Header by Waldron goes wide. Desperate defending by Ilkeston as Alvechurch threaten. Good save by Deeney. . Let off for Ilkeston as Deeney fails to hold a shot and Willets puts it wide when he should have scored.      0-0     14 mins

Waldron leaves Bello for dead but Deeney saves his shot.  Free kick Alvechurch edge of area goes over the bar.  Another Deeney save.  It's all Alvechurch just now.      0-0    23 mins

Bello does well to concede a corner.  yet another good save by Deeney from Willets. At the other end Randle saves from Tomlin.  Nearly an own goal by Delap as his deflection hits the post..       0-0     41 mins

I'm back and can't believe we're ahead after the first half.

Alvechurch have certainly paid for missed chances in the first half.  Excellent play by Bello . robbed the alvechurch winger and raced forward.  

Alvechurch shot flies past the post. Great interception by Wilder. Alvechurch on top at the minute.
I don't know how long there is left but it must be approaching time        2-0

Chance for  Alvechurch but they only get o corner. Eratt-Thompson shot just clears the bar.  
There goes the whistle   

Result     Ilkeston 3 Alvechurch  0

First half I thought here we go another loss at home . Yes we had a few good chances but how Alvechurch didn't go into the break leading at least one , two nil up at the half time whistle I don't know . But they didn't score fact .
The second half was totally different we were everything you want in a football team . More movement , chasing the defence down, blocking shots , massive tackles , more movement up front which lead to our goals .
So first half ....crap
Second half . Brill .
This got the supporters going in singing .
Brill all round

.

Alvechurch Match Report


PROFLIGACY IN FRONT OF GOAL COSTS CHURCH DEAR
BY ALAN DEAKIN 

A game of two halves - Church could have been out of sight at half time, but failure to score cost dearly as the home side sorted themselves out at the break to recover.

Alvechurch: Randle, Cassidy, Sephton, Williams, Carter, Hallahan, Abbey, Bower, Hamilton, Concannon, Waldron subs not used: Jezeph, Taylor 
Ilkeston Town: Deeney, Bello, Wilder, Evatt-Thompson, Bradley (Delap 19), Fenton, Campbell, Ward, O’Grady, Tomlin (Fyfe 88), Arlott-John subs not used: Thomas, Wilson, Woodward

A reversal of venue, and sadly for Church a reversal of fortunes after two successive league wins.The first half was stunning lesson in all that is good about how Church play the game – except a decisive finish!There was an early scare for Church when on 4 minutes a corner was only half cleared, and Bradley volleys from the edge of the box, and a slight deflection takes the ball just wide of the post with Randle scrambling.But then Church found their feet and began to dominate the play all over the pitch.
On 10 minutes, a great move by the visitors was finished off with a cross from Concannon and a downward header from Waldron at the far post that was just wide.
Two minutes later, a driven cross from Cassidy created mayhem in the Ilkeston box, and the ball was eventually smuggled away from right in front of the gaping net. Two minutes on again, and lovely football from Church creates the best chance yet when a shot from distance from Abbey is spilled by keeper Deeney, and Hamilton pounces to connect with a shot, but disappointing wide from eight yards. It would have been safe to assume that the breakthrough was coming as the home side looked incapable of dealing with what was in front of them.
It’s all Church, and on 18 minutes another flowing move ends in a curled shot from Waldron from the edge of the area that id turned around the post at full stretch by Deeney.
Half an hour in and we still await the first goal, and a break from Church sees Cassidy thread the ball through for Hamilton, who checks and passes to Bower, but his effort is skied well over.A brief respite for Ilkeston on 33 minutes when Tomlin feeds O’Grady who fires off a dipped effort from 20 yards, but wide. On 38 Hamilton drills another effort on target but Deeney saves low down, and on 41 another chance flows from a free kick routine, a one two between Carter and Abbey, a drilled cross, and the ball is deflected against the post of his own goal by a defender. How is this game still goalless?
Half Time :  Ilkeston Town 0 Alvechurch 0
Goalless at the break, but within a minute of the restart it is not. But the breakthrough comes from the home side as O’Grady pounces on hesitation in the Church defence and drills the ball into the far side netting of the net from close in.
The home side are a different animal now. On 52 a corner to the far post results in a headed effort that Randle has to tip over, and two minutes later Ilkeston carve out an unlikely second goal after Church lose possession in the centre circle, Ward slips the ball through for Tomlin, and the former professional calmly slides the ball low past Randle from the edge of the box.
It’s a crushing turnaround in fortunes, and Church are now massively regretting not taking advantage of their domination in the first forty five minutes.Ilkeston totally manage the second half – players down all the time, loud squeals and appeals every time there is a sniff of a challenge, kicking the ball away, holding onto the ball at every stoppage in play – not pretty, but it has been effective, and seems to have outwitted Church after the half time break.
All the fluidity of the first half is a distant memory, and the second half has become gritty and attritional, and Church’s cutting edge blunted. And there is a coup de grace in the last minute when a weak back pass from Burton left Randle in no-man’s land, and Arlott-John strokes the ball low into the corner to finally bring the curtain down on a forgettable second forty-five minutes of football. Church could have been out of sight at the break, but were clearly second best after, and paid the price for their profligacy in front of goal.


 

Last edited by Matchman (19/12/2022 9:31 AM)

Well that's a first a team having dig at us .....
players down all the time, loud squeals and appeals every time there is a sniff of a challenge, kicking the ball away, holding onto the ball at every stoppage in play – not pretty, but it has been effective, and seems to have outwitted Church after the half time
break.

I don't think I players were going down easy . Kicking the ball away,  that happened once and our player got booked for it.
Holding onto the ball that goes on all the time .
Other than that a good report .

kevilsonlad wrote:

Well that's a first a team having dig at us .....
players down all the time, loud squeals and appeals every time there is a sniff of a challenge, kicking the ball away, holding onto the ball at every stoppage in play – not pretty, but it has been effective, and seems to have outwitted Church after the half time
break.

I don't think I players were going down easy . Kicking the ball away,  that happened once and our player got booked for it.
Holding onto the ball that goes on all the time .
Other than that a good report .

Probably shows that we are not going to be pushed around by less skilfull teams like maybe we did earlier in the season. Jamie Ward will have been aware of all professional tricks to win games in his time atDetbh and Forest and will be passing this knowledge on the younger player. I doubt Lee Tomlin is a shrinking Violet when it comes to winning games either! On the other hand blaming Ilkeston’s tactics is a cover for a team who should have won the game easily in the first half!