07/02/2004
Tyneside Amateur League Division 2

IJLW Brazil
Wilkinson, Davison, Churchley, Walker, Haigh, Paterson, Hinks, Mitchell (Thompson 55), Bull (Slack 65), Smith, Goodliff.

The match was reduced to 80 minutes as the start was delayed due to a problem with the changing rooms. Both sides had to get changed in the cars and a couple of the visiting players even drove to a nearby supermarket in order to use the facilities.

The hosts had most of the early possession but struggled to create any chances as Brazil defended well. Lee Wilkinson, making his debut in the Brazil goal, was coming off his line confidently to claim the ball and Dave Churchley and Bryan Walker, another new boy, were dealing with the strikers quite comfortably. When Brazil were in possession, though, they were struggling to retain it and Les Goodliff looked quite isolated up front.

Wilkinson had made a couple of good saves and Churchley had made a goal saving tackle (and injured his knee in the process) before the first goal was scored. Killingworth broke down the right flank and got round behind the defence. As the centre back went across to meet the winger, the ball was cut back to the unmarked striker who made no mistake in giving the home side the lead. The score remained 1-0 at the break, thanks to a brave block by Jon Hinks’s chest.

Brazil were able to keep hold of the ball better in the second half and weren’t rushing as much. This enabled them to get more men forward into the attacks. A good run by Paul Smith resulted in the ball finding its way through to Goodliff. Although the Killingworth keeper got his foot to the ball, he couldn’t prevent Goodliff from levelling the scores (and reclaiming his position at the top of the Brazil goal scoring charts). The referee did well to overrule a hopeful offside flag, by Killingworth’s linesman, and allow the goal to stand.

Two quick goals by the home side put Killingworth back in control of the game, but Brazil didn’t give in. They switched to a 4-4-2 formation and brought on another debutant, Chris Thompson. This gave them more presence in the Killingworth half of the pitch, but also left a lot of open space in the middle of the pitch which made the game quite open.

Walker capped an impressive debut with a goal as he got in front of the keeper to head in Ewan Paterson’s well-flighted free kick. Brazil pushed for an equalizer but a late penalty claim was turned down.

Goodliff looked to be lacking some match fitness but was still a handful for the home defence as he picked up the man of the match award. This, Goodliff’s first game back after over four months out injured, is the first time that Brazil have managed to score more than once in a game, in this time.

13/12/2003
Tyneside Amateur League Division 2

IJLW Brazil
Andrew, Davison, Churchley, Kennedy, Haigh, Mitchell, Paterson, Gurney, Slack, Harrison.

With three players pulling out of the squad on the day of the match, Brazil were left with just ten men. Playing into the wind with a man down ensured it was very difficult first half for the home side but they worked hard and weren’t outplayed. After a quarter of an hour, however, Ryton’s advantage began to tell. A right wing cross was met unopposed by the visiting captain, after he had walked away from his marker, and Brazil were behind. The deficit was soon doubled when a left wing cross was met by Ryton’s striker as he got between defender and goalkeeper.

Despite the strength of the wind, Brazil did manage to get into Ryton’s half and create chances of their own. An excellent passing move found Peter Slack on the left wing and his cross into the box was brought down well by Ben Gurney but he couldn’t keep his shot low enough to trouble the keeper. A good through ball sent Mark Harrison clear, as he beat the offside trap. Faced with a difficult angle, he fired his shot across the goalkeeper who had to dive at full stretch to keep it out.

After this, Ryton had a brief spell of complete domination where good defending and a couple of fine saves by Al Andrew kept Brazil in the game until Ryton’s numerical advantage was used to outnumber the Brazil defence and score an easy third. Slack’s corner, towards the end the half, was met by the head of Dave Churchley who managed to lose his marker with a clever run into the box but didn’t manage to direct the ball goalwards. With the wind behind them in the second half, Brazil felt that they were still very much in the game.

During the interval, the wind dropped slightly but it was still in Brazil’s favour. Even without this advantage, Brazil were better in the second half. Ewan Paterson covered a lot of ground and made a lot of tackles in midfield, as did Harrison up front. All four of Brazil’s defenders made some important challenges, with Mark Kennedy, in particular, showing his strength. Churchley, the man of the match, intercepted numerous passes and was quick enough to clear up when the ball was played over the top.

Both sides struggled to create any good chances in the second half and Brazil’s biggest scare came from a mistake. Andrew came well out of his area to clear the ball but he slipped and sliced it straight to Ryton’s forward. With his keeper stranded, Churchley positioned himself between the ball and the goal and managed to head away the early shot.

With time running out, Slack was pushed up front and made a tremendous run beating three Ryton defenders but his pass was over hit and sent Harrison too wide. With three weeks until the next match, Brazil are hoping that some of their injured players will recover enough help Brazil’s new year push for points.

06/12/2003
Tyneside Amateur League Division 2

IJLW Brazil
Andrew, Davison, Churchley, M McClure, Kennedy, Slack, Paterson, Clark, Mitchell, Haigh, Harrison.

The match began with both sides getting a lot of possession in midfield but not managing to penetrate the defences. The visitors, who were top of the league going in to the match, saw more of the ball but Brazil, with five men working hard across the midfield, have become harder to break down in recent weeks. This again seemed to be the case as The Bush struggled to create any early chances. In fact it was the home team that broke the deadlock with the best goal of the match. Brazil won possession on the half way line and broke quickly. Shaun Haigh played a superb cross field pass to Paul Clark who spotted striker Mark Harrison’s run into the box. Clark’s cross was perfect and Harrison brought the ball down with his first touch and hammered it into the back of the net with his second.

Going behind served to spur the league leaders into action and they committed more men forward in their attacks. Brazil’s defence was tackling well but chances were beginning to come for The Bush. The equaliser came on 35 minutes and five minutes later Brazil were a goal behind. The result could have been decided by half time but for a couple of excellent saves by Al Andrew.

The second half was a lot more open. The Bush were still dominating but Brazil looked dangerous as they counter attacked. Harrison broke clear but could not see Peter Slack unmarked at the far post as he tried to go it alone. Andrew pulled off a couple more saves and Dave Churchley won a lot as the last defender, to prevent a shot on goal.

Clark and Slack, the man of the match, linked up well several times down Brazil’s right flank but each time the move broke down before a chance was created. Twice Haigh made excellent runs with the ball and broke free for a one-on-one with the keeper but both times he failed to hit the target. His first attempt even failed to reach the goal line and almost turned into a good pass for Tom Mitchell but he was just beaten to it by a defender.

The Bush’s third goal, from a good corner routine, secured the victory before a late final goal flattered them a little. It came from a mix-up between goalkeeper and defender when either one could have dealt with the situation on their own.

Next week’s match, at home to Ryton Reserves, is the last this year so everyone’s support would be welcomed, not least because Ryton are the team who have already broken Chris Toward’s nose and ended Paul Belcher’s playing career this season.

29/11/2003
Tyneside Amateur League Division 2

IJLW Brazil
Andrew, Davison, Churchley, Greenshields, Kennedy, Gurney, Paterson, Clark, Mitchell, Haigh, Bull.

In the windiest conditions in living memory, Brazil were immediately put on the defensive by losing the coin toss. Playing uphill and into the gale was never going to be easy but a solid, battling performance kept them in the game in the early stages. All 10 of Brazil’s outfield players worked extremely hard to contain Gateshead, who were almost constantly attacking. Al Andrew was also kept busy with the wind making routine saves quite difficult. Midway through the first half, Brazil could have taken a surprise lead. Ben Gurney’s sublime through ball was met by Matty Bull who forced the Gateshead keeper to make a good save low to his left. Brazil’s solid defensive work ensured the game remained scoreless at the break, giving the visitors a great chance to go home with a result.

Although the wind died down slightly in the second half, it was still enough to give Brazil a great advantage. They completely dominated the opening 20 minutes of the half, creating several chances. Gurney had a couple of efforts with his weaker left foot and Bull and Paul Clark, the man of the match, forced several excellent saves out of the home side’s goalkeeper. Brazil’s defenders had to remain alert as Gateshead had a couple of counter attacks but these all came to nothing. A sliding tackle, on the edge of Brazil’s penalty area, by Mark Kennedy was adjudged to have been a back-pass but the wall stood firm and blocked the shot.

With just ten minutes remaining, Tom Mitchell hassled Gateshead’s centre back and twice blocked his clearance. The second time it fell kindly for him and he cleverly lifted the ball over the advancing keeper to give Brazil a deserved lead. Ewan Paterson linked up well with Bull (just as they had in winning the npower Children In Need 5-a-side tournament the previous week) to win a free-kick right on the edge of Gateshead’s box. With the wind behind him, Paterson’s powerful shot cleared the crossbar.

With 85 minutes gone and Brazil on course for their first league win of the season, their typical bad luck struck again. The referee, who bore an uncanny resemblance to Gary Bushel, appeared to want to get involved in the game more than was necessary. He awarded a penalty to the home side which surprised the hosts as much as the visitors. When questioned he didn’t know who he had given it against or what the offence had been, and nor did anyone else. The well struck penalty was ordered to be retaken for encroachment (perhaps in the hope that they would miss) but the second effort just beat Andrew.

Brazil remained the better side and continued to look dangerous. Dave Churchley’s excellent late run into the area lost his marker and he met Paterson’s corner with a difficult left-footed volley which sailed just wide of the post. Gary Davison slid a nice pass through to Bull but his low shot from a tight angle was excellently pushed past the post.

With the 90 minutes almost completed, Gateshead broke away and scored again, despite the goal scorer being five yards offside. Brazil now threw men forward desperately looking for the point they deserved but were caught short in defence when Gateshead broke and scored again.

22/11/2003
Tyneside Amateur League Division 2

IJLW Brazil
Andrew, Davison (Mitchell 75), Churchley, Greenshields, Kennedy, Gurney, Paterson, Toward (Slack 65), Clark, Haigh, Harrison.

Brazil, playing with a five-man midfield, looked the better team from the start. Ewan Paterson and Chris Toward worked extremely hard to protect the defence and Ian Greenshields, making his debut at centre back, looked a good, solid addition to the side. Brazil’s midfield had a lot of possession and it was just the final ball that was lacking. Ben Gurney put in several good crosses from the right wing but, with Mark Harrison up front on his own, there were not enough bodies in the box to trouble the visitors.

Gateshead took an unexpected lead when a long ball over the top was hit first time on the volley and just snuck into the bottom corner. Brazil responded well, though, and increased the pressure on the away side’s goal. Gurney was involved in most of the chances; he cut inside but couldn’t get enough power on his left-footed shot; his cross from the right, after a superb passing move involving most of Brazil’s attacking players, was headed just wide by the diving Paul Clark; and, following a short corner, his cross, again from the right, was headed over the bar as Shaun Haigh and Dave Churchley collided due to a lack of communication. Apart from the goal, Brazil’s defence was coping well with everything Gateshead had to offer. By half time, the score was still 1-0.

Brazil continued to dominate in the second period but still struggled to get the clear opening they needed to equalize. Gateshead scored against the run of play to double their lead with a nice chip over Al Andrew rounding off a good passing move. Brazil shifted to a 4-4-2 formation in an attempt to get more bodies in the box when they were attacking. This left them more exposed at the back and Andrew was forced into making a couple of saves. It did, however, serve to create more chances for Brazil. Mark Kennedy fired wide with his left foot as he ran onto a loose ball, Churchley volleyed narrowly past the post as he latched on to a poor clearance from a corner and Greenshields couldn’t quite hit the target as he turned and shot in the area at another corner. Tom Mitchell was brought down just outside the box as he turned cleverly with his first touch of the game. From the resulting free kick, Paterson fired the ball against the cross bar. For once, Brazil’s players in the box did the right thing in following the shot in for the rebound, but it was so well struck that it bounced back over Harrison’s outstretched leg. A free kick from a similar position, a couple of minutes later, was taken by man of the match, Paul Clark. His shot knocked over the man on the end of the wall as he jumped (with his hands out) to stop the ball as it headed for the top corner.

As Brazil threw men forward to try to get something out of the game they were heavily outnumbered on the break and were helpless as they conceded a late third which led to a very flattering score line for the visitors. Brazil travel to Gateshead for the reverse fixture next weekend, and will be hoping that they can put away some of their chances, having now scored just seven times in eight league games.