04/10/2003
Northumberland FA Minor Cup 1st Round

IJLW Brazil
Andrew, Davison, Churchley, Kennedy, Paterson, Hinks, Belcher, Toms, Slack, Bull, Goodliff (Harrison 45).

Ashington Colliers are a Northern Alliance side, three divisions above Brazil, so the visitors went into the game very much as the underdogs. Brazil made a nervous start and allowed Ashington to control the game right from the first whistle. Ashington were clearly a strong, fit and well organised team and they gave Brazil no time on the ball. Their attackers made intelligent runs and they built up the pressure steadily as the game progressed. Asington took a deserved lead after a quarter of an hour but Brazil responded well and began to get back into the game. Ashington were still dominating but Brazil were slowly adapting to their style of play and frustrating the home side. Paul Belcher and Steve Toms battled hard in the centre of midfield but Brazil still struggled to keep possession.

Al Andrew made a good save at his near post before getting involved in the most bizarre incident of the match. As the ball came through to him, he decided to kick it, rather than pick it up. His kick struck defender Gary Davison on the leg and rebounded back over his head. Andrew seemed to be unaware of the potential danger and as the ball looped goalwards but, luckily, Ewan Paterson was quick to react and cleared the ball off the goal line. Ashington could have increased their lead sooner if it wasn’t for Dave Churchley, who blocked three fiercely struck shots.

Brazil rarely got into Ashington’s half and whenever Les Goodliff did manage to get away from the defence the huge goalkeeper was very quick off his line. A collision between these two forced Goodliff off the pitch for five minutes as he received treatment on a recurrence of his recent ankle injury. Two late first half goals for Ashington ended the match as a contest before the break.

The second half was much more open and Brazil’s defence was very stretched. On several occasions there were more attackers than defenders and Churchley had to rely on his pace to clear the danger as the ball was played into the corners. Belcher and Toms, the man of the match, continued to work hard and were also making better use of the ball when they got possession. Jon Hinks and Peter Slack were good outlets on the wings and Matty Bull held the ball up well up front.

Ashington scored four times in the second half to complete a resounding victory but Brazil, despite not playing very well, can still take a few positives out of the game. They generally defended corners very well, which has been a weakness against lesser teams in the past. Bull, who hasn’t played for two seasons, showed some of what he’s capable of with a couple of shots from less-than-half chances. Andrew seemed to regain some of the confidence that he has been missing recently as he charged out at the attackers feet to make good saves twice late on in the match.