Monthly Archives: July 2012

IJLW Brazil 2 – 1 Whitley Bay Baptist Church

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06/11/2004
Northumberland F.A. Minor Cup 2nd Round

IJLW Brazil
Wilkinson, Davison, Churchley, Walker, Kennedy, Paterson (Katirai 80), Hinks, Creighton (Freath 60), Haigh, Bull, McGurk (Harrison 70).

Whitley Bay Baptist Church, from the North East Christian Fellowship League, were the visitors in Winlaton for the second round of this year’s NFA Minor Cup. Brazil were in confident mood, having not lost since 2nd October, 2004. Their self-belief showed as they dominated the match from the start. Shaun Haigh and Ste McGurk both blazed shots over the crossbar but Brazil kept piling on the pressure. Jon Hinks saw a header cleared off the line following McGurk’s left wing corner.

It took the strength of Bryan Walker to eventually give the hosts the lead, midway through the first half. He forced the ball through several defenders and into the net, following Ewan Paterson’s crossed free kick from the right. McGurk watched the ball cross the line but selflessly avoided applying a final touch to it.

As has been the way for the majority of the season, Brazil defended well and allowed Whitley Bay very little sight of goal. On one occasion, however, they did have a three-on-one counter attack which gave Lee Wilkinson, diving at the attacker’s feet, the opportunity to make a great save.

After the break, Brazil were looking to push on and wrap up the game but, although they were creating numerous chances, they just couldn’t seem to get the crucial second goal. Most of the time the keeper wasn’t even tested but a couple of dubious hand ball decisions were also required to keep the score down. Firstly, Matthew Creighton’s neat turn and shot into the bottom corner was ruled out and secondly the referee’s whistle prevented a certain goal as Dave Churchley was about to strike the loose ball into the top corner after Walker had knocked down Paterson’s corner.

The strength and pace of Brazil’s defenders was too much for the Whitley Bay attackers and they never looked like scoring until, that is, the referee ignored the linesman’s flag and allowed the attacker to run through unopposed to level the score. With plenty of time still remaining, Brazil were not going to panic. An inspired substitution gave the lead back to the home side as Mark Freath converted Paterson’s corner with his knee, less than ten minutes after coming off the bench.

Brazil still could have had more goals. Churchley and Walker both made the keeper work as they fired in powerful 40 yard free kicks but, generally, Brazil’s shooting was off-target. James Katirai nearly grabbed his first Brazil goal but his side-foot shot just didn’t curl enough. The last effort was headed over by Matty Bull at full stretch, as he beat two defenders to Haigh’s cross. Wilkinson was man of the match (again). This result now gives Brazil a 50% win rate in the NFA Minor Cup, making it Brazil’s most successful competition since they left the University Intra-Mural League.

IJLW Brazil P – P New York

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23/10/2004
Tyneside Amateur League Division 2

Match postponed due to a flooded pitch.

Other news:
Maximo Park, the excellent band fronted by Brazil’s Paul Smith are about to embark on a nationwide tour. Get to see them if you can – you will not be disappointed. More details are available on the website: www.maximopark.com. You can also listen to a couple of their songs at www.nme.com/audio.

Brazil’s Tom Mitchell is also in the limelight at the moment. He has recently been working on a TV show. Watch “Big Art Challenge” on Five (previously Channel Five) at 19:30 on Thursday evenings. Mitchell’s name even appears in the credits at the end.

IJLW Brazil 5 – 2 Wardley Durham Ranger

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16/10/2004
Tyneside Amateur League Division 2

IJLW Brazil
Wilkinson, Davison, Churchley, Walker, Kennedy, Paterson, Hinks, Creighton, Haigh, Bull, McGurk (Ho 70). Subs not used: Mitchell, Katirai, Bernstone.

A majestic performance from an almost full-strength Brazil took then 3 points clear of bottom spot in the league. From the start Brazil were the better team, dominating in all areas of the field. Shaun Haigh put the hosts ahead when his cross from the left was punched back to him by the keeper, way off his line, leaving Brazil’s flanker an open goal to volley his side ahead.

Brazil’s pressure produced many more chances. Jon Hinks had a header cleared off the line and Ewan Paterson and Matty Bull both forced the visiting keeper to make smart stops but it was Haigh that missed the best opportunity of the half. He was played clean through, avoiding the tight offside trap, but tried to be too clever. His attempted lob skewed off the outside of his boot and went limply out of play.

A good counter attacking goal, against the run of play, brought Wardley back into the game before a freak goal gave them an undeserved lead. Lee Wilkinson, back-peddling, made a fantastic save as he clawed a long range shot out of the top corner and onto the post. As he rolled over, the ball ricocheted off his knee and over the goal line. Brazil responded well and got back on level terms before the break. Bryan Walker’s deep free kick was flicked on by Matthew Creighton and Mark Kennedy controlled it on his chest before blasting a volley past the helpless keeper.

In the second half Brazil took control even more. Ste McGurk, who was lively throughout, managed to cannon the ball off the centre back into Wardley’s goal to give Brazil the lead and even up the own goal score. Midway through the half, McGurk claimed a goal for himself. The ball smashed into Bull’s face and into Hinks’s path. McGurk met the low cross and his deflected shot just crept over the goal line.

Although Brazil were two goals up, they were not resting on their laurels. Some excellent defending throughout the team meant that Wardley hardly had a chance to speak of. In particular, Hinks made a sliding tackle just as a midfielder was about to shoot from the edge of the box and Dave Churchley (whose cheek was so swollen from an earlier elbow that it was beginning to obstruct his view), sprinting back towards his own goal, managed to slide in to deny Wardley’s star striker.

Wardley always struggled to deal with Wilkinson’s long clearances and the game was made safe when Bull got on the end of one and buried it confidently into the back of the net. The result was marred slightly with an incident late on. The way in which a Wardley player reacted to Steve Ho’s sliding tackle resulted in both players getting booked. Creighton picked up another man of the match award as the race for player of the year begins to get more interesting.

IJLW Brazil 1 – 3 Ryton FC Reserves

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02/10/2004
Tyneside Amateur League Division 2

IJLW Brazil
Wilkinson, Davison, Churchley, Walker, Haigh, Paterson, Freath, Creighton, McGurk, Bull, Katirai.

Ryton had the wind, sun and slope advantages in the first half. This gave them the edge possession-wise. Brazil defended well throughout the first half, however, and didn’t allow any good chances. Lee Wilkinson made a couple of saves, Dave Churchley headed away a powerfully struck shot and Bryan Walker put in a commanding performance, which earned him the man of the match award. At the other end, Brazil played some pleasing football to carve out a couple of chances but it appeared that no-one (with the exception of Matty Bull) was willing to have a shot.

The goalless score line at the break gave Brazil the confidence to believe that they could take something out of the game, but three Ryton goals in a ten minute period put an end to the match as a contest, but not as an event. Before the goals, Ste McGurk had come extremely close when a long range effort with his weaker right foot was tipped over the bar.

Ryton’s fierce tackling got more dangerous and, from some of his decisions, you might have thought that the referee was a pseudophake. Having threatened to break Matthew Creighton’s jaw, Ryton’s players were then heard to boast that they only needed one more goal to go top of the league. Brazil soon put an end to that hope when McGurk’s diagonal through ball was met by Bull (having managed to beat the offside trap) who finished well into the far corner.

Killingworth 3 – 0 IJLW Brazil

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25/09/2004
Tyneside Amateur League Division 2

IJLW Brazil
Andrew, McClure (Freath 45), Churchley, Kennedy, Davison, Paterson, Creighton, Mitchell (Marquiss 65), McGurk, Harrison, Thompson.

It took three soft goals to give in-form Killingworth the points against a plucky Brazil side. The hosts saw most of the ball early on but Brazil were quick to pressurize them all over the pitch and didn’t allow them any good chances. As the game progressed chances inevitably came and Al Andrew (Brazil’s first ever married player), making his first appearance of the season, made a couple of good reaction stops from close range. Brazil passed the ball well out of defence and through the midfield but they were quite prosaic in the final third and never really looked threatening.

Just as it looked like as if the first half would end goalless, Brazil’s first real mistake was made. A hopeful cross into the box found Killingworth’s right winger marked by two Brazil players. Somehow he managed to get between the Brazil men, get the ball under control, take a couple of touches and shoot into the bottom corner all without a challenge being made.

The second half saw more of the same; Killingworth dominated but struggled to turn their possession into goals. A great battling effort from Brazil was wasted when two more sloppy goals were conceded in a couple of minutes midway through the half. Firstly the unmarked player at a short corner was allowed to dribble unchallenged into a shooting position and secondly a horrendous mix-up gifted an open goal to the striker.

Brazil’s best chance of the match came late on when an excellent move saw Ewan Paterson run into the box and shoot over the bar. John Marquiss showed some skilful touches, on debut, but failed to make a real impact on the game. Man of the match was Matthew Creighton for his fine performance in the centre of the park.

This result leaves Brazil joint 8th in the table, having played two of the top three teams already. They have however scored only once in the four league games. This is a worrying statistic that needs to be addressed if they are to gain a respectable league position this season.

Gateshead Three Tuns 1 – 1 IJLW Brazil

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18/09/2004
Tyneside Amateur League Division 2

IJLW Brazil
Wilkinson, Davison, Churchley, Walker, Haigh, Paterson, Creighton, McCartney, Katirai, Thompson.

Brazil’s almost full strength squad of 15 was depleted to 10 players in just a couple of hours on the morning of the match, leaving their confident manager a little less sure of his team’s chances. Gateshead lived up to expectations in that they were a very poor side. The only times they looked threatening were when Brazil had committed men forward to support Chris Thompson so Gateshead could considerably outnumber Brazil as they attacked.

The best chances of the first half all fell to Brazil, although none of them were clear opportunities. Chris McCartney, Bryan Walker, Matthew Creighton and Ewan Paterson all had decent efforts but it was the home side that went in ahead at the break. Their goal coming on 40 minutes with the scorer in an offside position as the ball was played through to him.

In the second half, Brazil battled well as they played into the strong wind. They allowed Gateshead to dominate the possession and then tried to make quick counter attacks. Even with their extra man and Brazil’s weary legs, the hosts couldn’t get close to extending their lead and Brazil were eventually rewarded for their perseverance. McCartney capped his debut with a well taken goal following a superb break and one-two with Thompson.

Brazil could’ve taken the lead as they pressed forward but Paterson hit the post with a well struck drive from the right shortly before McCartney headed Paterson’s cross just wide. Brazil’s fullbacks, Shaun Haigh and Gary Davison remained calm even when trying mark two men, as Gateshead sought a late winner. They were denied by a couple of timely challenges by Dave Churchley and three great saves from Lee Wilkinson, which contributed to him being named man of the match. Special mention must also go to James Katirai who was forced to play out of position on the left wing but still managed to play some lovely passes and win some important free kicks. It is hoped that this hard-earned point will serve as the springboard to kickstart Brazil’s season. Against better opposition, however, it is almost certain that Brazil will need at least eleven men to be able to compete.

Killingworth Social YPC 3 – 0 IJLW Brazil

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11/09/2004
Tyneside Amateur League Division 2

IJLW Brazil
Wilkinson, Davison, Churchley, Walker, Haigh, Mitchell, Paterson, Greenwood, Slack, Harrison, Bull. Subs not used: Hinks.

Despite the strong wind, it was very hot out on the pitch. Social had most of the early possession but Brazil defended well and didn’t allow the hosts any clear shooting opportunities. Most of Brazil’s chances in the first half were limited to quick breaks. Three times Peter Slack found some space behind the right back; twice he was unfairly stopped by the linesman’s flag and the other time he forced a save from the keeper. The linesman seemed to be Social’s most effective defender whenever the ball was played over the top for Matty Bull or Mike Harrison. Andy Greenwood had a couple of long range shots but failed to hit the target.

Midway through the first half, Social took the lead when slack marking at a corner gifted their tall striker a free header. Brazil fought back and Bull’s opportunistic long range attempted lob appeared to be going in until it was held up in the wind, allowing the keeper to make a save. At the interval Brazil were confident that they could still get something out of the game.

The game got stretched in the second half with Brazil’s tiring players defending too deep, despite the efforts of their skipper, Davy Churchley, to bring the line up. The visitors seemed to lack the urgency required to get back into the match and allowed Social to dominate proceedings. Churchley and, man of the match, Bryan Walker defended solidly but were helpless to prevent Social extending their lead.

All of Brazil’s second half chances fell to Bull. Several efforts from distance were just off target and the keeper pulled off a couple of excellent saves. Brazil’s best chance came from a defensive corner. The cross was overhit and Churchley carried the ball out towards the right wing. He looked up and saw Greenwood in acres of space and gave him the ball. Bull’s excellent run met Greenwood’s inch-perfect pass but his first touch took the ball wide and a defender recoverd to make a clumsy challenge, which he got away with.

With time running out and the result beyond doubt, Social’s star player broke from midfield and thought he was going to get a goal but he hadn’t reckoned with Brazil’s captain. Churchley sprinted across the pitch and made a superbly timed, strong sliding tackle and even came away with the ball. Brazil should have had a late penalty for a blatent push in Harrison’s back at a corner but Social’s manager inveigled the referee as he shouted from the touchline and nothing was given.

IJLW Brazil 0 – 1 West Jesmond

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04/09/2004
Tyneside Amateur League Division 2

IJLW Brazil
Katirai, Davison, Churchley, Kennedy, Haigh, Bowman, Creighton, Mitchell, McGurk, Harrison.

With their squad gutted, mainly due to holidays, Brazil fielded three debutants (Ste McGurk, Mike Harrison and Mike Bowman) and still only had ten men. Playing a 4-4-1 formation, the hosts first priority was to try to contain Jesmond, and not give them many chances. This was achieved superbly, with the whole team working hard for each other, as the visitors didn’t have a shot on goal until the 40th minute. A careless, unneccesary challenge gave the referee no alternative but to award a penalty. Jesmond’s tall Yugoslavian striker hit the back of the net to give his side an undeserved lead going into the break. Before this, Brazil had come close to scoring on several occasions. Shaun Haigh’s long range effort was tipped over by the keeper. McGurk and Matthew Creighton both saw free kicks go just wide of the far post. Gary Davison’s fierce drive was deflected wide by a defender’s ankle. Dave Churchley connected with McGurk’s corner but, at full stretch, couldn’t keep his volley down. The closest of all, however, was the conclusion of an excellent, quick, fluent, passing counter attack. Tom Mitchell’s cross from the right was headed against his own crossbar, with the keeper beaten, by one of the Jesmond centre backs.

The second half saw more of the same, with Brazil creating chances and defending excellently. Harrison (not to be confused with the club’s lanky secretary of a similar name) impressed in the difficult lone-striker role and didn’t allow Jesmond’s defenders any time on the ball. Brazil had numerous corners but couldn’t make the pressure tell. As the game went on, the ten men tired and Jesmond, with a full compliment on the pitch, used their substitutes to good effect. The game got stretched and James Katirai was called into making a couple of saves. A superb run and left-footed shot by Mark Kennedy was just tipped over the bar but by now it was the visitors that looked the more likely to score. An excellent 90th minute save by Katirai kept the score to one, when he was faced by two strikers. Creighton’s performance in the centre of the park earned him his first man of the match award for Brazil.

Other news:
Part time Brazil player, Andy Greenwood is leaving Newcastle in less than a fortnight to start a new life in Preston. If you would like to see him off, wish him well or just get drunk with his friends then attend his wake next Saturday night (September 11th). Contact Gary Davison for details.

Maximo Park, the excellent band fronted by Brazil’s Paul Smith, have a couple of gigs coming up in Newcastle. They will be playing Exhibition Park on Saturday, September 11th and The Head Of Steam on Monday, September 13th. I personally recommend that you try to get along to see them.

IJLW Brazil 0 – 1 Lindisfarne Athletic

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18/08/2004
Tyneside Amateur League Cup Group B

IJLW Brazil
Wilkinson, Davison, Churchley, Walker, Kennedy, Paterson, Hinks, Creighton (Luper 55), Haigh, Slack (Freath 45), Ho (Katirai 65).

The game was reduced to 35 minutes each way as Lindisfarne turned up half an hour after the match was scheduled to start. The length of the grass and the occasional rain and wind made it difficult to play proper football but that’s exactly what both teams were trying to do. Brazil’s midfield started off superbly, with all four of them passing the ball well. Brazil were making good progress up both flanks and it was a cross from fullback Gary Davison that almost put the hosts ahead. The keeper was almost caught napping as the ball sailed over him towards the goal but he managed to back-pedal desperately and tip it onto the crossbar. As the thunder and lightning got closer, the wind got up a bit and gave Lindisfarne the advantage. They began to dominate possession and tried to get the ball up to their lively number 10. Brazil have now fielded the same back four in the three of the last four matches and they are a consistent and organised unit. They allowed the visiting strikers very little in terms of goalscoring chances, particularly with Lee Wilkinson coming off his line quickly to snaffle the balls played over the top.

Some slack marking at the back post allowed Lindisfarne to snatch a lead midway through the first half, as a lovely curling free kick was played into the box. Moments later there was almost an action replay but this time the header rebounded off the upright and Dave Churchley was on hand to clear the danger. Though Lindisfarne were looking vulnerable to the counter attack, the lack of any natural forwards in Brazil’s squad told and time after time the danger petered out.

The second period saw Brazil looking much more dominant but however much the pack was shuffled (six players played up front for Brazil at one time or another) the elusive goal wouldn’t come. The introduction of Mark Freath, early in the second half, rewrote the Brazil record books as he became the second oldest man to ever represent the club and the oldest to play in a competitive fixture. He took the record away from Peter Slack, who he replaced (who, incidentally, had played for Lindisfarne back in his youth, over ten years ago). Freath showed some good touches and almost marked his debut with a goal but his shot was dragged just wide of the post.

Brazil produced numerous opportunities to level the score, with Jon Hinks, Ewan Paterson and Davison all putting in good crosses from the right, but they just couldn’t finish them off. Shaun Haigh saw a header rebound off the crossbar and then sent a volley wide. Churchley pounced on a loose ball to fire in a shot from forty yards but the keeper was equal to it. Wilkinson, man of the match for the second game running, almost scored a spectacular goal. His long clearance out of his hands seemed to confuse the visiting keeper who slid towards the ball but missed it and could only watch, relieved, as it missed the post by a couple of inches. The most controversial moment came inside the last ten minutes as Brazil committed more men forward and created more chances. A corner fell kindly in the area to Steve Ho who spun and hit what he thought would be the equaliser until the defender on the line kept it out with his hands. The referee, who hadn’t had the best of games, waved away the penalty appeals. Despite the defeat, Brazil can be more than satisfied with the performance, particularly as the opposition are from the division above and they have four strikers keen to stamp their mark on the season.