Lethargic Penn punished

PTGFC Youth 4 – 5 APBS

It was a disappointing Sunday morning for the youth team today as APBS travelled to Penn & Tylers Green FC looking for all three points against fellow league strugglers. There was a sense of complacency about the Penn & Tylers Green FC team following their victory against league leaders Bedgrove last week.

The game kicked off with regulars Luke Graham and Luke Cohen starting on the bench due to niggles and so Josh Knight and Charlie Whitfield came into the side pushing skipper Johnny Carpenter into left midfield. Within one minute Penn & Tylers Green FC were yet to touch the ball and a cheap free kick was given to the Aylesbury side, just inside the Penn & Tylers Green FC half. A good delivery was admired by the youth team as all eleven players seemed to watch the ball loop onto the Aylesbury strikers head and then off Conor Latta’s far post and in.

A bad start was made worse as a scuffed clearance, still inside 5 minutes went across the box and as Josh Knight failed to deal with the bobbling ball the APBS central midfielder capitalised and was able to get his shot away, that was fended off by Conor Latta but again the sleepy Penn & Tylers Green FC defenders failed to react and the rebound was swept home. 0-2.

From a Penn & Tylers Green FC and Tyler’s point of view the game was yet to start and the youth side had, quite literally, an up hill battle to salvage something from the half. The fight back began promising however, as inside ten minutes the ever improving passing from Penn & Tylers Green FC gave Will Brangwin some room in the centre of the field as he drove into the Aylesbury half, had a look up, and from a good thirty yards out looped the ball over the keeper into the top left hand corner. A superb individual goal reminiscent of Matt Taylor for Pompey. 2-1 and the game could swing either way.

Sloppy passing however was not vanquished by the goal and it was soon 3-1 to APBS as the game began to drift out of reach. A simple passing move capitalised on some unorganised defending across the park as the Penn & Tylers Green FC defence was ripped apart giving the APBS striker a simple finish.

The game needed shaping up after just 20 minutes and so Paul Benning brought on Luke Graham for Josh Knight who had picked up a knock…to his liver, to try and calm the play down. After another ten minutes of aimless route one play from both sides Luke Cohen came on for the injured Will Brangwin who had a fantastic match up to that point with a great work rate. Half time couldn’t have come sooner as the youth team were in need of a lift. Strong first half performances from Curtis Stone, Charlie Whitfield, and Jonny Carpenter were some positives to be taken out of the half as there was a distinct lack of urgency resounding around the park.

The second half brought some fight back into the youth team, and the advantage of the slope provided a welcome aid as the passing began to improve and the football we know we can play was seen in glimpses  throughout the first ten of the second period. The break through came as some well worked football down the right flank involving Alex Morgan, Byron Stephens and Curtis Stone lead to a pin point cross by Ross Baker that found Jonny Carpenter unmarked at the back post to expertly guide the ball into the top left leaving the flapping keeper no chance.

Penn & Tylers Green FC now looked to take the game to the side from Aylesbury as with 25 to go it was anyone’s match with Penn & Tylers Green FC dominating possession. The opportunity to draw level fell to Joey Fisher who failed to get over the ball under immense pressure. Hard work was then undone as a nothing route one ball was charged down by the impressive APBS centre forward as Luke Graham had a howler as he put his foot through the ball but not through the AY man as he raced through one on one and rounded Conor Latta.

4-2 down and the wind was sufficiently knocked out of the Penn & Tylers Green FC side who began to struggle again with the basics not showing any desire. This pessimistic, deflated Penn & Tylers Green FC and Tyler’s dug themselves a hole as players were not tracking back and frustrated missed tackles lead to dangerous APBS possession, and after a series of crosses flashed across the face of goal the Aylesbury forward nodded home with ten minutes left to play. This forced Paul Benning to take the game to the opposition as he push Will Eustace into central midfield leaving Luke Graham, Alex Morgan and Charlie Whitfield to hold the line at the back.

As Penn & Tylers Green FC began to get there focus back we continued to pressure the APBS goal as a series of free kicks aimed at Joe Fisher, Byron Stephens, Will Eustace and Luke Cohen looked dangerous. The fight back began, again, with ten to go as Curtis Stone picked the ball up on the half way line, turned his man and delivered the pass of the season so far as he drilled the ball through the APBS defence onto Luke Cohen’s foot who stroked the ball in with Joe Fisher and Byron Stephens waiting behind.

Moments later the game suddenly looked salvageable as the bombardment continued. A great poke through the defence from Charlie Whitfield left Joe Fisher with a 50/50 challenge for the ball with the Aylesbury keeper leaving the Penn & Tylers Green FC striker on the floor as he didn’t bottle the tackle and took a huge impact to the head. This commitment from Fisher allowed the ball to fall beautifully into the path of Will Eustace who was able to calmly side foot the ball into the gaping net with APBS defenders scrambling to block the shot. 5-4, two minutes to play, game on.

The Aylesbury side began to panic on the ball and lost all composure for the last couple of minutes as the ball was cleared time and time again. The game climaxed in added time as a free kick on the halfway line saw 21 players crowd the box. The ball was floated in by Curtis Stone, my personal man of the match from today’s game, knocked down by Will Eustace for Luke Cohen who swiped at the ball ferociously to see the ball fizz past the post. Full time.

Man of the Match: Jonny Carpenter

Match Report: Luke Graham