angled shot was saved by the keeper, before the rebound was saved by McCarthy’s foot. Seconds later Lee Wort had a shot saved by a diving McCarthy and Dan Miller then hit the post with a header from the resulting corner.

Ultimately the fifth goal was not going to come for the Boatmen, but the scoreline did reflect the overall dominance of the away side during the afternoon. It was a game in which you felt Sholing didn’t have to get out of 2nd gear, but was a deserved & enjoyable victory nonetheless for the watching vocal travelling support who made the short trip in good numbers. The final whistle blew, confirming a 91st clean sheet for Ryan Gosney and the 80th goal of the season for the lethal strike partnership of Mason & Wort. FT: 0-4

Report by Connor Steel

Next Game : Sholing v Bush Hill - Tuesday 29 Jan 7:45 - Southampton Senior Cup
FA VASE : Sholing v Sporting Khalsa - Saturday 2 Feb 3pm

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