Let Win slip at Letcombe

Letcombe FC 2 – Penn & Tylers Green FC 1

Another disappointment on the road on a frosty but sunny afternoon in Letcombe Bassett, a pretty little village, arranged around a

Warm up before the game

steep-sided Oxfordshire valley that is the source of the Letcombe Brook, home of a very friendly Letcombe Football Club.

Understrength Penn & Tylers Green FC including a few walking wounded struggled to get into the game and ended up losing by the odd goal in three. The usual supporters were there but this did not help today.

1 min: Good early save from Matt Cannings after poor defending

2 min: Tom Fifield good shot just over the bar

3 min: Try to play offside. No good. Good lobbed finish from edge of the box by Letcombe’s number 9 Paul Jezzard

5 min: Another great save from Matt Cannings diving to his right after more poor defending

7 min: Matt Cannings keeps us in game with two more one on one saves

10 mins: Great pass across the box by Tom Fifield finished well by Chris Hurst

11 mins: Chris Hurst has another chance after Rino Sepede’s work good save

13 mins: Rino Sepede beats his man and has shot well saved

15 mins: Dean Munday gets space on the angle scuffs shot wide

21 mins: Chris Hurst shoots over from 25 yards

23 mins: Letcombe get in behind again but defence does enough and shot goes wide

26 mins: Penn & Tylers Green FC corner, ends up on edge of box but Chris Hurst shoots over

27 mins: Dean Munday with a vital interception

33 mins: Tom Fifield has a good shot saved

37 mins: Dean Munday header saved.

40 mins: Scramble. Penn & Tylers Green FC score but it was disallowed for kick on keeper

45 mins. Free Kick from dangerous position but Penn & Tylers Green FC Penn defend well

Half Time

Author in the Stand

47 mins: Ball goes across Penn & Tylers Green FC box, nobody can get a touch and ball is cleared

49 mins: Letcombe should have retaken lead in a one on one but ball goes over

50 mins: Great work by Rino Sepede whose chipped ball just went over Jamie Hunt’s head. Unlucky.

53 mins: Penn & Tylers Green FC indirect free kick, just wide from Aiden Taylor

56 mins: Great goal saving tackle by Dean Munday and gets injured in the process

59 mins: Resulting corner great 20 yard shot just wide. Matt Cannings was beaten

63 mins: Penn & Tylers Green FC corner which comes to nothing

69 mins: Very sloppy spell by Penn & Tylers Green FC resulting in free kick for Letcombe

73 mins: Another free kick for Letcombe 20 yards just left of centre – another good save from Matt Cannings

73 mins: Resulting corner leads to winning goal for Letcombe with a low drive after defence fail to clear the ball

75 mins: Good corner from Aiden Taylor which was just cleared.

79 mins: Good Letcombe lob after indecisive defending which went just wide

80 mins: Letcombe hit the post

82 mins. Andor Sepede and Letcombe midfielder get booked for handbags

83 mins. Last ditch tackle saves Penn & Tylers Green FC

86 mins: Penn & Tylers Green FC being hit on counterattacks now

87 mins: Ball bouncing around in box after Penn & Tylers Green FC corner which was just cleared

Mat Cannings - Man of the Match

90 mins: Another Penn & Tylers Green FC corner – just cleared

92 mins: Tom Fifield clean through straight at the keeper – that was the last chance of the game

So the only thing to appreciate after the game would have been celebrations of Thomas Hardy, and many other activities which are enjoined in this beautiful village (to explain the Hardy connection – you can see Arabella’s Cottage, made famous in Hardy’s Jude the Obscure). But we did not feel like it after the defeat.

Man of the match: Mat Cannings

Match report by Conor Latta (A Team and Youth Team Goal Keeper)