Beaconsfield Town 2-1 Sholing

Scorers : Sam Granville 27, Luke Neville 36 / Charlie Davis 6

Date: Saturday 23 September 2023, 3pm – Southern League Premier South

Venue: Holloways Park   Attendance: 83

Beaconsfield Town : Matthew Rowley, Sam Togwell, Luke Neville ©, Jacques Kpohomouh, Asher Yearwood, Iker Noguera Leon (Jacob Gardiner-Smith 75), Zidan Akers, James Dobson (Ben Van Aurich 45), Joe Morrison, Jefferson Louis, Sam Granville.  Unused subs : Master Sankoh, Jon Hippolyte, Josh Payne

Bookings : ?

Sholing : Ryan Gosney, Brad Targett, Marv McLean, Rob Flooks, Owen Roundell, Charlie Davis (Adam Payce 16 (Jake Adams 35)), Wayne Robinson, Byron Mason ©, Dan Mason, Jake Hesketh, Jake Cope. Unused subs : Ryan Harfield, Fin Du Port, Sam Pritchard

Bookings : Marv McLean, Dave Diaper

A better performance, but still lacking any good fortune, saw us slip to a disappointing defeat at Beaconsfield Town.

Team News : New signing Charlie Davis made his debut, but as in keeping with this season, one player in and the blow of losing another as Charlie Wagstaffe missed out through injury.   Beaconsfield had signed several new players ahead of the game as they searched for their first win of the season.

Our first visit to Beaconsfield, nestled in woods right on the edge of the M40. A newish 3G pitch and a neat ground saw the game get underway on a warm sunny day.

Boatmen made a strong start and after Jake Cope was fouled 20 yards out on the left corner of the box, we took the lead in spectacular fashion on 6 minutes.  CHARLIE DAVIS hit a stunning freekick over the wall and curling inside the near post giving the keeper no chance.  Some way to make your debut!

With Davis in the heart of midfield, for a the first time in a while, we looked to have a better balance in the middle of the pitch and continued to command the early exchanges, so it was a big blow when the new signing had to come off with an injury after 16 mins.

The home side started to find their feet and missed a glorious chance on 23 mins when a header was put wide from inside the 6 yard box.  However, a couple of minutes later they were level.  Sam Granville evaded a couple of weak challenges on the edge of the box to advance and slot into the bottom left hand corner.

Jake Cope fizzed a 20 yard shot just past the upright as we received yet another injury when the sub, Adam Payce, came off worse after a clash of heads and had to be subbed, with Jake Adams coming on.

Beaconsfield took the lead on 34 minutes and it was a gift for the home team.  A deep corner saw Morrison evade his marker and knock back into the middle for Luke Neville to tap in from close range.

The game was already very stop start, but the referee was now blowing up for every single bit of contact between players and was confusing both teams & their benches with some strange decisions.   We then had the distraction of a fire in the clubhouse kitchen as smoke billowed out the serving hatch, but thankfully it was quickly put out and no one hurt.   HT 2-1

We really should have been level straight from the restart as a long ball forward saw a defender head it straight into the path of Jake Adams in the middle of the box, but he put his shot the wrong side of the post.   We continued to apply pressure, winning corners and freekicks around the box, but wasting the chance with poor deliveries.

The officiating reached new levels of bizarre when with the ball going out for a throw in front of the Sholing dugout, Dave Diaper trapped the ball and was then booked in the most over-the-top display of a yellow card that I've ever seen in 45 years of watching football.

We continued to press, with Flooks heading wide and then Dan Mason let the ball run across him before hitting a fierce shot that went an inch over the bar.

As we pushed more players forward, we were open to the counter and Gosney made a great save with his legs to stop Beaconsfield putting the game to bed.  In the 93rd minute, finally a decent delivery from a corner saw Byron Mason stretch to head the ball, but it cannoned back off the crossbar. 

The Referee brought the game to an end by running 30 yards to what everyone thought was to be a booking for the Beaconsfield keeper for timewasting, but instead, he picked up the ball, waved his arms around and blew the final whistle to dumbfounded looks by everyone watching, before it sunk in to the home side they had won.

Hard result to take after having so much of the game, but as we slowly get the squad stronger, there are increasing signs of us getting back to the team we can be.   FT 2-1

Next Game : Sholing v Salisbury - Tuesday 26 Sep 7:45pm - Southern Premier

Photos courtesy of EspieJaz, swipe to view