Wealdstone 2 – 1 Team Bath
Wealdstone2 - 1
Team BathKeeping the same starting line-up Stones dominated their visitors early on and were rewarded when Dean Papali scored from the penalty spot early on.
Despite this, Stones failed to dominate their opponents as may have been expected, and Team Bath could have equalised before half time. The second half was fairly even until Stones increased their lead, Matt Gooderick scoring on the hour, though still Stones struggled to kill off their opponents, and a sending off for one of the visiting players seemed to instill a little more spirit into the side.
As the game petered out in the dying minutes, an error in defence let the visitors in for a consolation, Stones running out winners 2-1.
Team Details: Lee Carroll, Lee Holland S Stuart Goodhall, Fergus Moore S Billy Sentence, Kevin Swift, Stuart Bamford, Gavin Bamford ?, Carl Martin, Chris O’Leary, Dean Papali 30, Matt Gooderick 61, Graeme Montgomery S John Christian . Subs Not Used: Chris Zoricich, Julian Edwards
Harrow Times
Wealdstone 2 Team Bath 1
Stuttering start for Stones…
DESPITE a bright start, Wealdstone put in a stuttering performance on Saturday, but one good enough to produce their first win of the season, writes Steve Paull.
The first goal came from the penalty spot after 12 minutes. Graeme Montgomery curled a free kick to the far post and Abbott bundled Fergus Moore to the floor. Dean Papali’s kick was firmly struck high to the goalkeeper’s right and gave him no chance. Moments later Carl Martin lobbed inches wide.
But from this high-point the game deteriorated as a spectacle.
Wealdstone were always the better side, but goal-scoring opportunities were few. As frustration crept into the Stones game so did the errors. Townley and Saunders for the visitors both had efforts blocked and Reid spooned a glorious chance wide as the half ended.
Early in the second half Stuart Bamford headed a Montgomery corner just wide and later his brother, Gavin, saw his free kick tipped cover the bar by de Villiers in the Bath goal.
In between came a header from Taylor that smacked against the Wealdstone bar and the almost comical dismissal of Reid following two bookings for a ten minute spell, not for fouls or any of the usual reasons, but for kicking the ball away and diving.
But as so often happens the side with a man down did not show it and Bath, despite any real fire power up front, gamely battled on and were not truly stretched defensively.
Seventy eight minutes had elapsed when both Wealdstone forwards and Bath defenders stopped in the expectation of a long punt forward going out of play. When the ball halted right on the goal line it was Papali who won the race to get to it. A neat backheel found Stuart Goodall whose ball into the box was thumped past de Villiers by Matt Gooderick for his first goal of the season.
The Bath consolation goal came in time added on when indecision and hesitation between Stuart Bamford and Lee Carroll in dealing with an overhit ball forward led to Adi Adams nipping in between the pair and smashing the ball past the stranded keeper. Luckily there were no panics in the Wealdstone defence in the moments that remained.
Wealdstone: Carroll, Holland (Goodall 77), Moore (Sentance 83), Swift, S Bamford, G Bamford, Martin, O’Leary, Papali, Gooderick, Montgomery (Christian 64).