Stopsley (Away) - Cup

							Man of the Match Tom Gunning
							Starting Team
							GK	Pratt, Lawrence
							DL	Pouncey, Steve
							DR	Whittaker, Steve
							DC	Powell, Adam
							DC	Gunning, Tom
							MR	Gray, Allan
							ML	Konkoly, Zoltan
							MC	Kendal, Jon
							MC	Kumar, Will
							F	Harris, Steve
							F	Harris, Paul

Date: Saturday 20th February '07         
Time: 10:30                                             
Competition: League
Location: Away (Bennett's Rec)


Stopsley Baptist Church                 1 (0)


St Albans Romans                            3 (2)
  Harris (2) (33', 36') 
  Kumar (81')

Match Report

A Tale of Two Keepers

Wearing the lucky green and white 2nd strip, Romans started the defence of the trophy they had won last season against Stopsley.

After the opening 25 minutes, it was clear to everyone that the score line was not going to bear any resemblance to the last encounter between the teams.

Apart from two smart saves from the Chavster, one a fine stop with his face, there was not much happening with the Romans and a weak header from Harris, a shot which made a good cross from Gray and some interesting new defensive techniques from Pouncey were all they had to show in an uninspiring start to the defence of the cup.

That being said, the team are capable of scoring at anytime at the moment and on 30' Harris came close with a header. This heralded the start of the first period of intense pressure in the game and three minutes later Romans took the
lead after some good work from Konkoly on the left saw Harris continue his good scoring run.

1-0 would have been satisfactory enough at half time so when Harris doubled the advantage on the 36' mark, after a good cross from Gray, things were looking very tidy indeed.

Gray even managed to hit the post a minute later, but 3-0 would have been very harsh on Stopsley given the balance of play.

HT 2-0 and Stopsley very kindly provided good old fashioned half time refreshment in the form of oranges.

The second half was barely underway when the sweet taste of the Jaffas turned sour. An easy take for Chavster went through his legs for a corner. The resultant kick swung in and one flap later was in the back of the net.

Just the start Stopsley needed, game on!

Barely five minutes later Chavster decided to atone for his previous blunder by rolling the ball out to himself and moving down the right.
His pass was low not high as intended, but of more concern was that it went straight to the feet of an opponent!

Now this could have been disastrous but it turned out only to be calamitous as the resultant shot went straight back to Laurence which he had no trouble in parrying.

It was then he realised he was at least ten yards outside of his area.

Straight red!? (Bit harsh in my eyes).

Direct free kick in shooting range.

Send for Zoltan!

Zoltan calmly plucked the ball from the air and threw it 40yds to the feet of one of our players. (Make note: Zoltan in goal for suspension)

The next goal was going to be crucial and could have gone either way but after a few close shaves at both ends Captain Will settled the game with a very good finish after some good work and a pull back from Harris nine minutes from time.

Zoltan stood firm in goal, the back four all did their bit to keep Stopsley out and it would be churlish to suggest we could have (should have) added a couple more late on as it would not have been a true reflection of the balance of play.

3-1 Good cup tie, if not the best Romans have played this season and we look forward to the semi, but first of all there's a little trip to Liverpool to take care of.........................

MOTM: Gunning - Solid leadership in defence.