Tag Archives: 2003

IJLW Brazil 3 – 4 Wardley

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27/09/2003
Tyneside Amateur League Division 2

IJLW Brazil
Andrew, Bancroft, Churchley, Toms, Davison (Kennedy 60), Hinks (Slack 70), Belcher, McGowan (Toward 70), Haigh, Paterson, Goodliff.

Brazil were confident going into the match, having already beaten Wardley in the John Hampson Memorial Trophy this season. The home side started well and were rewarded in the fifth minute when Paul Belcher chipped the ball over the defence for Les Goodliff. His cross from the left was flicked on by Shaun Haigh and Ewan Paterson, at the back post, calmly controlled the ball on his chest before firing Brazil into an early lead. Brazil were playing the better football and settled into the game well.

The first turning point in the game came as early as the tenth minute. With lots of players jostling for position in the Brazil penalty area, as Wardley took a free kick, Alan Bancroft was dismissed for an alleged head butt and Wardley equalized from the penalty spot. Despite this major setback, Brazil continued to dominate the first half, although they were finding it much harder going. A reshuffled line-up left Goodliff on his own up front, but he was well supported by Paterson.

Brazil were defending well with Steve Toms and Dave Churchley dominant in the air. Gary Davison was getting forward from right back whenever he could and put in two great crosses that only just evaded the incoming forwards. With both sides defending well there were few good goal scoring opportunities until Jon Hinks slipped a delightfully weighted pass through the Wardley defence for Goodliff to run onto. Goodliff made no mistake as he fired the ball into the bottom corner to give the ten men the lead going into the break.

Wardley started better after the interval and started to exploit the gaps in the Brazil line-up. Al Andrew was forced to make a good save, going down to his left, from a free kick right on the edge of the box. However, it was Brazil that scored first again. Belcher’s free kick over the defence was headed home by Goodliff, with Churchley queuing up behind him. Man of the match Goodliff caught up with Paterson as he took his tally to four for the season, all against Wardley.

As the match progressed some of the Brazil players were noticeably tiring, which was understandable given the early red card. Wardley capitalised on this and scored a couple of goals to bring the scores level. The introduction of Peter Slack on Brazil’s left wing gave the home side’s attack some renewed impetus. He came extremely close to restoring Brazil’s lead when he cut inside and shot on his right foot. The ball lobbed over the keeper but rebounded off the back post.

Just as it looked as if the match was heading for a draw, Slack put over a great left footed cross which was met by the unmarked Paterson just six yards out at the back post. Caught in two minds, he decided to hit it first time on the volley and made an uncharacteristically poor connection. The ball went back across the face of the goal and Wardley had escaped. With time running out they had one final attack and scored an undeserved winner with the last kick of the match.

South Beach 4 – 2 IJLW Brazil

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20/09/2003
Tyneside Amateur League Division 2

IJLW Brazil
Andrew, Bancroft, Churchley, Toms, Davison, Slack, Paterson, Hinks, Haigh, Mitchell (Robinson 80), Bull.

Brazil began well and dominated possession in the early stages of the match but without creating any clear cut chances. Tom Mitchell managed to find some space between South Beach’s defence and midfield and got a couple of shots in but both were saved by the keeper. Shaun Haigh’s through ball towards Mitchell was well cut out but, as the two defenders collided, Haigh regained possession and ran towards goal. He let fly from 20 yards but his shot was high and wide.

Midway through the first half South Beach scored against the run of play. A low cross from the Brazil left was inadvertently bundled into his own net by Brazil’s full back. Brazil responded well though and continued to create chances of their own. Slack made a good run round the left back. He tried to pick out Mitchell’s run into the box but cut the ball back just behind him.

The equaliser came following a foul on Brazil’s left wing. Haigh’s free kick was flicked on by Matty Bull to Peter Slack who fired a low cross through the crowded box. Mitchell stabbed the ball goalwards but it was well saved by the keeper’s legs. Jon Hinks was following in well and scored only his second goal for the club. Brazil continued to play the better football and their confidence was increasing. Goalkeeper, Al Andrew let a 30 yard shot scrape the outside of the post because he could see it was going wide. At the other end, a corner was headed clear but only as far as Steve Toms. He caught his left-footed volley sweetly but it was just wide of the upright. At the interval, the scores were level but Brazil had been the better side.

South Beach started well after the break but Brazil soon regained their composure. Slack tried a 25 yard lob which was only a couple of inches over the crossbar, much closer than a similar effort he had in the first half. Bull, making his debut, worked hard and looked very promising but, as the lone striker, was not receiving as much support as he would have liked. Hinks and Ewan Paterson were working extremely hard in central midfield for Brazil, a role with which neither of them is familiar. Toms, the man of the match, and Dave Churchley were winning a lot of headers as South Beach tried to play in their forwards over the top. They were also tackling well, as was Alan Bancroft who was playing at right back this week. Bancroft put in a lot of very hard challenges and began to do more attacking work as the match progressed, putting in some decent deep crosses.

Brazil almost took the lead when Paterson’s driven corner was met by the head of Haigh. He managed to get in front of his marker but, although his header was firm, it was misdirected and just cleared the crossbar. During this seemingly crucial passage of play, Brazil nearly conceded a second own goal. Andrew and Bancroft both went for the same ball and, as they collided, the ball bounced up and hit the bar before being cleared to safety. Brazil capitalized on this let off and went on to take the lead themselves after 70 minutes.

As Bancroft placed the ball to take a free kick from midway inside the South Beach half on the right hand side of the pitch, Churchley jogged up slowly from the back. The defensive line was just inside the penalty area so Churchley positioned himself at the left corner of the box. He ran along the line as Bancroft ran up to take the kick before turning towards the goal to lose his marker. As the cross came into the box Churchley jumped. He saw the keeper approaching, looking to punch the ball, so he turned in the air and managed to get his body between the keeper and the ball. He flicked the ball into the net with the back of his head and ran back to his jubilant team mates.

With just twenty minutes left, it looked like Brazil would take something out of the game but it was not to be. South Beach levelled the scores when a bouncing shot squirmed in at the near post. The dismissal of their second striker seemed to make them play better. Their captain moved up front and they suddenly seemed to be much more dangerous. He scored twice to seal the victory for the home side. Firstly, with a good goal as he coolly finished off a one-on-one and secondly with some good fortune; Andrew blocked a low cross-shot with his feet but it rebounded straight to the skipper to round off the match.

Killingworth Social YPC 5 – 0 IJLW Brazil

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06/09/2003
Tyneside Amateur League Division 2

IJLW Brazil
Andrew, Davison, Churchley, Kennedy, Charge, Hinks (Mitchell 75), Bancroft, Toms, Haigh, Paterson, Greenwood.

On a wet, skiddy surface, the game started quickly with a lot of dangerous sliding tackles from the Social midfield. Alan Bancroft responded with a couple of his own and was booked for his trouble. This served to calm the game down slightly (but only slightly). Brazil came closest to opening the scoring following some good work by Jon Hinks, Gary Davison and Ewan Paterson down the right wing. Jon Hinks was free inside the area and hit a fierce shot from a tight angle. The keeper managed to take some pace off the ball to allow a defender to clear off the line. Andy Greenwood, following in, was just inches from the rebound. A few minutes later it looked like Brazil would open the scoring. Ewan Paterson, Brazil’s top scorer so far this season, flicked the ball over the head of the last Social defender and it was clear that his pace would take him through for a one on one with the keeper. The defender, however, had other ideas and deliberately tripped Paterson as he sprinted past. The resulting free kick was too far out to be dangerous and the defender got away with just a talking to.

It took an unnecessary penalty to break the deadlock. There could be no argument with the decision (although Al Andrew didn’t seem to agree with it 100%) and Social made no mistake with the spot kick. Taking the lead seemed to spur them on and they became more and more dominant. Mark Kennedy and Dave Churchley won a lot of tackles but the whole of the Brazil defence was too stretched and it was only a matter of time until Social scored again. Their striker spun away from his marker and smashed a volley into the top corner. Shaun Haigh tried to reduce the deficit with a curling free kick but an effort at the other end came even closer and it took a very good tip over by Andrew to keep the score at two at the break.

The second half wasn’t much different and the chances kept coming for Social. They scored three more, all of which were excellent finishes. Steve Toms earned his man of the match award by working hard in the midfield but he seemed to be fouled before he could ever do anything creative with the ball. Bancroft and Anand Charge were both involved in altercations with opposition players but members of both teams quickly prevented them from getting out of hand.

Brazil nearly grabbed a late consolation when Kennedy flicked on Greenwood’s free kick. Churchley controlled the ball on his chest but fired wide as he shot on the turn, under good pressure from his marker.

IJLW Brazil 0 – 8 Fitzgerald’s Whitley Bay

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30/08/2003
John Hampson Memorial Trophy Semi Final

IJLW Brazil
Andrew, Davison, Churchley, Toms, Kennedy, Hinks, M McClure, Bancroft, Haigh, Harrison, Goodliff.

With nine players unavailable for Brazil, meaning they had no substitutes, it was never going to be an easy task against a team from the division above. Things started well, however, as Brazil won the toss but from then on Fitzgerald’s were on top throughout. Brazil looked jaded from their mid-week exertions in the quarter final but, despite the excuses, there was no denying that Fitzgerald’s were simply a superior side. They dominated the match right from the start. Brazil had very little possession and rarely threatened the Fitzgerald’s goal. The first shot was a 45 yard volley by Dave Churchley but from that range it never really troubled the goalkeeper. Shaun Haigh cut inside from the left but his right-footed effort was blocked by a defender. Les Goodliff put over some good in-swinging corners but they were all defended well by the tall Fitzgerald’s team. In between these brief highlights, Fitzgerald’s were busy scoring goals at the other end.

With the score at 4-0, Alan Bancroft moved to centre back and Steve Toms swapped with him and moved into midfield. Straight away a good piece of skill by Toms took him away from two Fitzgerald’s players but his shot from the edge of the area was far too high. Fitzgerald’s scored twice more before the break, including a penalty.

Brazil began the second half better and had a fifteen minute spell where Fitzgerald’s hardly had a chance. Brazil’s best opportunity to score fell to man of the match Mark Harrison but the lanky striker blazed well over the bar from close range. A couple of good one-on-one saves by Al Andrew, some hard tackling by Mark Kennedy and goal line clearances by Harrison and Churchley helped to keep the score below double figures but Fitzgerald’s still managed to inflict Brazil’s second biggest defeat ever.

Wardley 2 – 4 IJLW Brazil

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27/08/2003
John Hampson Memorial Trophy Quarter Final

IJLW Brazil
Andrew, Davison, Churchley, Toms, Haigh, Paterson, McGowan, Greenwood, Hinks (M McClure 55), Gavan (Harrison 70), Goodliff.
Subs not used: Mitchell, R McClure (ineligible).

A last minute change to the starting line up was required as the McClure brothers got lost on the way to the ground and failed to arrive before the start. Despite this, Brazil started well and had the better of the opening exchanges. Steve Toms and Dave Churchley were dominant at the heart of Brazil’s defence, Jonny McGowan and Andy Greenwood looked composed on the ball in midfield and the pace of Les Goodliff and Andrew Gavan was a constant threat up front. There was a lot of space on Brazil’s left and Shaun Haigh exploited this by getting forward from left back at every opportunity.

The opening goal came against the run of play. A long Wardley goal kick cleared Brazil’s centre backs and the striker managed to get to the ball before the full back. He turned inside and his low shot crept in at the near post. Brazil fought back though and soon regained their dominance. Ewan Paterson’s corners were hard to defend and Toms and Gavan both went close with headers. The equalizing goal, however, came from a counter attack. Goodliff’s pace took him away from the defence and he smashed his shot against the crossbar. Paterson, who had managed to keep up with play, calmly controlled the rebound and slotted the ball home.

Brazil were pressing and not allowing a Wardley player time on the ball anywhere on the pitch. This forced some errors and gifted Goodliff an opportunity on the edge of the box. His low shot beat the keeper but was just wide of the post. A free kick 30 yards out gave Greenwood the opportunity to try his luck. He struck the wall but managed to regain possession and lay the ball back to Churchley whose 35 yard left-footed volley swerved just wide of the upright. Another swift counter attack saw Brazil take the lead for the first time in the match as Goodliff blasted the ball past the keeper with his weaker right foot. The lead could have been greater at the break as Goodliff, Gavan and Haigh all had half chances.

Wardley came out with more aggression in the second half and it paid off for them after an hour when a header from a corner managed to sneak past the defender on the post. Straight away Brazil retook the lead. A magnificent dipping 25 yard volley by Mike McClure hit the underside of the bar and Greenwood was on hand to head home the rebound. Wardley came back again and should have levelled the scores. A cross from the right found two men unmarked at the back post but Al Andrew came off his line and made an excellent save as he managed to tip the volley over the bar from almost point blank range.

Brazil looked dangerous every time they got forward but they still had to defend solidly as Wardley were pushing more men forward every time they got possession. The result could have been beyond doubt as McClure, Greenwood, Gavan and Goodliff all went close as Paterson but in some dangerous balls from the right. The closest of the lot came when Churchley’s intelligent run was picked out superbly by Greenwood’s free kick. Churchley was only denied his first goal of the campaign by a diving, one-handed, fingertip save.

The result was wrapped up when Harrison’s flick-on reached Goodliff, whose run had avoided the offside trap. Goodliff sealed his man of the match performance as he neatly slotted the ball into the net. This was Brazil’s record victory in the competition and sees them reach their first semi final in two years.

IJLW Brazil 1 – 1 Ryton Reserves

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23/08/2003
John Hampson Memorial Trophy Group Stage

IJLW Brazil
Paterson, Davison, Churchley, Charge, Toward, Belcher, McKay, Gavan, Goodliff.

Despite having no recognised goalkeeper in their 12 man squad, Brazil were confident of getting a decent result. That was until three players failed to turn up and left the home side with just nine men. To add to the farce, Ryton turned up late and with a yellow kit. Luckily it was a duller tone than Brazil’s gold so the referee allowed the match to go ahead.

Brazil started well and took an early lead through the impressive Chris Toward. He neatly tucked away Les Goodliff’s return pass. From then on things began to get worse (especially for Toward). Ryton didn’t seem to like heading the ball and, as a result, their were a lot of free kicks given for high feet. Toward was kicked in the head twice and the chest once and Anand Charge was also kicked in the head before Toward received a third kick to the head which broke his nose. He was taken to hospital leaving Brazil to continue with just eight players.

Although Brazil continued to dominate, they did look a lot more vulnerable to the counter attack. Stand-in goalkeeper, Ewan Paterson did a superb job racing off his line to clear up any potential danger. He even came out and headed away a long ball. At the other end Brazil were creating numerous chances. Neil McKay had an excellent game in the centre of midfield and he, Goodliff and Andrew Gavan, were the recipients of most of the chances. Brazil were also looking dangerous from corners. Goodliff put in several in-swinging crosses and headers by McKay and Gavan just missed the target.

Just before the break, Paterson made a solid block form a powerful near post shot to keep Brazil ahead.

The second half followed the same pattern. Brazil created chance after chance but couldn’t find the back of the net. Goodliff, Brazil’s man of the match, was the main culprit with Gavan also missing more than his fair share. As the game progressed, Brazil’s attackers seemed to get greedier as they desperately looked for the vital second goal. The best chance of all came when Gavan beat three men and was tripped but (foolishly) didn’t go down for the penalty. He managed to stay on his feet and square the ball to Goodliff who rushed his shot and missed the target from six yards out.

Paul Belcher, playing through the pain of a knee injury, tried to fill all the holes in midfield and even at full back, when they attacked. One Counter attack saw Gary Davison clean through on goal before he was clumsily bundled over from behind. Despite the rules, the referee didn’t even talk to the defender, let alone send him off.

Dave Churchley, with his only chance of the match, came closest to extending Brazil’s lead. He met a deep corner from Charge, who had defended excellently all game, and headed it back across goal. The keeper was beaten but the defender on the post managed to scramble the ball away from goal.

Just as it looked like Paterson could keep Brazil’s first clean sheet of the season, a swift counter attack saw Ryton level the score.

With South Beach failing to fulfil their fixture at Willington Quay Saints and receiving a six point deduction as a result, Brazil have progressed to the quarter finals in second place.

IJLW Brazil 2 – 5 Willington Quay Saints

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16/08/2003
John Hampson Memorial Trophy Group Stage

IJLW Brazil
Andrew, Davison, Churchley, M McClure, Charge, Paterson, Belcher (Toward 60), Toms, Haigh (McGowan 45), Gavan, McKay.

After conceding an early goal, Brazil battled their way back into the game against a side from the division above. Paul Belcher wouldn’t let Saints settle on the ball in midfield as he broke up numerous attacks with his hard (and sometimes illegal) tackling. As the game progressed, Brazil had more possession and gained more ground which relieved a bit of the pressure from the overworked defence.

Belcher’s chipped free kick was just out of the reach of Steve Toms as he lunged in at the back post. Brazil did even up the scores though. Andrew Gavan made a superb run down the right wing, beating two defenders with skill and pace, before cutting the ball back to edge of the box for Toms. Toms’s miss-hit shot fell kindly for the on-rushing Neil McKay who couldn’t fail to score his first goal for his new club. Brazil failed to build on their progress and conceded a second soft goal on the stroke of half-time.

With Shaun Haigh leaving during the interval to go on holiday, the resultant reshuffle left Brazil without any width in midfield. The full backs, Anand Charge and Gary Davison, compensated for this on the attacking front by getting forward into wide areas and putting crosses in whenever they could. It did leave Brazil vulnerable to Saints’s counter attacks though, particularly after Belcher had to go off with a painful knee injury, sustained during another hard tackle. Just before he departed, his delicate free kick almost set up Mike McClure who had made an excellent run to find some space in the box.

Although Brazil were looking good in possession, it was Saints that seemed to have more of a killer instinct. A cleverly worked short corner resluted in their third goal. Brazil fought back again though and reduced the deficit when Dave Churchley’s powerful and accurate header sent Ewan Paterson clear. He still had plenty to do but managed to score his second of the season at the second attempt.

Toms’s work rate and skill on the ball earned him the man of the match award again but it was not enough to stop Saints scoring two outrageous goals to leave them with a somewhat flattering scoreline. First, the left back (who had been the worst player on the pitch up to this point) hit a 45 yard volley which looped over Al Andrew, who appeared to have been distracted. The second was a beautifully weighted 30 yard chip which dipped just under the cross bar.

This result means that Brazil are now unable to progress in this tournament but there is still one match remaining for them to try to improve before the league starts.

South Beach 4 – 1 IJLW Brazil

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09/08/2003
John Hampson Memorial Trophy Group Stage

IJLW Brazil
Andrew, Davison, Churchley, M McClure, Charge (Mitchell 65), Paterson, Belcher, Toms (Hinks 75), Haigh, Gavan, Harrison (McKay 65).

After the cancellation of last week’s friendly, this was Brazil’s first outing of the season. Both sides looked evenly matched during the opening exchanges as neither side created any clear chances. The first real goal scoring opportunity came from Paul Belcher’s chipped free kick. It landed perfectly in Andrew Gavan’s path but his finish couldn’t match his run. Gavan looked lively up front though and it wasn’t long before he created another chance for himself. This time he slid the ball just wide of the near post as he cut in from the right towards the advancing keeper.

All four of Brazil’s defenders were consistently strong in the tackle so South Beach resorted to playing the ball over the top and using the speed of their strikers. It was from one of these long balls that they took the lead, just as they started to control the game. Al Andrew was forced into making a couple of good tips over the crossbar before South Beach scored again shortly before half time. The best chance of the half was wasted by Gavan as he latched onto Shaun Haigh’s long throw in. He was clean through with just the keeper to beat but his attempt at a volleyed lob cleared the crossbar.

Brazil came out refreshed after the break and despite conceding a third goal they were creating chances of their own. Belcher, Gavan and Ewan Paterson all missed long range efforts but Brazil were now the better side. Mark Harrison put in an excellent cross from the left wing but Gavan’s nightmare in front of goal continued as he completely miss-hit what should have been a simple tap in. Belcher was working hard in the middle of the park and put in several hard challenges to break up South Beach’s attacks.

Haigh’s long throw’s caused South Beach problems all afternoon and it was no surprise when Brazil finally scored from one. Paterson ran in from the opposite wing and volleyed into the bottom corner to give Brazil a bit of hope of saving the match. Neil McKay, who impressed on his debut, should have added a second but his free header from Paterson’s corner was just too high.

As the match went on the heat began to take its toll and the game slowed and became stretched. Brazil relied on Dave Churchley’s pace to save them a couple of times as South Beach continued to play the ball over the top. The worst of Brazil re-emerged briefly as South Beach scored their fourth with an unmarked header from an indirect free kick.

Steve Toms was the man of the match.

2002/03 Season Summary

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Tyneside Amateur League Division 2: 8th
NFA Minor Cup: 2nd Round
North East Amateur Shield: Quarter Final
John Hampson Memorial Trophy: Group Stages

Player(s) of the Year: Dave Churchley and Al Andrew (6 moms each)
Players’ Player of the Year: Steve Toms
Top Goalscorer: Ricky McClure (9 goals)
Most Appearances: Dave Churchley (28 apps, 100%)

Players used: 36

IJLW Brazil 1 – 5 Blyth Waterloo Santos

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12/04/2003
Tyneside Amateur League Division 2

IJLW Brazil
Andrew, Davison, Churchley, Kennedy, Haigh, Belcher, Toms, M McClure, Mitchell, Robinson.

Brazil struggled to field a side and could only manage to get 10 men. Tom Mitchell made his comeback after last playing for Brazil three seasons ago. A last minute change of kits was required, as Blyth, who arrived late, had only brought their yellow away kit. The referee failed to turn up but the match was played anyway. Although Blyth were the better team and Brazil were far from their best, the home side did have some good moments with some short passing around the visitors but there was little support for Steve Robinson up front. Brazil did however come close to opening the scoring after 20 minutes when Mike McClure’s curling shot from the edge area beat the keeper only to come back off the post. Steve Toms blasted the rebound wide. A couple of minutes later, with luck on their side, Blyth took the lead. Shaun Haigh tried to avert the danger by passing back to Al Andrew. Despite a bobble off the hard surface, Brazil’s keeper managed to kick the ball but it went straight to Blyth’s attacking midfielder who headed into the empty net from 25 yards. The same player had completed his hat trick by half time and Blyth led 3-0 at the break.

In the second half Brazil kept playing their short passes, even in defence, and were rewarded for their perseverance when they pulled a goal back. Toms flicked on Haigh’s long throw and Paul Belcher, running in at the back post, smashed the ball through the keeper’s legs. Haigh and Gary Davison were trying to get forward as Brazil had no natural width but both were required defensively as well. Mitchell had a chance to bring Brazil back into the game in a situation similar to the game’s opening goal but he was a lot further out and his first time shot was wide of the target. Blyth’s goal scorer added two more to his tally to put his side 5-1 up and the result beyond doubt. Robinson’s perfectly timed run beat the offside trap but he couldn’t break his duck for the season as he shot over the crossbar. Dave Churchley just beat Mark Kennedy, his centre back partner, to the man of the match award in the last competitive match of the season (assuming this fixture does not need to be replayed with a referee).