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.

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.

15/02/2003
North East Amateur Shield Quarter Final

IJLW Brazil
Andrew, Paterson, Churchley, Kennedy, Davison, Hinks, Toms, P Clark, Haigh, Gavan, R McClure.

In a bizarre mix-up, the fixture was switched to Brazil’s Winlaton ground, on the morning of the match, but was still counted as a home match for Rutherford. The late arrival of the referee delayed the start but Brazil, boosted by the return of influential midfielder Paul Clark, were confident having already completed a league double over their opponents. The hard frozen layer on top of the pitch soon gave way to the sticky mud underneath, once the match got going.

Rutherford started well and had a lot of useful possession in the Brazil half but couldn’t get a decent opening. Brazil were counter attacking quickly and looked likeliest to open the scoring, as long as their defence could hold out. And that’s exactly what happened. Rutherford were pushing forward and Brazil won possession and broke quickly. Clark played a clever one two with Ricky McClure then threaded it through to Andrew Gavan who nonchalantly clipped it over the advancing keeper with his weaker foot. The lead didn’t last long though and it was almost inevitable that Rutherford’s sustained pressure would pay off eventually. The striker latched onto a through ball and shot low into the far corner. This seemed to give Brazil a wake up call and they didn’t allow Rutherford to have as much of the ball. Steve Toms, remembering his 40-yard winner against Rutherford earlier in the season, tried a long-range effort. This time it was on his left foot though, and he couldn’t keep it down enough. Gavan and McClure were both denied by the keeper, who was extremely quick to come off his line. Brazil managed to put Rutherford under pressure for a while and it was Rutherford who were having to attack on the break. It was during this period though that Rutherford came close to taking the lead. Their goal scorer was through but his second touch was just too heavy and allowed Al Andrew to come out and clear. Just after this, Dave Churchley met Clark’s corner from the right. He couldn’t get up quite high enough though and the ball was flicked on to McClure. McClure took a couple of touches and squared it to Churchley who had retreated outside the area. Churchley got a good connection on his shot and the keeper, unsighted by all the bodies in the box, was beaten but it was a couple of inches too high.

Brazil were the better side at the beginning of the second half and the next goal came against the run of play. With quarter of an hour gone, a clearance by Andrew, who had collected a long ball over the top, struck the back of the retreating forward and fell kindly to the centre midfielder who volleyed it into the unguarded net before Andrew had managed to get back. This began a bad spell for Brazil. Before the second half was halfway through, Brazil found themselves 3-1 down. A low cross was curled in from the Brazil left. Ewan Paterson stayed goal side of the only forward in the box and the ball went between Paterson and Andrew before curling in at the back post.

With 20 minutes remaining, Brazil took the gamble of going to three at the back and pushing Paterson into a free role to try to give their attacks some more creativity. It seemed to work and, although Brazil were often left one on one at the back, they were a much stronger force going forward. A 60-yard run by Gary Davison came to a disappointing end with a weak cross but at least it was an example of the effort that was required to give Brazil a chance of progressing in the competition. Toms was excellent in the middle of the pitch and Jon Hinks seemed like a different player after an anonymous first half performance. Brazil were improving but Rutherford wouldn’t allow them any time on the ball. They made sure that they would stop the player whether they got the ball or not. Brazil did create chances though, the best of which fell to McClure but he blasted over from eight yards out. Shaun Haigh made no mistake from even closer range as he headed in a lovely deep cross from Hinks but, by then, it was too late for Brazil to rescue the game.

2nd November 2002
NFA Minor Cup 2nd Round

IJLW Brazil
Andrew, Davison (Paterson 45), Churchley, Kennedy, Haigh, G Clark, M McClure,
P Clark, Myciunka (Belcher 80), Hinks, R McClure (Harrison 65).

The Bush cut it fine, arriving just moments before the referee was going to
cancel the fixture. As a result, the start time was delayed by half an hour.
Brazil dominated the entire 1st half, but without creating as many chances as
they would’ve liked. Brazil’s movement off the ball was poor and so there were
not many options when they had the ball. There were good moments though. Gary
Davison’s early cross was headed against the bar by Ricky McClure and Dave
Churchley saw his left footed shot drift wide, having skipped past The Bush’s
fat midfielder. In between these chances, Brazil opened the scoring after 20
minutes. Mike McClure slid a neat pass inside the left back and into R
McClure’s path. R McClure, Brazil’s lone striker, had no problem in beating
the static keeper to give the home side the lead.

The Bush were restricted to a few unconvincing counter attacks and the Brazil
goal was never really threatened. Paul Clark and Jon Hinks, who worked
extremely hard, were involved in some short, sharp passing moves but it was
the lack of movement that caused these moves to end with nothing to show for
them. At the break, Brazil were satisfied with the scoreline but not the way
they had played.

Brazil, despite realising where they were going wrong, carried on in the same
way after the break. The Bush, however, were increasingly getting into the game
and looking more dangerous when they had possession. By the
time The Bush equalised, on the hour mark, the pitch had become very cut up
and slippy and it was getting harder to play decent football. This obviously
did not suit Brazil’s passing game but didn’t affect The Bush’s long ball
style.

The match looked like it was heading for a penalty shootout when Brazil
failed to deal with an 85th minute corner and went 2-1 down. Going behind
kick-started Brazil and they started to play properly after that. Ewan
Paterson was pushed up front as Brazil desperately sought a late equalizer.
The Bush were hanging on but Brazil still couldn’t create a clear cut chance.
Churchley had the best chance when he headed, man of the match, P Clark’s
corner wide of the far post.

Although they are now out of the cup Brazil can take heart from dominating a
game against the league leaders without playing well.