AFC Stoneham returned to Stoneham Lane in their first home match since lockdown, looking to follow up on their 3-0 win away at Alresford Town earlier in the week. The Purps saw one change as Ryan Penny replaced Matt Simm, after a very strong performance on Tuesday night from the attack-minded midfielder. Tadley Calleva, on the back of a good 2-1 win at home to Shaftesbury travelled to Stoneham Lane in good spirits. The game, watched by 88 fans, was well-anticipated as both teams were in a rich vein of form. Before the game, super stopper Sam Smith of AFC Stoneham Falcons U11's warmed up with the AFC Stoneham keepers following his recent fundraising efforts raised £1,185 for the NHS by saving 1000 penalties during the lockdown.
AFC Stoneham
1) Tom Parker-Trott
2) Arty Kerton
3) Will Wiseman
4) Mat Bainbridge
5) Pip Nolan
6) Ben Clarke
7) Ryan Penny
8) Alex Welch (C)
9) Scott Hills
10) Sam Woodward
11) Duarte Martins
Tadley Calleva
1) Aaron Bufton
2) Aiden Harris
3) Tom Walsh (C)
4) Jake Nicholls
5) Brad Neal
6) Andrew Charsley
7) Connor Thorne
8) Dan Bailey
9) Brett Donham
10) Manny Soeman
11) Jamie Johnston
The hosts started the stronger with Stoneham dominating the early stages of possession, with Pip Nolan getting lots of early touches. The first chance of the game came through a set-piece when Martins' free kick found the head of the captain, Alex Welch, whose free header went harmlessly over the bar. It wasn't long later that a good switch of play found Duarte Martins in space; the quick switch caused a gap in the Tadley defence for Martins to slide a driven pass to Hills behind the visitors' defence. As the forward narrowed down on the keeper his shot went just wide of the right hand post and despite the goal kick being given, the forward seemed adamant a corner should've been the outcome. Minutes later, a second ball in to the area found the left boot of Martins but his shot cannoned off the crossbar. With Stoneham really looking to make their dominance count, Penny met a headed clearance with a right-footed volley which he dragged wide as the midfielder looked to put his mark on the game. Tadley then had their first chance of the game as Manny Soeman's deflected shot caused Tom Parker-Trott to tip the ball wide. 10 minutes later, Pip Nolan's cross-field ball from right to left found Duarte Martins in the left channel; his driven ball across the penalty area was met at the back post by last season's top scorer, Scott Hills, who fired in from 6 yards out to open the scoring. Only a minute later, Hills again picked the ball up on the edge of the box, performed a smart turn and finish into the bottom corner, only for it to be ruled offside. 5 minutes from the break, Hills had an opportunity out wide but instead of crossing in to the danger zone chose to beat keeper Bufton, who made a simple stop. The keeper, attempting to re-start play quickly, threw the ball straight to Stoneham's Arty Kerton, still in an advanced position. The young fullback beat his man and then shot off-balanced wide of the near post. The hosts went into the break 1-0 up, having had the majority of possession in a solid first half performance.
As the second half commenced, Stoneham looked more in control and looking to build on their lead. Sam Woodward's intelligent pass inside found the run of Will Wiseman on the underlap. The left-back drove forward, with the intention of crossing in to the box when his legs were clearly taken from beneath him by a miss-timed Charsley challenge earning a penalty, correctly given by referee Andy Batten. Despite Bufton's clever mind games, Scott Hills stepped up to double the lead and double his tally in the game by sending the keeper the wrong way from the spot. Now firmly in the ascendency and keen to put the game out of the visitors' reach, Martins had a sharp shot from a tight angle saved by Bufton, who set his team on the attack almost instantly allowing Soeman to test Parker-Trott, saving low to his left. 16 minutes into the second half saw the first Stoneham change as youngster Cade Dyer replaced the injured Ben Clarke, with Wiseman deputising at centre back. Dyer's attacking mindset created space for Martins in the left channel. His cross-field ball found Welch running from deep, although his heavy touch took the ball away from the midfielder and ran off for a goal kick. The Purps were now controlling possession and a move that found Arty Kerton with the ball out wide saw the fullback's whipped ball in to the near post, cushioned delicately by Martins in to the far corner of the goal to make it 3-0. The away side looked to have a foot back in the game when Harris' driven cross met Donham and his finish wrong-footed Parker-Trott and in to the net but it was correctly ruled offside, keeping the Purps' precious clean sheet intact.
Stoneham will look to build on their third successive 3-0 win as they travel to Christchurch on Tuesday night where a win could see them leapfrog their opponents into 5th. Tadley will be looking to redeem themselves as they face Fleet away. It was a good, solid performance from the Purps with equal measures of positive creativity and good game management from the players.
UP THE PURPS!
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