FA CUP 2ND PRELIMINARY ROUND SAT 29 SEPT 2007 3PM

Cirencester Town 0 Clevedon Town 1

This really was disappointing. The Seasiders swept Ciren aside like flotsam on the tide and, in spite of a sturdy second half challenge, the home team were left firmly on the rocks and still looking for their first home win of the season

The undercurrent in this match was supposed to be about the return of former Centurions Mike Symons and Steve Cook. The reality was that Mr Viveash and Mr Hunt watched the first half in dismay as the team bobbed and tossed as Clevedon swirled past and through them, leaving them bobbing in their wake.

Anybody making their first visit to The Corinium would have wondered if this team had ever played together before. It was very disappointing because Clevedon were no great shakes themselves. But, they scored the all important goal.

Mike Symons was just as we remembered him, winning almost every ball played up to him and laying it off well but, with three clear chances on a plate for him, as always he failed to pull the trigger and put not a shot on target.

Cook was busy in the first phase but disappeared after he blasted a good chance over the bar on 20 minutes. He missed the boat today, with four very good chances spurned in the second half. Indeed, Clevedon missed so many goal openings Ciren had opportunities themselves to retrieve their shipwreck in a much improved second half display.

Early on, Ciren looked good. Dan Wallington broke past veteran Danny Haines to fire in a cross, cleared with difficulty. And Nathan Haisley and Harry Etheridge were first to the ball in midfield and plied Ian McSherry and Steve Robertson with juicy attacking passes.

But, when on 4 minutes, Andy Chapman was felled in a tackle by Josh Bingham he never thereafter showed for a pass in the half. Nor offered back to provide cover in defence for the whole 90 minutes. He let the lad dominate him totally today.

The Ciren attacking verve was stopped in its tracks when he was put out of the game. Worryingly, Ciren sank without trace under the waves of Clevedon counters with both Dan Wallington and Phil Hall becoming progressively uneasy as the eager if workmanlike Clevedon piled in and denied them space.

By the end of the first quarter Clevedon had dominance, the quick feet of Kris Leek and the muscular interventions of Christian Sylvester freeing Kyle Bassett wide right to torment the Ciren defence. Isolated, Alex Stanley had all on to keep him in check. And when he did best him, had no target to find with his passes out.

Steve Robertson had a snap shot palmed away by Danny Greaves, showboating on a shot at shoulder height and within reach, when Robbo cleverly flicked a pass from Wallington over the surprised Rob Scott on 12 minutes and fired in from the edge of the box on 12 minutes.

Moments after Cook had seen a shot chalked off for offside when he netted Bassett's superb cross Ian McSherry had the best opening of the match on 34 minutes.

The so far anonymous Chapman was put in space by Harry Etheridge and found Phil Hall 25 yards out with a sharp, accurate inside pass. Hally had been dire so far but this time his sharp turn and pass up the left channel into the gap was spot on and Shez had timed his run behind Scott Hendy to perfection.

Absolutely clear, 12 yards out, his first touch was far too heavy and a grateful Greaves scurried out to gobble up the morsel when he should have been picking the ball out of the net. Instead it was the unfortunate Matt Bulman who had that task for Ciren on 37 minutes.

Christian Sylvester floated a speculative cross in from the left after a short corner by Kris Leek had been cleared. Aimed for the six yard box the Ciren defence quite correctly had stepped up in unison and the space was there for Matt Bulman to make a routine catch.

With the linesman flagging furiously, the big Clevedon defenders Scott Hendy and Rob Scott had stayed up and they both stepped smartly across to impede Bulman. Baulked, he could not reach the ball and it bounced almost apologetically through the mass of bodies and into the net.

No offside, apparently, and the referee almost indulgently had seen no obstruction transgression and gave the goal. 99 times out of 100 a player will try it on, getting in the way with no intention of playing the ball. Most times a ref sees it and takes action.

Today was the 1 in 100 when that almost routine baulk provided a pay-off.. .... Next time Bully, go in with your knees up and let their kidneys know that you've arrived, eh?

After all their furious efforts to score it was almost farcical that this effort should stand but Clevedon had the lead and Cirencester were fortunate that in the remaining minutes first Leek, then Cook and then Bingham fired good chances wide for Clevedon.

Kris Leek, who had been given acres of space all half, was having a whale of a time. Little turns and flicks that you only do in training were being paraded. And there was one dreadful moment when a ball dropped between H and 'Lex and while they waited for it to arrive this tiny figure arrived and nicked between them to run away. But then blast for a glory shot far post with 2 players open inside.

Second half, with Michael Jackson replacing the injured Harry Etheridge, Ciren were much more determined and for long periods kept Clevedon penned in their own third of the pitch. Not all our fans love Jacko but he is a fighter and never ever gives up and was in the thick of it, winning tackles that Hally had been bullied out of first half.

Andrew Chapman kept his balance and wriggled through on 49 minutes when Jacko won 2 successive tackles on the right for the ball to break for Chapps. But then shot over the angle from 18 yards after doing all the hard work to make the space.

With Jon Else and Paul Hunt on the pitch in place of the disappointingly ineffectual McSherry and Hall, there was more of a buzz about Ciren's play. It needed just a bit of calm in the approach, with the Clevedon defence suddenly shrill and panicky. Nope - didn't happen. We had lots of ball but kept on giving it back to them with a pass to nowhere.

You only put one into the corner when nothing else is on. But if you have time and have that sense of calmness (that today increasingly was being shown in the touch of Sylvester) you look up, the runner is making the break and that is when you give it the big ball. Hit it too early, as we did today, and it is a panicky 'get rid' rather than a pass to open a defence.

Michael Jackson was very busy across midfield, bringing Wallington into the game at every opportunity but not seeing the same response on the other flank from Chapman. We needed good crosses and weren't getting them. Oggy Hunt was close with a cheeky back heel after Greaves dropped a cunning cross from Else but, to return to the watery grave theme, that quarter chance was but a drop in the ocean.

Robertson, winning header after header against the doughty Hendy, should have been rewarded by more penetrating crosses after he set up Chapman and Haisley up the flanks. Clevedon were not idle but their dominance had ebbed and they were now relying on counter attacks.

Bassett, still dangerous, was being controlled better by the astute Alex Stanley who was one of the few Ciren players to do himself credit today by the way he stuck to his last and worked prodigously to contain a one trick but a heck of a quick trick opponent

But he was exposed when Sylvester collected a clearance and sent a sumptuous pass to the bye-line only for Cook to head Bassett's pin-point cross horrendously wide when totally unmarked on the far post. It was a huge space the lad filled, then.

Ciren battered heroically in the last 10 minutes to retrieve something, Michael Jackson flashing a drive narrowly wide and then Alex Stanley heading just past the post after Jon Else spotted his run and found him with a pinpoint cross.

But a dramatic equaliser was not to be and, after wasting many chances, Clevedon proceed to the next round thanks to the indulgence of an otherwise admirable referee.

Centurions: Matt Bulman, Dan Wallington, Andy Chapman, Alex Stanley, Lee Molyneux, Chris Collins (c), Nathan Haisley, Harry Etheridge [Michael Jackson 45], Steve Robertson, Ian McSherry [Paul Hunt 64], Phil Hall [Jon Else 64]
other subs: Kev Davies, Dan Hilder

Seasiders: Danny Greaves, Josh Bingham Y39, Danny Haines, Kris Leek, Scott Hendy, Rob Scott (), Kyle Bassett [Tyron Topper 75], Christian Sylvester Y 87, Mike Symons [Mitchell Page 86], Steve Cook, Dominic Graffagnino
other sub: Shane O'Connor

Ref: Mr M Amphlett, Kidderminster Not bad at all, tho his bizarre positioning for Clevedon's goal was a low point for me

Att: 145 Very disappointing. Clevedon brought at least 30 so what does that tell us about how the great Ciren public feel about their team.

MoM: Christian Sylvester [Clevedon]

Ciren MoM: Once again, Bully had a stormer. Nowt spectacular, no penno saves or diving stops. Just got his feet right and was always in position. Highlight was the flick over Mitchell Page and then an unerring pass over 40 yaards to find Jon Else in midfield. Jacko had a good game when he came on, as did Jon Else with his willingness to control the ball and then move it on accurately.

But for me it was Steve Robertson. Never gave up, won a ton of awkward passes and always kept moving. Deserved better but the service was not there and his one shot apart never had a chance in the game.