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.

15/11/2003
Tyneside Amateur League Division 2

IJLW Brazil
Andrew, Davison, Churchley, M McClure (Gurney 65), Kennedy, Paterson, Belcher, Clark, Mitchell (Peake 75), Harrison, Bull.

The muddy pitch and windy conditions were not suited to Brazil’s flowing style of football, however it was the visitors that made the better start, enjoying a lot of the early possession. Just a couple of minutes into the game a nasty late tackle on Paul Belcher set the tone for what was to come. Belcher inflamed the situation by retaliating with a dangerous two-footed lunge but the referee didn’t seem to mind the seriousness of the fouls. It took a goal to calm the game down, although there were still several unnecessary fouls, mainly committed by the home side.

The opening goal came when Ryton cleared a corner only as far as Mark Kennedy. His hard, low drive into the box was cleverly diverted past the fat goalkeeper by Ewan Paterson. Ryton responded well and Brazil’s game seemed to drop off slightly. It wasn’t long before a quick counter attack from a Brazil corner resulted in an easy equalizer. Brazil could have gone back ahead, again from a corner, but Dave Churchley’s powerful left-footed volley was diverted away from the top corner by Paterson’s inappropriately positioned head.

Two more counter attacks gave Ryton a 3-1 lead at the interval.

Brazil upped their game slightly in the second half but it was still the home side that were creating more chances. Al Andrew was finding it difficult to hold onto the ball in the swirling wind but he made a number of good blocks. On one occasion he fell back into the net as he stopped the ball on the line. Churchley reacted quickly and managed to get to the ball just ahead of the Ryton striker, who fouled him as he cleared. A few minutes later, the same striker was sent clear by a ball over the top. Andrew managed to delay his shot as the forward rounded him and thought he had an open goal. As he looked up though he realised that Churchley had got back. The visiting captain then made a goal-saving tackle before he could shoot.

Brazil’s injured full back, Anand Charge, said of his skipper, “… just consistently the best player on the team …”.

Debutant Ben Gurney had an excellent chance to bring Brazil back into the game when man of the match Paul Clark sent him clear. He appeared to rush his shot though and dragged it wide of the post. The result was virtually beyond doubt when Ryton scored their fourth with ten minutes to go.

The last ten minutes were scrappy with more dangerous tackles being committed, particularly by Ryton’s centre back. After his fourth in three minutes (all possible worthy of a red card on their own), the referee had a quiet word with him. With five minutes remaining, a collision between Churchley and Kennedy, on the edge of the Brazil box, momentarily knocked out Brazil’s skipper and left him with a dull headache for the next three days. As the game came to a close, with just twenty seconds left on the clock, Belcher was the victim of yet another unacceptable challenge. It was late, vicious, over the ball and deliberate and left Belcher with a broken leg and dislocated ankle. The culprit, Ryton’s centre back was finally dismissed and the game was abandoned. Due to league rules, however, the result will stand as more than 70 minutes of play had elapsed.

Luckily for Belcher, Gurney and Mark Harrison are practising medical doctors and they took charge of the situation immediately. They reduced his ankle and made a temporary splint from some wood and tape. There was a risk that he could have lost his foot had they not done this, as the ambulance took so long to arrive. Belcher has since had an operation and is currently waiting for the swelling to go down before he can get plastered and go home.

08/11/2003
Tyneside Amateur League Division 2

IJLW Brazil
Andrew, Kennedy, Churchley, Toms (Davison 70), Haigh, Toward, Belcher (Slack 65), Clark, McGowan, Paterson, Bull.

Brazil looked sloppy from the start. Killingworth looked confident and dominated the early stages of the match. Just as Brazil were starting to get into the game, Killingworth’s centre midfielder fired them into the lead from twenty five yards. For a moment it seemed that Al Andrew would keep it out but a collision with the post prevented this and also left him with a dead leg which he had to struggle on with for the rest of the match.

The home side pushed forward seeking an equalizer and almost got one from the first corner of the game. Steve Toms and Dave Churchley went up from the back and Ewan Paterson put over an excellent cross. It was Toms that lost his marker but his volley, from eight yards out, was misdirected wide of the left hand post. After this, Brazil never really looked like getting anything out of the game. Killingworth were the better side, forcing Brazil to rush whenever they gained possession and outnumbering Brazil at the back when they broke from midfield. By half-time the visitors led 5-0, perhaps being aided by the wind and Andrew’s leg injury.

The second half was a lot more even but Brazil still failed to create any openings. It wasn’t until Killingworth had scored their sixth (again aided by the wind) and both Brazil’s subs were on that the hosts had a shot on target. Peter Slack cut inside from the left and sent a curling shot goalwards. Killingworth’s keeper was worried momentarily but managed to make the save. Late on, Matty Bull tried an extremely ambitious thirty five yard volley as the ball came across him and over his shoulder. Although it didn’t trouble the keeper, it wasn’t too far off target. Paul Clark was the man of the match for his hard work and tackling in the centre of the midfield. This result leaves Brazil stranded at the bottom of the table with some extremely important games coming up over the next couple of weeks.

25/10/2003
Tyneside Amateur League Division 2

IJLW Brazil
Andrew, Davison, Churchley, M McClure, Haigh, Toward (Slack 65), Belcher, Toms, Clark, McGowan, Paterson.

Brazil started very sloppily and could easily have been behind in the opening minutes of the match. Dave Churchley blocked a shot from inside the area and then made an excellent goal-line clearance moments later to keep the scores level. After these early scares, Brazil began to get into the game. The diminutive Ewan Paterson was playing as a lone striker for Brazil but still managed to cause problems for the Westerhope defence with some clever runs.

The home side had a lot of pace up front and you could sense the frustration growing as Brazil’s defence was coping well. The centre of the pitch was fairly congested but Brazil found a lot of space for Shaun Haigh and Jonny McGowan to attack down the left flank. Paul Clark, making his first appearance of the season, played competitively in the middle of the pitch.

Brazil’s defending at corners was excellent. This has been a weakness in the past but not during this match. Churchley, Mike McClure, Chris Toward and Steve Toms all made headed clearances and, on the one occasion Westerhope won the header, Gary Davison cleared off the line at the back post.

Brazil were creating chances too. Paul Belcher’s chipped free kick was just out of the reach of McGowan. Paterson also put McGowan through but the goalkeeper narrowed the angle well and smothered the chance. Haigh’s long throw-in resulted in Toward being shoved in the back and Brazil were awarded a penalty. McClure stepped up and dispatched it perfectly into the top right hand corner to give Brazil the lead. Brazil could’ve gone further ahead before the break when Paterson skilfully turned and slid the ball across the face of the goal, off balance and left-footed. The keeper was stranded and it looked as though Toward couldn’t miss until the fullback made a sliding block just inside the post.

The second half was scrappier as the young Westerhope side were becoming ever more annoyed at the score, at themselves and at the referee. The official seemed to have no control on the game and allowed the home side to continually swear at and abuse him loud enough to be heard on the golf course. These frustrations then turned into fouls and a few scuffles evolved around the pitch.

There was some football played too, however. With the wind against them, Brazil defended deeper and, whilst this helped to combat Westerhope’s pace, it meant that they caused much less of a threat going forward. There were chances to extend the lead, though. Clark’s corner from the right was met by a great run from Churchley. His header was powerful and downwards but the wrong the wrong side of the post. Peter Slack, playing up front when he came on off the bench, failed to realise how much time he had after the keeper had fumbled a headed back pass. He did well to get to the ball but rushed his shot and it went across the face of the unguarded goal.

Paterson and Churchley both made good sliding blocks and Al Andrew came out well to make a fine one-on-one save but all this was in vain as Westerhope broke quickly to score two late goals and snatch victory. The hosts were reduced to ten men in the closing stages of the game as their full back kicked Toms in retaliation to a late tackle. McGowan was man of the match.

With Newcastle Rutherford Reserves dropping out of the league, Brazil now have to wait a fortnight, when they play host to Killingworth, before they can attempt to climb off the bottom of the table.

11/10/2003
Tyneside Amateur League Division 2

IJLW Brazil
Andrew, Davison, Churchley, Kennedy, Haigh, Toward (Slack 70), Belcher, McGowan, Hinks, Paterson, Bull.

Brazil went into the game confident of recording their first league win of the season against a side that had never won a Tyneside Amateur League match. The visitors started well with a lot of early possession. Paul Belcher was trying to pull the strings in midfield and he made some exciting runs with the ball. Matty Bull and Ewan Paterson worked hard up front and showed some good touches, but they never received the support the needed to make the break though and the final ball was never quite there.

After about 20 minutes, P&G started to get into the game. After last year’s 6-0 thrashing in this fixture, it appeared that some of the Brazil players were taking the result for granted and not putting in the work required for such a victory. Mark Kennedy and Dave Churchley, at the heart of the Brazil defence, were kept busy but both players had excellent games and didn’t allow the P&G strikers any chances. Kennedy was strong and enjoyed carrying the ball out from the back whilst Churchley was quick, both with the feet and in the mind, as he covered behind his partner. The biggest threat to the Brazil goal came from P&G’s midfield runners who kept pouring forward unmarked. It was one of these runners who came closest to opening the scoring with a 20 yard effort. Al Andrew, who sometimes has an unfortunate tendency to get lobbed, pulled off a stunning one handed save as he leapt upwards and backwards at the same time. He was quickly back to his feet to parry the follow up shot, too. The half-time score was a fair nil – nil, although Brazil had been slightly the better side.

In the second half, P&G were more dominant. Brazil’s back line was kept busy throughout the half but they were always up to the task. The only goal of the game came about ten minutes into the half. A clean tackle was adjudged to have been a foul by the referee, who was about 60 yards away, and the resulting free kick found its way into the net. This should have been just a minor set back as Brazil still had plenty of time to win the game but they didn’t respond in the required manner. Belcher tried to lead the recovery but he was not getting a lot of help. Jon Hinks made a couple of excellent blocks at corners but lost a lot of his effectiveness after going over on his ankle in the first period.

Brazil did have two good chances to deny the home side victory but they were snatched at and ended up off target. Both came from good passing moves and fell to firstly Jonny McGowan and then Bull. Going into the last ten minutes, it didn’t look as though Brazil would score and several players were just going through the motions. Churchley, who was man of the match on the weekend he celebrated his birthday, tried to get some urgency into Brazil’s game but the last seven minutes disappeared to leave a very frustrated Brazil at the bottom of the league.