Cirencester Town FC
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Match Report by Dave Pyzer
Cirencester travelled to Cambridgeshire once again for a League fixture against St. Ives. Prior to the match 'The Saints' sat in 12th place in the Premier Division and 11th place in the '6-Match Form Guide' table. Cirencester were 21st and 20th respectively.
St. Ives won the reverse fixture in October 2-1.
Following the success of the last two matches (a win and a draw) the Cirencester starting eleven and formation remained unchanged.
Due to the recent rain there was some doubt on Friday about the match taking place and upon arrival Cirencester were greeted with the sight of a heavily sanded pitch. As expected the soft pitch made the bounce of the ball unpredictable and balance difficult with the surface 'cutting-up' significantly during the match.
The home side kicked off and attacked down their left flank but soon lost the ball for Cirencester to counter down their left flank.
Three minutes into the half St. Ives sent a long ball down their left channel for Scott Sinclair to head on to Danny Kelly. The experienced Matt Coupe had read the danger and quickly moved across to win the ball and slip it inside for Kieran Diaz-Benitez to clear.
Six minutes later Matt Coupe was involved at the other end.
Dan Demkiv had collected a pass and was charging down the right flank before being stopped in his tracks by Jordan Jarrold who was awarded a Yellow Card for his challenge. Kerry Morgan took the kick and sent it towards the near post where MATT COUPE was loitering. Coupe moved towards the ball to meet it in the area just outside the right front corner of the 6 yard box and facing the touch-line he flicked it over his left shoulder on the volley with his right foot. The ball looped over 'keeper Tim Trebes who was guarding his left post and dropped inside the back post to open the scoring. 0-1.
Encouraged by their early success Cirencester pushed forward through Demkiv and Morgan on the flanks, ably supported by Adam Connolly and Matt Liddiard breaking from midfield - with the home side surviving a corner kick and a period of pressure as Cirencester worked the ball from left to right ending when Demkiv was adjudged to be offside.
Just after the mid-point of the half St. Ives won a corner kick on their left flank that Ben Seymour-Shove sent to the near post where an alert Connolly cleared. It was a sign that the home side were getting into the game as two minutes later they worked the ball down their right flank with Seymour-Shove cutting inside and slipping the ball to Danny Kelly who in turn fed JACK HIGGS as he darted to the front edge of the Cirencester penalty area, right channel. Higgs collected the pass moving right but cut back onto his left and placed a left footed curling shot inside the far left post to level the score. 1-1.
Almost immediately from the re-start Cirencester were on the attack as Liddiard fired a 25 yarder down the centre that Trebes caught and Connolly fired a low left footed shot just wide of the left post following good approach play involving Demkiv and Morgan.
As the interval was approaching Diaz-Benitez fed Alan Griffin who flicked it on to a charging Liddiard and a corner kick was the result. Morgan sent the kick towards Gethin Jones who struck a right footed volley on the turn that was blocked and cleared downfield for a counter attack. As Seymour-Shove raced down the left channel the vigilant James Mortimer-Jones came across to challenge and brought his progress to a halt – receiving a Yellow Card in the process.
During the five minutes leading up to the break the home side had some good opportunities to take the lead as Kelly galloped down the left channel and shot wide of the right post - when put under pressure by Jones. This was followed a minute later by Josh Dawkin slicing his attempted right footed volley wide of the right post and Sinclair firing a low shot that Glyn Garner comfortably gathered at his right post.
Half Time: 1-1
After the interval the game was more even as the soft pitch 'cut-up' with both sides working the ball forward but unable to break through the solid defences.
In the early stages Cirencester worked the ball down their left with several players involved culminating in a Morgan cross from the corner that Trebes caught. This was soon followed by a similar move on the right that led to a corner kick that was cleared at the near post.
Eleven minutes into the half Higgs, with great awareness switched play from the left channel, half-way, to the right flank for Harry O’Malley who was overlapping. The full back carried the ball forward before slipping it to Tom McGowan in the Cirencester penalty area. Aidan Bennett confronted McGowan and won the ball but as he was about to clear the Ciren defender was fouled and a free kick awarded.
During the next ten minutes or so Cirencester continued to work the ball forward from the left back position to the right wing as they tried to use the more ‘solid’ areas of the pitch. One such move resulted in a Griffin shot that was wide of the right post.
At the mid-point of the half the busy Seymour-Shove sent a deep cross from the right touchline towards the back post and with a team-mate rapidly closing to get on the end of it Coupe managed to head behind for a corner kick from the left. Seymour-Shove took the kick and Garner had to be on his toes to tip it over the bar as it looked to be curling towards the top right corner. Higgs took the resulting corner kick from the right and with his left foot sent it to the front edge of the 6 yard box where Garner punched it out for a counter attack down the right channel.
Five minutes later the home side sent a long ball down the left channel for Kasey Douglas to chase into the Cirencester penalty area but the experienced Coupe comfortably won the resulting duel and cleared the danger.
Kasey Douglas was in the action again a few minutes later as he closed in on Garner who was just inside his area as he attempted to clear a back-pass, the ball bobbled and ran loose in the challenge for the supporting Seymour-Shove to shoot from the centre front edge of the area but a Ciren defender was in position to clear from the goal-line.
Undeterred Cirencester continued to push forward in search of a winning goal and as the game entered the final 15 minutes Liddiard managed to get his head to a Demkiv cross from the right but couldn’t generate enough power as he fell backwards to trouble Trebes.
During the final five minutes or so Cirencester really pressured the home defence as they worked the ball to the left corner with Mortimer-Jones feeding an overlapping Bennett who crossed from the by-line. Trebes didn’t make the catch at the near post and the ball was loose for Griffin to collect, facing away from goal. Griffin turned and laid the ball into the path of Henry Spalding, left of the penalty spot, who collected and continued to move left before shooting towards the right post – cleared off the line but collected by Mortimer-Jones just outside the area. Out to Bennett for another cross from the left corner but intercepted and cleared.
The last potential goal threatening action of the match occurred at the Cirencester end in ‘added-time’ as Jarrold overlapped down the home sides left flank before pulling the ball back to a supporting Higgs who shot well wide of the target due to an untimely bobble.
Full Time: 1-1
A scrappy match due to the pitch conditions but a 'point' gained in the fight to remain in the Premier Division.
Certainly not a classic due to the reasons mentioned but both sides kept going on a very ‘heavy’ pitch.
The experienced defensive ‘spine’ of the Cirencester team - Glyn Garner, Gethin Jones, Matt Coupe and James Mortimer-Jones – is improving every game as they understand one another’s play whilst providing organisation and both Jones (last week) and Coupe (today) chip in with valuable goals.
‘Jonah’ was particularly prominent in this match as he intercepted and challenged in front of the back four, covered whenever a defender pushed forward and even found time to support and prompt as the team pressed their hosts.
Attendance: 217
Referee: Neil Morrison
St. Ives Town:
1. Tim Trebes
2. Harry O'Malley
3. Jordan Jarrold
4. Lee Chaffey (C)
5. Liam McDevitt
6. Jack Higgs 26
7. Ben Seymour-Shove
8. Tom McGowan
9. Danny Kelly
10. Josh Dawkin
11. Scott Sinclair
12. Charlie De'Ath
14. Jack Bradshaw (Tom McGowan-81mins)
15. Jarred Cunniff (Danny Kelly-74mins)
16. Kasey Douglas (Scott Sinclair-64mins)
Cirencester Town:
1. Glyn Garner
2. Kieran Diaz-Benitez
3. Aidan Bennett
4. James Mortimer-Jones
5. Gethin Jones
6. Matt Coupe 9
7. Matt Liddiard (C)
8. Adam Connolly
9. Alan Griffin
10. Dan Demkiv
11. Kerry Morgan
12. Henry Spalding (Dan Demkiv-81mins)
14. Ryan Elliott
16. Charlie Griffin
17. Ben Brown (Kieran Diaz-Benitez-64mins)