Williams opener cancelled out as Stortford find equaliser against 10 man Eastleigh

EASTLEIGH v BISHOPS STORTFORD



SATURDAY 21st FEBRUARY 2009
Blue Square South

Report by Jamie Montigue

In search of their fifth consecutive league win, Eastleigh were without one of the goalscorers from their 2-1 win over Fisher Athletic on Wednesday night. Jonny Dixon whose loan from Brighton has been renewed, netted the opener inside ten minutes but later sustained an injury as the Spitfires did a professional job ignoring the 'side story' and media interest with regard to Donna Powell taking charge for the night.

Dixon's absence was filled by manager Ian Baird handing striker BRETT WILLIAMS his first league start for the club in this afternoon's encounter with Bishops Stortford.

The youngster could not have wished for a better way to celebrate the occasion as he fired the Spitfires into a 6th minute lead to make an immediate impact. Jamie Brown headed on a clipped ball forward for his strike partner, who had got into an excellent position to create the opportunity and competently shrugged off his marker. Having done the hard work in beating the last man, Brett found himself one on one with goalkeeper Nicky Eyre and displayed excellent composure in front of goal making no mistake to slot home from close range. The perfect start.

Just prior to the goal, Bishops Stortford had a half chance from range when Narada Barnard caught the ball extremely well on the volley. Jason Matthews watched the ball safely wide of his near post as the 25-yard effort sailed behind.

Eastleigh had an excellent opportunity to double the lead with 10 minutes on the clock. Luke Byles' delivery from the left found Tom Jordan completely unmarked inside the six-yard box. The towering centre half and Eastleigh skipper went in for the diving header but miscued it miserably with the ball coming off of his shoulder.

After a bright start, the game dwindled into a somewhat scrappy affair. Steve Clark was pulled up for going in over the top of the ball and allegedly catching Harlee Deen, which was dubious. The referee pulled out a yellow card nevertheless.

Stortford's Bai Mas Lette Jallow registered a shot on target for the visitors in the 18th minute as he slid in at the edge of the penalty area, but despite the blazing sun, Jason Matthews had no problem in dealing with the low attempt.

There was little else by way of goalmouth action for a good twenty minute spell. A minute before the break Danny Harris nodded wide from a Mark Wright free kick.

HALF TIME: Eastleigh 1–0 Bishops Stortford

The second half began at a frantic pace. Moments after the restart, Williams looked to capitalise on Tom Champion's sliced backward clearance as he burst forward squeezing past the centre back before being stopped in his tracks by two covering defenders.

Anthony Riviere made a bright run forward after exchanging passes with the goalscorer Williams, only to have his shot blocked. Luke Byles took over and fed the ball back to Riviere who was tripped just yards outside the penalty area to the left of goal.

Stepping up to take the free kick, Ashley Carew drove the ball in hard and low. The Bishops' Bai Mas Lette Jallow deflected the delivery towards his own goal and was relieved to see that his goalkeeper had reacted well to make the save.

A flurry of yellow cards were shown by the referee throughout the match and Aaron Martin became the latest to get his name in the book for a foul on Danny Green. Mark Wright had the chance to test Jason Matthews with the free kick, but despite his left-footed effort being on target, there was no real problem for the Eastleigh stopper.

In the 54th minute, disaster struck for the Spitfires. Steve Clark picked up a second yellow card and the hosts found themselves down to ten men with over half an hour to play.

Matthews was at full stretch to keep out the resulting free kick from Green as Bishops Stortford looked to take full use of the numerical advantage as early as possible. The former Weymouth goalkeeper, did well to get across his goal and tip around the post.

Two minutes later, Williams had the better of Champion for pace and the only way he could be stopped was his marker tugging at his shirt. Tony Taggart let fly from the free kick though Eyre watched the stinging drive all the way into his gloves.

Reacting to the unfortunate circumstances of losing Clark and being a man down, Baird and Matt Gray drafted Ashley Carew into the back four as a right back, leaving a three man midfield and the two in attack unchanged.

On the hour mark, Riviere was caught again outside the box providing another chance to pose a threat from a set piece. Carew's free kick this time came off his own player as Williams couldn't quite get out of the way.

Two successive Eastleigh corners kept the hosts on the front foot momentarily as Taggart's first delivery was met by a Tom Jordan header that was blocked en route to goal. The second, saw Aaron Martin rise highest to find the back of the net but the celebrations for the 'goal' were short lived as the card-happy referee blew up instantly for an alleged hand ball.

Nine minutes after coming off the bench, ROY ESSANDOH made his presence felt as he embarked on a powerful run down the left hand side, got into the penalty area and squeezed a shot past Matthews with the help of a slight deflection.

Brett Williams and Tony Taggart were both sacrificed for defensive purposes as Neil Sharp and Trevor Challis took to the field in the closing stages of the game in order to steady the ship and deal with the predictable onslaught from the visitors who inevitably stepped up the pressure in search of a winner.

Eastleigh were made to endure a few tense moments at the end of the game but had a couple of chances of their own. Matt Groves held off his marker in the 83rd minute and, with the ball sitting up nicely the forward struck it well enough but just couldn't quite keep it down. Energetic midfielder Anthony Riviere made a charge into the Bishops' penalty area deep into injury time only to blaze high and out of the ground, perhaps slightly off-balance when shooting.

A point-apiece, all things considered, was probably a fair result and for Eastleigh it was positive to see them hold on and maintain their discipline for what could have turned out to be a very different result after the sending off.

FULL TIME: Eastleigh 1–1 Bishops Stortford