Match Report 2001/2002Reconstructed Fleet just too strong for LinnetsSaturday 24th November 2001 : Jewson Wessex LeagueFleet Town 3, Lymington & New Milton 2 |
Coming into this match, one was reminded how quickly
footballing fortunes can change. Three months before, in the heat of late
August, Lymington & New Milton strolled through an emphatic home win
against these same opponents, while Fleet's early form appeared to be
nose-diving. Here, in late November, with the first signs of winter still some
way off, the hosts were top of the Wessex table, while their visitors had
struggled to find any semblance of the form that has been their trademark for
the previous six seasons.
For Fleet, this about-turn had come about
largely because the side had been almost totally reconstructed since that
August defeat at New Milton. The influx of new manager Steve Beeks and eight
players from Combined Counties League champions and near neighbours Cove, was
behind this change. Indeed the transfer of players had been so swift that a
misunderstanding had arisen concerning the disciplinary record of one of them.
This had resulted in his participation in a Wessex match when he should in fact
have been under suspension, a breach of the regulations that had induced the
Wessex League to exact a one-point penalty on Fleet.
As far as L&NM
were concerned, the loss through injury and suspension of a number of key
players, but most notably ace striker Leigh Phillips, was largely to blame -
although trying to operate within tighter financial constraints under a new
management regime has been a factor. Nevertheless, the Linnets were approaching
this fixture with a rising optimism brought about by Phillips' immediate return
to form following his lengthy suspension, the return to fitness of other key
players such as Mark Smith - who starred in the corresponding fixture last
season - as well as the acquisition of a number of young but promising recruits
to the team.
Indeed, it was the aforementioned two players who
effectively "got the ball rolling" when they combined to give L&NM the lead
on 22 minutes, Smith's through ball finding Leigh Phillips, who evaded
the attentions of two Fleet defenders before firing home the opening salvo to
give the visitors a deserved lead. There is a saying in football that (as a
team) you are never more vulnerable than when you have just scored - and so it
proved here when Kilner levelled the scores within a minute direct from a
free-kick, with the Linnets defence still trying to organise itself.
The
league-leaders went ahead on the half-hour mark when top-scorer Frampton struck
an excellent solo effort but Lymington & New Milton continued to battle and
got their reward a couple of minutes before half-time when Brett
Phillips hit a stunning left-foot shot from fully 25 yards out that sped
into the top corner of the net to give them a well-earned
equaliser.
Half-time : Fleet 2, L.&N.M. 2
The second
half was as evenly contested as the first and both sides had opportunities to
take the lead without achieving the necessary breakthrough. With both defences
seeming to have the upper hand the game appeared to be heading for a draw, with
the midfield players of both sides alternately trying to create openings for
their respective strikers or working hard to close down their opposite
numbers.
In an attempt to alter the pattern, Lymington & New Milton
brought on leading scorer Richie Glenister in place of Scott Metcalf but the
change in the pattern was created by the home side on 72 minutes when Frampton
beat his marker and headed home a cross to ultimately give the home side the
three points and maintain their presence at the top of the pile.
The
Linnets made further changes, bringing on McDonald and Keeping for Leigh
Phillips and Marwood but could not find a way to break open the Fleet defence
for a third time. Linnets' boss Kemp afterwards insisted he was not
down-hearted despite seeing his slide slip to their sixth league defeat of the
campaign. He said: "I cannot criticise my players because that is the type of
performance that makes you want to become a manager. Their attitude and
commitment out there was first class. We are not getting the breaks, but I have
no problems with the way we are battling - just the results are sometimes
disappointing."
Lymington & New Milton : Kearn, Stride,
Liddon, Kemp, Morris, B. Phillips, Gazzard, Smith, L. Phillips (McDonald 75),
Metcalf (Glenister 70), Marwood (Keeping 75).
Match reports on this site are based on those appearing in the New Milton Advertiser & Lymington Times (except where separately credited) with additional material from my own resources where relevant.
Online with the Linnets © Paul Johns MMI