Scorers :
Date: Tuesday 2nd April 2019 - 7:45pm - Sydenhams Wessex Premier
Venue: Five Heads Park
Horndean: Lloyd Thomas, Benny Read, Tafadzwa Kanjanda, Luke Heard, Jack Lee, Dan Sackman, Jack Maloney, Ash Howes [c], Connor Duffin, Sam Hookey, Harry Jackson. Subs: Liam Kimber, Sean McMonagle, Alfie Lis, Tanatswa Kanjanda, Ross Casey.
Yellow Card: Jack Lee
Red Card: Sam Hookey
Sholing: Ryan Gosney, TJ Cuthbertson, Owen Roundell, Pete Castle, Dan Miller, Jamie Bulpitt, Alex Sawyer (Bradey Norton 63), Byron Mason [c], Lee Wort, Brad Targett, Jake Hoole. Unused subs : Owen Royl, Kev Brewster, James Johnson, Nick O'Donnell
Yellow Cards:
Attendance: 94 (Approx 25 Sholing fans)
Referee: Aaron Moody Assistants: James Colley & George Redford
Nothing could separate the two best teams in the Wessex League as they played out a competitive stalemate. Was no end of season feel to the game, with both wanting to win, but it was a match where apart from Lee Wort hitting the bar, clear cut chances were at a premium.
Team News: Dan Mason & Marv McLean missed out through injury, with Owen Roundell going to left back. For the first time in 4 months, Sholing were able to start the game with Byron, Bulpitt & Sawyer in midfield.
Horndean gave the Boatmen a guard of honour as they entered the pitch (many thanks for that) on a rapidly freezing cold evening, not helped by spitting rain. Sholing started the game kicking uphill and it there was a good tempo to the early exchanges as both sides got the ball down and looked to play. Jake Hoole did well to get in a left wing cross on the run, it flashed into the "area of uncertainty" between the keeper and his defenders, but no Sholing players were there to take advantage.
Horndean got themselves into promising positions, but shots by Jackson, Read & Duffin all went wide. Jamie Bulpitt got off a shot from just outside the area that took a nick off a defender, taking it just over the crossbar. From the corner, Alex Sawyer's inswinger had to be punched away under the bar by Thomas. From another corner, Dan Miller had a header cleared off the line, but the referee had blown his whistle for a foul on the keeper.
Benny Read was causing Sholing problems down the right wing and his run and pass into the near post was met by Duffin, but his first time effort went wide of the upright. HT 0-0
On 47 minutes, Lee Wort decided to let fly from 30 yards out with the ball dipping over the stranded keeper and smacking off the underside of the crossbar, where it bounced down and spun outwards for Thomas to collect. Game was halted for a couple of minutes with part of the netting in Gosney's goal coming adrift from the frame.
In many ways, those were the two most noteworthy events of the second half. Horndean had the more pressure and looked eager to avenge a narrow defeat when the sides met previously this season, but their final efforts were off-target or mopped up by the ever dominant Sholing defence. The Boatmen going forward, were also getting short shrift from the Horndean defence as the game had all the feel of stalemate.
As the match entered added time, there was some action, with firstly Sam Hookey receiving a straight red for dissent towards the referee. Then, under no pressure, Gosney sliced a clearance straight to a Horndean player, but despite the keeper being out of his goal, the home side didn't try a first time shot and instead tried to break forward, but were thwarted by the Sholing defence who collected their 30th clean sheet of the season. FT 0-0
Next Game: Sholing v Brockenhurst - Saturday 6 April 3pm - FREE ADMISSION & WESSEX TROPHY PRESENTATION
