Post by malcolm on Jan 3, 2023 22:07:11 GMT 1
Winchester City started 2023 by sharing the points with Gosport Borough in a 2-2 draw in front of a crowd of over 800.
It was their eighth league draw of the season and they have drawn more games than any other team in the division and they remain one place below Gosport who have a slightly superior goal difference with the two
teams level on points.
Gosport recently appointed Mark Molesley who has previously managed Weymouth, Southend and Aldershot as their manager and amongst their players is Danny Hollands w ho has made over 300 football league
appearances and is a former captain of Eastleigh and Abdulai Baggie who has also played for Eastleigh in the National League and has five Sierra Leone caps to his name.
Winchester made two changes to the starting line-up from the Boxing Day fixture with Salisbury with Jordi Valero replacing Charlie Philpott in goal and Simba Mlambo replacing Henry Brooks who drooped to the bench.
Before the game there was a minute's silence in memory of Cody Fisher a popular Southern League Premier Division player with Stratford Town who tragically died in a Birmingham nightclub on Boxing Day and Brazilian
legend Pele who many people regard as the greatest player of all time. Perhaps appropriately in view of the shirt number that Pele wore for most of his career Winchester's first goal was scored by Simba Mlambo who was wearing number 10.
Mlambo in fact scored a 5th minute equalizer by heading home Warren Bentley's cross, after a minute earlier the home team had opened the scoring with Kyal Williams who scored the om;u goal in the first match
between the teams this season scoring with a low shot until the bottom corner.
Ollie Griggs then put in a cross that Lerone Plummer just failed to get a decisive touch to,. However at the other end goalscorer Williams and Baggie were combining well and on one occasion Valero made a good save from Williams who was set up by Baggie and Valero also made a further good save from Bradley Tarbuck. However although Harvey Rew was using the flanks well Winchester were defending well and getting in some important blocks and they were certainly also a threat as an attacking force with Max Smith forcing a save from Patrick O'Flaherty in the Gosport goal. Both teams had free kicks in dangerous positions, but the game was all square at the interval..
In the second half Valero made a further good save from Tarbuck and the follow up saw the home team denied by a goal line clearance, but Winchester then bought on Claudio Herbert and Henry Brooks as substitutes
replacing Jamie Barron and Lerone Plummer respectively and as the final 20 minutes approached they began to step up a gear. The two substitutes combined with Brooks's effort being deflected for a corner , while
Warren Bentley put Simba Mlambo through but the Winchester striker was denied by the goalkeeper. However with Max Smith also forcing a good save from the home goalkeeper and Warren Bentley's free kick tipped
over the bar and from the resulting corner saw Callum Chugg denied by a goal line clearance as Winchester were piling on the pressure and in the 81st minute they took the lead when Herbert scored directly from a free
kick. Their joy was short lived as from a corner Dan Wooden's header was cleared off the line and substitute Billie Busari was on hand to score at close range. Infuriatingly at the time of the corner Winchester were trying without success to make a substitution, although in the closing moments Winchester did replace Warren Bentley with Robert Jamison.
That proved to be the end of the scoring, but it was certainly a game in Winchester had their good spells, although Gosport's pace and power up front was always a threat.
Winchester are away to Metropolitan Police on Saturday and on the following Tuesday are at home to Bashley in the Hampshire Senior Cup.
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It was their eighth league draw of the season and they have drawn more games than any other team in the division and they remain one place below Gosport who have a slightly superior goal difference with the two
teams level on points.
Gosport recently appointed Mark Molesley who has previously managed Weymouth, Southend and Aldershot as their manager and amongst their players is Danny Hollands w ho has made over 300 football league
appearances and is a former captain of Eastleigh and Abdulai Baggie who has also played for Eastleigh in the National League and has five Sierra Leone caps to his name.
Winchester made two changes to the starting line-up from the Boxing Day fixture with Salisbury with Jordi Valero replacing Charlie Philpott in goal and Simba Mlambo replacing Henry Brooks who drooped to the bench.
Before the game there was a minute's silence in memory of Cody Fisher a popular Southern League Premier Division player with Stratford Town who tragically died in a Birmingham nightclub on Boxing Day and Brazilian
legend Pele who many people regard as the greatest player of all time. Perhaps appropriately in view of the shirt number that Pele wore for most of his career Winchester's first goal was scored by Simba Mlambo who was wearing number 10.
Mlambo in fact scored a 5th minute equalizer by heading home Warren Bentley's cross, after a minute earlier the home team had opened the scoring with Kyal Williams who scored the om;u goal in the first match
between the teams this season scoring with a low shot until the bottom corner.
Ollie Griggs then put in a cross that Lerone Plummer just failed to get a decisive touch to,. However at the other end goalscorer Williams and Baggie were combining well and on one occasion Valero made a good save from Williams who was set up by Baggie and Valero also made a further good save from Bradley Tarbuck. However although Harvey Rew was using the flanks well Winchester were defending well and getting in some important blocks and they were certainly also a threat as an attacking force with Max Smith forcing a save from Patrick O'Flaherty in the Gosport goal. Both teams had free kicks in dangerous positions, but the game was all square at the interval..
In the second half Valero made a further good save from Tarbuck and the follow up saw the home team denied by a goal line clearance, but Winchester then bought on Claudio Herbert and Henry Brooks as substitutes
replacing Jamie Barron and Lerone Plummer respectively and as the final 20 minutes approached they began to step up a gear. The two substitutes combined with Brooks's effort being deflected for a corner , while
Warren Bentley put Simba Mlambo through but the Winchester striker was denied by the goalkeeper. However with Max Smith also forcing a good save from the home goalkeeper and Warren Bentley's free kick tipped
over the bar and from the resulting corner saw Callum Chugg denied by a goal line clearance as Winchester were piling on the pressure and in the 81st minute they took the lead when Herbert scored directly from a free
kick. Their joy was short lived as from a corner Dan Wooden's header was cleared off the line and substitute Billie Busari was on hand to score at close range. Infuriatingly at the time of the corner Winchester were trying without success to make a substitution, although in the closing moments Winchester did replace Warren Bentley with Robert Jamison.
That proved to be the end of the scoring, but it was certainly a game in Winchester had their good spells, although Gosport's pace and power up front was always a threat.
Winchester are away to Metropolitan Police on Saturday and on the following Tuesday are at home to Bashley in the Hampshire Senior Cup.
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