Cirencester Town FC
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Cirencester Town FC
The home of football, corporate events, courses and celebrations
King's Lynn Town 2 – 0 Cirencester Town
Match Report by Dave Pyzer
The Centurions returned to action after a 10 day break due to the recent extreme weather and made the long journey to face King's Lynn at The Walks Stadium.
The Linnets were in 10th position in the Premier Division table with 42 points from 28 games whilst Cirencester were 14th with 36 points from 26 games. In the 6-match Form Guide the positions were 10th and 11th respectively so a tight game was anticipated.
Following the recent departure of Glyn Garner this game would be the first sight of Oxford United's U18’s goal-keeper Jack Stevens who has joined Cirencester on a Work Experience basis. Welcome Jack – we hope you enjoy your time with us.
The rest of the Cirencester starting eleven was unchanged from that which took to the field against Stratford.
The home side kicked off on a soft, sticky pitch that was to cause problems for both teams due to the difficulty in maintaining balance and playing a correctly weighted pass and within the first couple of minutes they created the first opening as Lee Stevenson fired a half volley over the bar from right of the penalty spot after he had latched onto a flick over the Cirencester defence on the front edge of the penalty area.
Cirencester responded immediately with a Zack Kotwica run and cross from the right wing that was aimed towards the back post where Charlie Griffin was charging in. As Griffin was about to head the ball he appeared to be pushed but the Assistant Referee had already raised his flag to indicate 'offside'.
A couple of minutes later following a free kick in the right corner Shayne Anson crossed towards the near post where Mark Pritchett managed to get his head to the ball but it was palmed out from under the bar by Alex Street and quickly cleared.
King's Lynn mounted an attack down their right flank and switched play with a cross-field pass to Jacek Zielonka who was in space near the left front corner of the Cirencester penalty area. The home forward pushed the ball forward and fired a fierce left footed shot towards the near left post but the debutant 'keeper was in position to block his effort with his chest and as the ball rebounded Anson was on hand to clear the danger.
Two minutes later Ollie Knight collected a throw-in the right corner, shielded the ball as he was driven into the corner, and tight to the corner flag he somehow managed to break free and cut along the bye-line before moving the ball on to Matt Liddiard, just inside the right side edge of the home area. Liddiard quickly swept the ball left to James Mortimer-Jones, in a more central position, who fired a first time shot over the bar.
The home side opened their account in the 28th minute when a cross from the right was collected by Stevenson outside the left side edge of the Cirencester penalty area and from there he clipped the ball to the back post for LEE SMITH to rise and send a looping header back over Stevens, who was recovering his position, that dropped inside the far left post. 1-0.
Just after the half hour mark Griffin received the ball in the left channel, on halfway, and launched a pass out to the right wing for Kotwica to collect, push past his fullback, chase and shoot. A well positioned Alex Street caught his effort.
Neither side created any other attempts worthy of mention during the rest of the half.
Half Time: 1 – 0
Two minutes after the re-start King's Lynn were awarded a free kick on the right and the ball was driven towards the back post were it was deflected for a corner kick that Sam Mulready headed over the bar from left of the penalty spot.
Shortly afterwards a long ball from the left channel reached Liam Hurst on the right and as he charged forward he was put under pressure by Aidan Bennett resulting in him shooting well wide of the right post from just inside the area.
The home side had the bit between their teeth and Hurst sent a dangerous curling cross from the right corner that Stevens did very well to arch his leap and tip wide of the back post whilst under pressure from incoming opponents. The resultant corner kick from the left was defended.
Just before the mid-point of the half Liddiard won the ball inside the King's Lynn half and slipped the ball through the home back line for Kotwica to chase but he was held off by Kern Miller and the danger cleared.
A few minutes later James Mortimer-Jones sent a superb ball from inside his half into the right corner for Ross Langworthy to collect and cross towards the near post where a defender arrived first to put behind for a corner kick that came to nothing.
The home side produced a period of possession on the right and front edge of the Cirencester penalty area as they probed for an opening thirty minutes into the second period but the visitors remained firm.
A few minutes later Mortimer-Jones released Liddiard down the right channel and he turned and fired a powerful shot from 35 yards that fizzed just over the bar.
As the game entered the last ten minutes Cirencester threw caution to the wind as they searched for an equaliser and whilst they were pressing King's Lynn countered with quick breaks.
In the final minutes of normal time a Pritchett clearance was charged down and the cross from the bye-line reached the centre of the 6 yard box where Anson cleared. This was soon followed by a break from the home side down their left flank and Stevens pulled off a fine block at the near post when the shot came in from inside the area, level with the front edge of the 6 yard box.
In added-time Adam Connolly sent a ball from 35 yards, left channel, into the home penalty area and it was deflected by a defender towards the right post where Street dived on it as Griffin closed in.
Deep into added-time King's Lynn made another break from half way as Cirencester pushed forward and Hurst galloped down the right channel to the side of the area. Once there he produced a low cross that beat the covering defence and was met by an incoming TOBY HILLIARD who drove it into the net from the centre front edge of the 6 yard box.
Final Score: 2 - 0
A very scrappy game partly due to the conditions.
Neither side was able to produce flowing football for long and the 'keepers had a fairly quiet afternoon as the teams cancelled one another out between the front edges of their respective penalty areas.
Jack Stevens had a solid debut and could do nothing to prevent the goals conceded.
Attendance: 516
Referee: Mr D. Appleby
King's Lynn Town:
1. Alex Street
2. Ryan Fryatt (C)
3. Jordan Young
4. Kern Miller
5. Matthew Castellan
6. Lee Smith 29
7. Michael Clunan
8. Liam Hurst
9. Jacek Zielonka
10. Lee Stevenson
11. Sam Mulready
12. Toby Hilliard (Jacek Zielonka-53mins). 90+3
14. Jack Friend
15. Liam Fryatt (Lee Stevenson-87mins)
16. Dylan Edge (Sam Mulready-70,mins)
17. Sam Gaughran
Cirencester Town:
1. Jack Stevens
2. Shayne Anson
3. Aidan Bennett
4. Mark Pritchett
5. Matt Liddiard
6. Leigh Henry (C)
7. Brad Hooper
8. James Mortimer-Jones
9. Charlie Griffin
10. Zak Kotwica
11. Ollie Knight
12. Jamie Reid (Zack Kotwica-81mins)
14. Adam Connolly (Brad Hooper-86mins)
15. Ross Langworthy (Ollie Knight-57mins)