| Rugby
Town 0-1 Yate Town |
| BGB
Premier Division |
Saturday,
23rd September 2006
Attendance
| 412
|
Entertainment |
|
 |
 |
Rugby
are shocked when Matt Gearing appears to be
brought down for a certain penalty in the
first half to no avail |
Rugby's
poor record against their uncompromising Gloucestershire
opponents continued when Yate's Aaron Blakemore's
winner condemned them to their third 1-0 defeat
in the last four games between the clubs.
For
the second week running, the man in black was
again in the middle of the action, with referee
Chris Banks denying a seemingly stonewall Valley
penalty appeal when the lively Matt Gearing was
upended in the box by Yate keeper Tony Court with
the game only 20 minutes old. Mr.Banks increasingly
quirky performance continued throughout the first
half, with another controversial incident in the
visitors’ penalty box seeing Rugby again unrewarded.
However
blame for the defeat must not lie exclusively
at the official's door, as Rugby squandered a
string of good goalscoring opportunities in the
game's opening half an hour and then put in a
weak performance in the second period to slip
down to 13th place in the table as a result.
In
front of a healthy crowd of 412 - swelled by the
welcome attendance of a sizeable contingent of
players and representatives from the many Rugby
Town Junior Football Club teams - Valley boss
Billy Jeffrey opted to stick to the starting line-up
that had convincingly dispatched Deeping in the
F.A.Cup the previous week.
Rugby
started well, and in the first attacking move
of the game, a Danny Hall free-kick was flicked
on by Chris Tullin to David Stone, whose header
was only just off target.
On
15 minutes, Stone's cut back cross from the left
wing found Willis Francis in space in the box,
but the midfielder was unable to provide the finishing
touch - sending his shot narrowly wide of the
post.
Valley's
pressure continued when a Hall cross was met at
the far post by the head of Delroy Gordon - but
again the finish didn't trouble Court in the Yate
goal. In a rare attacking highlight, an unmarked
Yate's Scott Brice then headed over after a well-delivered
cross from Mike Wyatt.
The
game's main talking point followed shortly after,
when Jason Taylor released Gearing with an exquisite
defensive splitting pass and the nippy winger
was quick to take advantage, and with only Court
to beat, his first goal for the club looked on
the cards. However the advancing Yate keeper clearly
appeared to take the youngster's legs from beneath
him and with the referee waving play on the ball
squirmed free to the supporting Francis, who was
unable to force the ball home either.
Another
clever Taylor reverse pass released Gearing again
in a wide position, but his low cross somehow
managed to evade a sky blue shirt. More controversy
in the penalty box was to follow, when referee
Banks blew his whistle with the ball in mid-flight
from Hall's corner. He then proceeded to book
Yate defender Lee Jeffries for an incident near
the goal, and instead of awarding a penalty kick
for the infringement, he insisted on a re-take
of the original corner!
It
was inevitable that Yate would take advantage
of their pair of lucky escapes, and on 41 minutes
a long defensive clearance from another Rugby
corner caught out Aaron Stringfellow, allowing
Blakemore a free-run at goal. The Yate striker
finished off his foray with a calm finish - beating
the exposed Farhad Afandiyev low down at his near
post – and gave his side an unexpected and undeserved
half-time advantage.
With
influential target man Taylor suffering from concussion
and unable to take the field after the interval,
Rugby lost their way in the second period. With
an increasing tendency to over-elaborate in the
middle of the park, the chances that had flowed
in the first half now dried up.
In
fact it was the visitors that appeared more likely
to score, with Adam Mayo striking the post and
Paul Chenoweth's follow-up shot being blocked
after clever work from substitute David Seal.
Minutes
later, Seal had Afandiyev scrambling again when
his 40 yard half volley bounced just wide of the
post, and striker Darren Edwards was also guilty
of shoddy finishing when he wasted two good crosses
in close succession.
With
the introduction of Tom Breward providing some
urgency to their play, Rugby finally threatened
the Yate goal when Stringfellow found Gearing
in space on the right, and his pull back found
Stone in a good position on the edge of the area.
However the striker - who has looked a little
out-of-sorts in the last couple of matches - side-footed
his effort into the terracing.
A
late Breward long-range - and ultimately wide
- effort represented Valley's only other threat
on goal, and with the game in its final few seconds,
referee Banks ensured that it ended with him centre-stage
once more, as he repeatedly refused Yate's attempt
to make a late substitution despite the ball leaving
the field of play on a number of occasions!
Report
by Jon Venner. |
