Tyneside Amateur League Division 2: 7th
NFA Minor Cup: 3rd Round
North East Amateur Shield: Semi Final
John Hampson Memorial Trophy: Group stages
Tyneside Amateur League Fair Play Award: Winners
Player of the Year: Lee Wilkinson (9 moms)
Players’ Player of the Year: Lee Wilkinson
Top Goalscorer: Matty Bull (11 goals)
Most Appearances: Dave Churchley (27 apps, 100%)
Players used: 36
18/12/2004
Tyneside Amateur League Division 2
IJLW Brazil
Katirai, Davison, Churchley, Walker, Kennedy, Paterson, Freath,
Creighton, Harrison, Ho.
Brazil were slow and uninterested from the start. Almost every player
looked tired, hungover and as if they would rather be somewhere else.
The closest Brazil came to scoring was when striker Mark Harrison’s long
legs managed to get to the ball before the defender and he hit the post
with his first shot of the season. James Katirai made a couple of good
saves but a corner was bundled home to give the home side the lead going
into the break.
The half time team talk seemed to help Brazil for a while but the
enthusiasm soon wore off and the lackadaisical approach to the game (by
most of the team) returned. Despite Wardley’s domination, they never
really managed to create any good chances and it took a long range shot
from midfield to extend their lead. Brazil did once come close to
getting a goal back. Mark Kennedy flicked on Shaun Haigh’s long throw
but it was just out of reach of the diminutive Ewan Paterson. Gary
Davison and Dave Churchley, the man of the match, both made goal line
clearances from corners but the general lack of effort greatly
displeased the Brazil manager.
A late third goal flattered Wardley but it was certainly no more than
Brazil’s performance deserved.
Other news: Maximo Park (featuring Brazil’s Paul Smith) have announced the dates for
a nationwide tour early next year.
11/12/2004
Tyneside Amateur League Division 2
IJLW Brazil
Wilkinson, Davison, Churchley, Walker, Kennedy, Mitchell (Hanley 60), Paterson, Lehane, McDiarmid (Knight 45), Harrison, Bull.
A commanding performance from Brazil’s defence, inspired by the lynchpin Dave Churchley, gave Brazil their first clean sheet of the season. With four of the regular midfielders missing, Brazil handed debuts to four new players; Chris Lehane and Adam McDiarmid started the match and Danny Knight and Rich Hanley came on in the second half.
The home side started the stronger and would have overrun Brazil in midfield if it wasn’t for the superb performance of Ewan Paterson, playing in a more central role to usual. Even with Paterson’s influence on the game, Jesmond looked the most likely to open the scoring. Their lively front men were both quick and skilful and they worked an opening that required Mark Kennedy to make a block on the line.
Matty Bull’s hard work up front meant that he had virtually all of Brazil’s chances. The best was also the first as he intercepted a poor back pass and curled a shot narrowly wide of the far post. After that the closest Brazil came to scoring in the first period was when Bull volleyed Lee Wilkinson’s long clearance just over the bar.
The second half saw Brazil come into the game more. Brazil’s defence was thoroughly solid and Jesmond never looked like scoring. Chris Lehane improved as the game progressed and helped Paterson to keep Jesmond’s most influential players quiet.
Paterson almost capped a marvellous performance with a 90th minute winner as he ran on to a loose ball 25 yards from goal. Unfortunately his shot was rising and it kept on rising. Despite Paterson’s top class display, Wilkinson was named man of the match, just ahead of centre backs Churchley and Bryan Walker.
04/12/2004
Northumberland FA Minor Cup 3rd Round
IJLW Brazil
Wilkinson, Walker, Churchley, Kennedy, Paterson, Creighton, Stephenson,
Mitchell, Haigh, Bull, Katirai.
Brazil started off very much as second favourites with Wallsend
currently lying mid-table three divisions above their hosts. With
numerous players missing, Brazil started with just three defenders but,
almost immediately reverted to their more usual 4-4-2 when it became
apparent that it wasn’t going to work. The visitors completely dominated
possession but found it difficult to break down Brazil’s
hard-working defence. Their only good chance of the first half came when
the striker lost his marker to get his head on a cross from the right
wing. Everyone thought that Wallsend had taken the lead but Lee
Wilkinson had other ideas. Diving to his right, he pulled off a
phenomenal save, at the expense of a corner.
Just before half time, the deadlock was broken. Brazil’s chances were
few and far between but, thanks to the pressure that Matty Bull and
James Katirai had put on the Wallsend defenders, they had won a few
corners. It was a corner that led to the goal. Ewan Paterson’s excellent
cross evaded the keeper as he came for it and a defender near the back
post volleyed the ball into the top corner of his own net. Shaun Haigh,
who was pressurising the defender at the time, claimed the goal.
The second half followed the same pattern as the first except now it was
harder for Brazil to relieve the pressure on their defence as they were
playing uphill into the wind. Some great defensive blocks, tackles and
interceptions by Bryan Walker, Dave Churchley and Mark Kennedy helped
man of the match Wilkinson to keep Wallsend at bay, but they eventually
found an equalizer with a quarter of an hour remaining. Just as it looked
like the match would go into extra time, disaster struck. A clumsy,
clumsy challenge knocked over a Wallsend player in the box leaving the
referee with no alternative but to award a penalty. It was expertly
tucked away into the bottom corner, postponing Brazil’s dreams of the
fourth round for another year.
27/11/2004
Tyneside Amateur League Division 2
IJLW Brazil
Wilkinson, Davison, Churchley, Walker, Kennedy (Katirai 80), Paterson, McCartney, Creighton (Freath 65), Haigh, Thompson (Ho 75), Bull.
Brazil were much better than the previous week and fully deserved to go home with a point. The first half was goalless but both sides had chances. Lee Wilkinson made a couple of fine saves and all of Brazil’s defenders made important blocks, interceptions and tackles.
At the other end Brazil came close to scoring a few times, but the first chance was the closest they came to breaking the deadlock. Chris McCartney intercepted a poor back pass and his first touch took him past the keeper but left an acute angle. His tight volley came back off the crossbar and Cramlington cleared it. Apart from that effort, Brazil were limited to long range efforts from Matthew Creighton, Matty Bull, Chris Thompson and Dave Churchley.
In the second half, Brazil saw a lot more of the ball and duly created a lot more openings. Mark Kennedy’s free kick from the left glanced off a defender’s head to Bull who volleyed Brazil into the lead. The best of the rest of the chances fell to McCartney, Thompson and Shaun Haigh. McCartney ran through the entire defence and just dragged his shot slightly wide of the far post, with the keeper beaten. Following a corner, Kennedy, on the edge of the box, passed out to Churchley on the right. The skipper’s first time cross fell to Haigh’s feet. He sidestepped a defender and managed to get his shot on target but the keeper was equal to it. For the second week running, Thompson was denied by a remarkable save. Kennedy had burst free into the box and unselfishly squared the ball to Thompson as the keeper advanced to him. Thompson’s shot was just kept out by the keeper’s trailing leg as he threw himself across the goalmouth.
It was certainly not all one-way traffic, however, with Brazil needing to do quite a lot of defending too. The equalizer came from a long ball up to the superb young striker who laid it off to a midfield runner who had not been tracked. A neat finish past Lee Wilkinson just trickled over the line before Kennedy could get back to it. The hosts could have claimed all three points but were denied by some excellent saves by man of the match Wilkinson and some good blocks by Gary Davison’s testicle, Churchley’s shoulder and Kennedy’s thigh (on the goal line).
20/11/2004
Tyneside Amateur League Division 2
IJLW Brazil
Katirai, Davison (McCartney 45), Churchley, Walker, Kennedy, Paterson, Creighton (Stephenson 70), Freath, Haigh, Thompson, McGurk.
Brazil’s worst performance of the season brought their winning streak to a devastating end as they lost convincingly to the league’s bottom team. The hosts took an early lead as an unopposed midfielder smashed the loose ball into the goal. P&G were first and second to almost every ball but, despite their dominance, didn’t manage to create too many good chances, particularly with James Katirai quick to come off his line. He was left helpless for the second goal though as the forward, untracked, ran in from the wing to get on the end of a through ball and be left with a one-on-one chance that he couldn’t (and didn’t) miss.
Although Brazil were generally slow and sloppy, they did manage to have a couple of efforts on the counter attack. Shaun Haigh’s long throw was flicked on by Mark Kennedy, allowing Mark Freath to head wide. Dave Churchley couldn’t direct his header from Steve McGurk’s corner. McGurk and Freath then both made shooting chances for themselves but both dragged their shots wide of the far post. Twice Haigh raced onto a loose ball and fired over the crossbar. Late on in the half, McGurk and Ewan Paterson both had half-chances snuffed out by some good defensive blocks.
The introduction of Chris McCartney at the interval seemed to liven Brazil up for a while as he helped to take some control away from the home side’s midfield. Brazil still looked unlikely to score, although Haigh’s volley wasn’t far wide. When P&G’s substitute striker made it 3-0, Brazil went 3-4-3 in an attempt to get more men in the attacking third of the pitch. McGurk and McCartney both had long-range efforts comfortably saved and Churchley’s 40-yard free kick swerved wide of the upright. A superb run around four defenders by the veteran Freath was only spoiled by his shot being two inches the wrong side of the post. Chris Thompson’s late effort produced the save of the match as the keeper managed to push the ball out from the bottom corner.
As time ran out, Bryan Walker went up front as Brazil switched to an unusual 2-4-4 formation in the desperate hope of getting at least a goal from the game. Churchley’s resolute defending earned him the man of the match award.
Other news: Maximo Park’s debut single ‘The Coast Is Always Changing’/’The Night I Lost My Head’ is out this week. It’s available from RPM in Newcastle.
13/11/2004
Tyneside Amateur League Division 2
IJLW Brazil
Wilkinson, Davison, Churchley, Walker, Kennedy, Paterson, Freath, Creighton, Mitchell, Haigh, Katirai. Subs not used: Slack.
With both strikers pulling out on the morning of the match, Brazil’s manager was worrying where the goals might come from. He decided to play a five-man midfield and it seemed to work as they overwhelmed their hosts from the start. Despite their all round superiority, the closest Brazil came to scoring early on was a long range effort from Matthew Creighton which the keeper fumbled but Shaun Haigh was flagged offside as he followed in.
The petulance of the strikers didn’t help New York and both of them got a severe talking to by the referee within the first twenty minutes. When the opening goal finally came midway through the half there was virtually no doubt about the outcome of the match. Haigh’s long throw fell perfectly into Mark Kennedy’s path, as he made a run from deep, and the Brazil left back hit a first time shot into the back of the net. Just a few minutes later Brazil were two up in somewhat controversial circumstances. New York had a man lying injured on the half way line but the referee waved for play to continue. For a couple of minutes both sides were playing on but whenever Brazil were in possession New York were shouting for them to put the ball out. When Mark Freath nicked the ball off a defender and curled it just inside the post from the edge of the box heated arguments ensued. Just before the interval, Creighton followed the flight of the ball from Lee Wilkinson’s long, long freekick, spun à la David Platt, and volleyed Brazil into a 3-0 half time lead.
With Wilkinson’s dominance of his area and Bryan Walker and Dave Churchley winning everything in the air, New York looked to have no way of getting back into the match. A rare goalkeeping error, however, gifted them a goal early in the second period. Brazil pushed on though, determined not to throw away a vital three points and soon restored their three-goal cushion. Haigh’s weak, left-footed freekick came back to him from the first defender and he tossed in a much better cross with his right foot. With both attackers and defenders struggling to see the ball in the low sun, the experienced Freath timed his run into the danger area perfectly and headed the ball into the net to take his personal tally to three goals in the last two matches. Ewan Paterson, who had promised his manager a goal, was lurking just behind Freath to score if he had missed the ball, just as he had been when Kennedy had opened the scoring.
With the result wrapped up, Brazil started to relax and got some really nice short passes flowing through the midfield. Tom Mitchell and Creighton even started bringing out a few tricks as the New York tackles slid in around them. When Paterson’s corner fell to Creighton, he appeared to have all the time in the world to compose himself and fire Brazil ahead further. Brazil, to their manager’s disappointment, relaxed a bit too much and allowed New York to score an undeserved breakaway goal.
In the final quarter of the match, James Katirai, who had started off the second half quite quietly, started to make a real contribution. He was holding the ball up well, linking with the midfield and winning freekicks. He nearly capped his performance with a goal but was denied by a smart stop at the near post. Brazil’s sixth and final goal also came from a set-piece. Churchley’s vision and quick-thinking enabled him to pick out Creighton with an early freekick and the man of the match then rounded the game off with a superb goal to complete his hat trick. He sidestepped a defender and blasted the ball into the top corner from thirty yards. New York picked up as many yellow cards as goals and Brazil picked up three points, to move them above their opponents in the table.
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.
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.