Alphington 2 - 0 Stoke Gabriel 8th March 2008

After the recent departure of Robbie Vaughan and Paul Harris the new caretaker management team of Dave Hitt and Steve Mann had a stern test with their opening game against high flyers Stoke Gabriel. Stoke started the game with great pace and un-did the Alphington midfield within seconds. The only way the Alphas could stop Stoke was by way of a foul. The resultant free-kick was pumped into the danger area and it was only the upright closely followed by the side netting that saved the Alphas from going 1-0 down with less than 2 minutes played. Stoke Gabriel continued to press for the opening 15 minutes and had one more chance which narrowly missed the target. With Stoke pressing high up the field the Alphas almost caught them on the break when Ryan Leverton went around the keeper to hit the ball back into the path of Danny Tyrrell who somehow managed to hit the ball 40 foot over an empty net :-). Both sides continued to try and break the deadlock throughout the first half which finished up 0-0 and on reflection was probably a fair result for the first 45 minutes.

Alphington started the second half looking a little unsure and allowing Stoke Gabriel too much possession and time on the ball. But it wasn't long before they regained some composure and an explosive run by Scott Forster down the right hand side from the centre of midfield was almost rewarded with a goal when he crossed the ball into the penalty area for Lawrence Khoo who, like Tyrrell in the first half, couldn't find his shooting boots.

Both sides had several chances to take the lead but it wasn't until just after 80 minutes that Alphington took the lead. Ryan Leverton,who had missed several opportunities ,finally managed to beat the offside trap and go around the keeper who clearly mis-judged Leverton's run and left himself in no-man's land making it 1-0 to the Alphas.

Straight from the kick-off I had a feeling of deep deja vu as exactly the same manoeuvre was executed by Leigh Atkins to make it 2-0. With only 5 minutes or so remaining in the game Stoke Gabriel had no alternative than to throw everything forward in an attempt to get something out of the game, but it was quite clear the attitude of the Alphas' defence was more positive than had been seen in a long time and nothing was going to get past Simmons, or indeed any of the back row.

In summary, this was a great result for the Alphas who were a little fortunate with both goals. That said, if you don't take your chances you don't win.

Ed's Man of the Match: Mark Simmons

All first team reports are written by and are the sole view of Russ Murch, they are in no way endorsed by Alphington AFC