pottersbar111005

Thursday 01st September 2005

Brickies can't beat resilient Potters

Tuesday 11th October 2005	Southern League Division One East	Peter Pitts reports from Bourne Park
Sittingbourne	1	Campbell 77
Potters Bar Town	1	Howard 13

Dan Edwards came into the Brickies staring line up as Mark Lovell was rested as he is suffering a slight injury but he should be fit for Saturday's encounter with Chatham Town in the FA Trophy, writes Peter Pitts.

Otherwise the team was the same that went down 2-6 at Stamford at the weekend.

This was a deeply frustrating game for Sittingbourne as they had by far the most of the play, especially in the second half where keeper Steve Williams was largely a spectator, but despite this pressure they rarely threatened the Potters Bar goal.

Both sides had shouts for a penalty, Sittingbourne were convinced that a Potters Bar player elbowed the ball away after a Kieran Marsh shot but equally a Potters Bar player may have thought that he should have had a penalty when Joe Dowley made a clumsy challenge in the area forcing the player to shoot wide.

Potters Bar took the lead on 13 minutes in a bizarre way as Richard Howard crossed the ball towards the Brickies goal and he must have been as surprised as everyone else when the ball arched over Williams head and bounced into the goal off the angle between the far post and the bar.

Sittingbourne then had the vast majority of the play as they set about looking for an equaliser and on 30 minutes Bradley Spice hit a post.

Seven minutes later Paul Ainsworth had a header turned round by Potters Bar keeper
Chris Fitkin but that was the closest the Brickies came to scoring in the first half.

With the crowd urging them on, especially the vocal Junior Barmy Army, who sit at the back of the main stand at Bourne Park, Sittingbourne almost camped in the Potters Bar half for the second half.

Kieran Marsh fired over on 50 minutes then Spice fired a free kick just wide.

Sittingbourne then won a series of corner kicks which were usually cleared but Ricky Spiller in particular, who was having an excellent game, was always on hand to loop the ball back into the Potters Bar area.

Potters Bar were seldom crossing the half way line and when they did they were invariably caught off side.

The pressure finally told on 77 minutes when the ball pin-balled round the Potters Bar area and up popped James Campbell through a mass of bodies to head the ball into the corner of the net for the equaliser.

Potters Bar came out of their area a bit more after the goal but the Brickies were still looking the best bet to score again and with two minutes to go Jon Neal had an angled effort blocked by Fitkin, then Gooding blasted the ball over but time ran out for both sides and Potters Bar will definitely be the more satisfied of the two teams with their point.

Sittingbourne: Williams, Spiller, Dowley, Ainsworth, Campbell, Marsh, Browning, Gooding, Neal, Spice, Edwards (Taylor 77). Subs: Sherwood, Styles, Davies, Friend