25/01/2003
Tyneside Amateur League Division 2

IJLW Brazil
Andrew, Davison, Churchley, Kennedy, Haigh, G Clark (Charge 65), M McClure, Toms, Belcher (Hinks 55), R McClure (Harrison 60), Goodliff.

Killingworth’s fourth choice pitch required a lot of pre-match work to get it into a playable state after their three preferred pitches had been ruled out as they were all waterlogged. Brazil started as the brighter team but Killingworth soon took control. Whilst Killingworth were enjoying the vast majority of the possession, they were unable to provide any clear chances from open play. Their final ball was poor and, whenever they played the ball over the top, Dave Churchley had the pace to clear up the danger. Set pieces, however, were a different matter. Every Killingworth player in the box was taller than his marker and it was inevitable that this height advantage would pay off at some point. It took 20 minutes. A deep cross was met unopposed and Killingworth took the lead from close range. Five minutes later, a corner from the right was powerfully headed into the roof of the net by Killingworth’s centre back, who had managed to get in front of his marker. Ten minutes before half time, Killingworth scored again and put the result virtually beyond doubt. Again it was a deep cross. Again the Brazil marker lost his man and again Killingworth scored from close range.

Despite not seeing much of the ball in the first half, Brazil did manage to create a couple of opportunities. A free kick from Paul Belcher, who will be suspended for seven weeks if his appeal against last week’s dismissal is unsuccessful, forced a good save from Killingworth’s diminutive keeper. A tricky run and shot from Ricky McClure brought another save out of the keeper and Les Goodliff would have scored had his shot, which had beaten the keeper, not got stuck in a puddle. The highlight of the first half came just before the break. Graeme Clark took a short corner to Mike McClure, who gave it back to him. Clark’s left footed cross was headed away by a Killingworth defender but only to just outside the box, where Churchley was waiting. He caught the volley sweetly on his left foot. The keeper was nowhere but the defender on the post managed to get his toe to it and poke the ball round the post for a corner.

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first except that Brazil improved their marking and challenging when defending corners. Killingworth did manage to break through on a couple of occasions but every time shot straight at Al Andrew. Andrew did extremely well in holding onto the shot each time, and was named as man of the match. Mark Kennedy stayed strong and dealt well with Killingworth’s giant striker, whilst the rest of Brazil’s defenders were never really troubled. Despite Killingworth’s domination of the possession they weren’t looking like extending the lead.

The Brazil substitutions, midway through the second half, seemed to inspire Brazil and they began to gain more possession themselves. Anand Charge went on a weaving run and, after beating two men, was tripped by a third. The resulting free kick, from fairly wide on the left, was sent curling over the keeper, who was off his line, and into the top right corner by Mark Harrison. Brazil took heart from this and continued to attack. With ten minutes remaining, Gary Davison’s low first time cross from the right was flicked over a defender by Shaun Haigh and Goodliff smashed his volley into the roof of the net to reduce Brazil’s deficit to just one goal. Unfortunately, Brazil couldn’t keep their momentum going and the game petered out.