The Opposition View

“The Seasiders”, have already played two league matches in the Premier division of the Jewson Western Football League. A 2-0 win (Barnstaple Town) and a 3-0 loss (Shepton Mallet) has seen them off to a mixed start.

The fans from the opposition were proud to note the arrival of a new RB Oscar BAIDEMAN. The player wearing number 2 is a product from the Bristol Rovers academy and joins Clevedon for the upcoming season.

Game Summary

This FA CUP Extra Preliminary Round match got off to a slow start for Berks County, the extra sharpness from two league matches for the opponent was clear to see. The first few minutes saw two attacks down the left side of Berks, with the second, culminating in a goal for BAIDEMAN who fired across the Berks County Keeper.

The slow start was compounded when a Clevedon long ball, from the keeper, was allowed to bounce. KYTE took the advantage and, controversially, muscled into a one-on-one before slotting home.

County managed to settle down into the game. An attack down the right culminated in needing to recycle the ball through midfield and out to the right. 16-Year-old Jake Dutton got in a low cross at the front post which was turned in by Luke HAYDEN with 35 minutes gone.

On the stroke of halftime, Clevedon worked out from their RH corner with a lond diagonal that had the Berks defence turned. Some measured passing bypassed the central defenders and reached KYTE who netted into the bottom left corner following his second one-on-one.

The second half was populated by fewer chances, although Clevedon had the better ones. Bersley was forced into a 1-1 save and had to watch two chances go narrowly past his posts. Following a 60th min set-piece, HAYER, the tallest player on the pitch headed Clevedon into a 4-1 lead. Despite a spate of changes on both sides, the game proceeded to full time without further goals.

Reflection

A loss in the FA cup will be disappointing, but this was seen as a step up in opposition compared to pre-season. Clevedon Town finished 4th in their league last year and are established at this level. Berks showed that they were a threat going forwards at times, with the wingers doing some good work. The goals for Clevedon, with the exception of the 4th, came from moments where there was indecision and/or mistakes. In that sense, the team that played can hopefully use the experience to kick-off what will be a challenging step up into Step 5. It was noted that the team were hit by a few injuries including one on Thursday to a starter. Nevertheless, the players on the pitch appeared to show a decent, professional attitude and did not give up.

My Player of the Match:

4. Ebby Opoku-Ware