Cirencester Town FC
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Cirencester Town FC
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Click photo to view a slideshow of photos from the match
Match photos supplied by Graham Hill
The final league match of the season brought Welwyn Garden City to The Talent Hire Stadium and victory for either side would secure a 6th place finish in the table.
In terms of league positions and current form prior to the match – Welwyn Garden City sat in 7th place in the league table, whilst Cirencester were in 6th place, with both sides having secured 54 points from 35 games played - but separated by ‘goal difference’.
Examination of the ‘6-Match Form Guide’ table reveals that ‘The Citizens’ have secured 7 points from their last 6 games whilst ‘The Centurions’ have obtained 14 points to sit in 12th and 2nd places respectively in the relevant table.
The reverse fixture in September resulted in a hard fought 1-1 draw.
Starting Eleven – There were three changes to the starting eleven that faced Hertford Town in the previous match as Reegan Messenger, Luca Robinson and Ben Whitehead were replaced by Willem Pooley, Jordan Morris and George Peare respectively.
The former three players were joined on the bench by James Mortimer-Jones and Ronnie Newberry.
Welwyn Garden City kicked off playing towards The Shed end of the ground and immediately launched the ball to their left corner where Cirencester worked it down their right flank before losing possession enabling their visitors to mount a quick counter as they switched play to their right flank for Dernell Wynter to reach the by-line and send a low cross towards the front edge of the home box - but behind his supporting team-mates.
Cirencester responded as Nick Peare sent a 50-yard cross-field pass, from left to right, to Felix Miles who delivered a low cross into the visitor’s box that was cleared to Cameron Walters and he advanced a couple of yards before firing over the bar from 25-yards.
A few minutes later Cirencester were back again as the ball was worked inside from their left flank to George Peare who fired wide of the left post from a position right of centre, 25-yards out.
The home side had started positively and it wasn’t long before Walters exchanged passes with Miles before chipping the ball to the far-left post where Harry Burns burst through to collect but didn’t manage a clean connection on his instant shot enabling ‘keeper Donnabhan Green to collect.
The visitors first shot at the target came twelve minutes into the game, following more possession for the home side, when Henry Jones managed to secure the ball and advance a few yards down their right channel before firing wide of the far-left post.
Cirencester immediately worked the ball down their right flank as Walters and Miles combined again before working the ball to the left flank for Jordan Morris and Charlie Johnson to combine and Johnson to slip the ball down the left channel to an advanced Willem Pooley who slid it left to Morris. His attempted cross was blocked for a throw-in that was fed back to Nick Peare who delivered another cross-field pass towards the far-right post where FELIX MILES nipped in to volley home. 1-0.
The response from The Citizens was immediate as Jones collected a pass down their right channel near the front corner edge of the home box to be met by advancing custodian Stuart Nelson who bravely dived at his feet to divert the ball – leading to a throw-in for the visitors in the right corner and when it was delivered into the home box Nick Peare cleared the danger.
During the next twenty minutes or so Cirencester pressed down their flanks and Welwyn countered quickly without creating too many problems for the home defence – the only threats on goal being a Burns effort that was comfortably saved by Green and a corner kick for the visitors that Nelson caught on the edge of his 6-yard box.
Ten minutes from the scheduled interval Walters launched the ball down the right channel into the visitor’s box where Green moved across to catch but it bounced higher than he expected and under pressure from Burns the ball broke loose but play was pulled back for a free kick to be awarded to Green.
Cirencester then pressed again to the right corner and following a series of throw-ins Walters slipped the ball through for a darting Pooley to collect and cross from the right-side edge of the Welwyn box – blocked for a corner kick. Felix Miles sent the kick past the far-left post for Jake Lee to head back into the mix near the front edge of the 6-yard box where NICK PEARE stooped to head and wrong foot Green to double the score-line. 2-0.
Half Time: 2-0
After the break the visitors came out in more determined mood and following some initial pressure from their host’s they worked the ball to their right corner where a cross was delivered to the near post for Jones to collect but his shot was deflected for a corner kick that was defended by Lee.
Cirencester replied as George Peare moved the ball on to Pooley, right to Miles who passed it on towards the right by-line for the energetic Pooley to collect and deliver a low cross towards the Penalty Spot where the threat ended.
At this stage the game was fairly open as Welwyn responded to create room for Jones to shoot from the left channel front edge of the home box towards the left post. Stuart Nelson dived full length to parry and then blocked Jones’s follow-up effort onto his opponent for a goal-kick.
A few minutes later Miles embarked on a quick counter down the right flank and delivered a superb pass through the 6-yard box that George Peare was just short of making contact with at the left post.
The visitors pressed for the next few minutes but were unable to penetrate the stubborn home defence although Jones did have a looping effort from the right by-line caught by Nelson.
Around the mid-point of the second half Welwyn pressed to send a corner kick and throw-ins into the home box but the defence dealt with the danger comfortably.
As the game entered the final 15-minutes Bailey Stevenson had a cross from the right-side edge of the home box blocked by Johnson before he had two quickfire shots at the target from the front edge of the box – one blocked and the second over the bar.
As the 90-minute mark approached Miles cut in from the left corner to produce a mazy run into the visitors Penalty Area - past several attempted challenges – before it was cleared to a lurking Ben Whitehead on the edge of the box who took a couple of strides and fired a fierce low cross-shot towards the far-right post for LUCA ROBINSON to dart forward to finish from a couple of yards. 3-0.
A couple of minutes later Whitehead left the pitch on a stretcher as he was injured whilst shooting at The Citizens goal – everyone at the Club wishes him a full and speedy recovery.
The final threat on goal of the game was a cross-field pass from Ryan Kirwan to Stevenson who sent a low cross from the right front corner of the home box towards the left post where it was cleared by Lee.
Full Time: 3-0
A solid team performance from The Centurions to secure 6th place in the table, but miss-out on the play-offs by two points in the final analysis, at the end of a tough campaign with so many two-hour plus journeys across the country.
N.B. - The Centurions complete the season with the third best defensive record and third best goal difference in the Division – only bettered by the teams that finished first and second (Biggleswade Town and Bedford Town).
Attendance: 476 Referee: Will Payne
Cirencester Town:
1. Stuart Nelson
2. Cameron Walters
3. Charlie Johnson
4. Joseph Turley
5. Jake Lee ©
6. Nick Peare 40
7. Felix Miles 15
8. Willem Pooley
9. George Peare
10. Harry Burns
11. Jordan Morris
12. Luca Robinson Jordan Morris-67mins) 90
14. Reegan Messenger (Harry Burns-71mins)
15. Ben Whitehead (George Peare-64mins)
16. James Mortimer-Jones
17. Ronnie Newberry (GK)
Welwyn Garden City:
1. Donnabhan Green
2. Harvey Steel
3. Joshua Bryant
4. Jack Vasey
5. Yasin Boodhoo
6. Alexander Harris
7. Dernell Wynter
8. Henry Jones
9. Lynton Goss
10. Bradley Wadkins ©
11. Cyrus Babaie-Gumbs
12. Ryan Kirwan (Joshua Bryant-77mins)
14. Lucas Jordan (Cyrus Babaie-Gumbs-67mins)
15. Bailey Stevenson (Dernell Wynter-64mins)