Chinnor 20-23 Darlington Mowden Park ( att : 407 ) – 2021/22 National League One

October 16, 2021

Round 7 of English rugby’s National League One saw Darlington Mowden Park make the 240 mile trip to Thame to play Chinnor. DMP were expected by many to have a good season and be at least in the top half of the table, but they started badly, losing their first 5 matches, albeit three of them earned them a losing bonus point. Defeats were suffered at Birmingham Moseley ( 22-23 ), Blackheath ( 14-23 ) and Caldy ( 22-27 ), whilst their colours were lowered at home by Taunton ( 32-38 ) and Rosslyn Park ( 17-28 ). The rot was stopped though last weekend with a 33-22 victory at home to Bishop’s Stortford, which took them out of the bottom three and up to 12^th place.

Chinnor followed up their win over Blackheath with a 27-27 draw at Caldy to remain fourth in the table. DMP last visited Chinnor in December 2019, going down 27-37 in one of the earliest matches covered by these diaries, when the visitors tried to play exciting, expansive rugby against the home side’s stronger pack.

However, today’s match-day squads were very different to those from that encounter, with only 3 of Chinnor’s side that day still with the club, with DMP having only 5 of the same players involved.

In their only other visit to Chinnor, DMP had won another high scoring encounter, winning 31-25 in February 2019. The form lines through Moseley, Blackheath and Caldy would suggested a win for Chinnor by between 5-10 points, and history suggested it would be high scoring !

The temperature at kick-off was around 16 degrees on a dry afternoon. DMP were in an all grey kit, and with Chinnor in black it would have made a good spectacle for black and white TV, apart from some orange boots and a red skull cap !

DMP started strongly and immediately won a penalty, and rather than taking the three points on offer, kicked to the corner. Unfortunately for them the line-out was stolen by Chinnor, who cleared their lines. Play moved to the other end of the pitch and when Chinnor won a penalty in front of the posts, new South African fly-half Bader Pretorius gave Chinnor a 3-0 lead.

In the 8^th minute Chinnor won a line-out mid-way in the DMP half and centre Sam Yawayawa burst through midfield and offloaded in the tackle for wing Ryan Crowley to scamper over under the posts. With Pretorius adding the simple conversion, the home side led 10-0.

DMP responded well and after a series of drives near the Chinnor line were blocked, a penalty was awarded, and this time South African fly-half Warren Seals kicked the penalty to bring the score back to 10-3.

DMP then had a spell where they took control of the game. Wing Ollie Walker went on a mazy run from inside his own 22 to the edge of Chinnor’s 22, a two on one was squandered when flanker Lockwood should have played in Walker and then finally after a drive by huge prop Crickmay, centre Garry Law crossed under the post. With the conversion the scores were level at 10-10 after 18 minutes.

DMP were then awarded a scrum just outside their 22, but back-chat from Chinnor turned it into a penalty, which Seals kicked deep into the Chinnor half. After a series of attacks, Chinnor conceded another penalty to enable Seals to give the visitors a 10-13 lead.

From the restart, Chinnor won a penalty, and from the resulting line-out prop Tonga’uiha drove for the line but was pushed backwards. In an effort to force the play, scrum-half Carter’s pass went to no-one and DMP full-back Liam Checksfield picked-up the loose ball to run down the touch-line from his 22 to the edge of Chinnor’s 22. Another penalty was given to DMP, but this time Seals pushed his effort wide of the upright.

Chinnor looked to have the edge in the scrums, but the penalties were being awarded to DMP.

Checksfield then blotted his copy book by carelessly kicking out on the full, and after winning the line-out, Chinnor spread the ball wide but winger Kieran Goss was tackled just short of the line. As Chinnor pressed, DMP had to desperately defend, and just when it seemed a try was certain, lock Fisher gave away such an obvious penalty to receive 10 minutes in the sin-bin. It almost could have been a penalty try, but from the ensuing line-out, Fred Tuilagi dived over the line. With the conversion missed the score became 15-13.

Another scrum penalty after going backwards was given in DMP’s favour, but the rolling maul from the line-out was stopped and Chinnor were awarded a penalty. The kick to touch led to the half-time whistle.

The second half started with a series of plays in the DMP half. From a scrum half-way into the DMP end, good runs by Tuilagi and Hardwick gave hooker Cameron Terry the chance to run for the line, but when tackled he was able to off-load to Carter to score. Pretorius again missed the conversion so the score went to 20-13.

DMP were increasingly under pressure in the scrums but intelligent play by Number 8 Joe Craggs to pick-up the ball quickly prevented any penalties being awarded. A strong run by centre Frankland gained 50 yards for DMP and won a penalty. From the line-out Law broke through the Chinnor defence and an inside pass put substitute Euan McKirdy under the posts to level the scores again with the conversion after 55 minutes.

Chinnor finally won two scrum penalties, but wasted the promising positions by not throwing in straight at the line-outs. Chinnor were having a spell of dominance but were unable to translate it into points. Another pick-up at the base of the scrum enabled Craggs to make in-roads into the Chinnor half but the dangerous position was thwarted by a turn-over. With DMP having their turn to press, a loose long pass bounced for Crowley to run into the DMP 22 but Chinnor conceded another penalty at the break-down.

With play back in the Chinnor half, yet another penalty was conceded in front of the posts, and although a try from the advantage was stopped by a tackle into touch, Seals slotted home the kick to give DMP a 20-23 lead with two minutes left.

It looked like DMP would wind down the clock without too much difficult but possession was squandered and Crowley was able to advance into the DMP half. It was then Chinnor’s turn to be awarded a penalty when their scrum appeared to be going backwards, and the kick to the corner gave Chinnor a final chance to win the match with the last play of the game.

The line-out was won, but as Chinnor’s forwards drove to the line they conceded yet another penalty to end the game.

Overall, DMP deserved to win the match as they made less errors and forced Chinnor into giving away far too many penalties. On this evidence, both sides will probably be top half of mid-table. 

Highlights : https://www.chinnor-rfc.com/videos/trylights--chinnor-20-darlington-mowden-park-23-172258.html

Belarus Football 2021– Week 26

October 16 & 17, 2021

The season continues after the international break, where Belarus lost both matches in disappointing fashion,  0-2 Estonia away, and 0-2 Czech Republic home ( but actually played in Kazan in Russia ).

With just 5 rounds of fixtures left to be played, Shakhtyor should take another step closer to winning the league, but Rukh and Dinamo Minsk meet in a game which could have a huge impact on their challenges for a Europa Conference place. BATE could make Slavia’s plight at the bottom more severe.

FK Isloch Minsk vs FK Slutsk ( Saturday @ 11.00 UK time )

Both sides come into this fixture on the back of good results last time out, with Isloch’s 4-0 win at Vitebsk catching the eye, whilst Slutsk grabbed an important win over Energetik to edge a little closer to safety. If Isloch play the same again they should win. 2-1

Result : 2-0. A deserved victory for Isloch to boost their bid for a 6^th place finish in the table. After a couple of early chances for Slutsk, Myakish gave the home side the lead in the 22^nd minute, being in the right place to side-foot home from 6 yards after Komarovsky’s glancing header from a corner had hit a defender.

Ten minutes into the second half Komarovsky somehow contrived to miss from inside the 6 yard area after being set-up by Gorbachik, after which Slutsk’s task to get back into the game was made harder after a second yellow card in the 63^rd minute to Bocherov after a clumsy tackle on Kozyrenko. They did fashion one good chance after this when a good move put Butarevich clear on the right-hand side of the penalty area, but his shot across the goal when narrowly wide.

Needing to score a goal with less than 10 minutes remaining and down to 10 men, Slutsk coach Brazevich made the puzzling decision to take of striker Alfred, who had looked his side’s most dangerous and creative player. After this, it became a question of whether Isloch would score a second goal as Dibango and Sanoh missed good chances, but the goal finally came in added on time after Dmitry Lisakovich was allowed to get to by-line and his low cross left a simple tap-in for Gorbachik from a couple of yards.

FK Smorgon vs FK Vitebsk ( Saturday @ 13.00 UK time )

Vitebsk won the reverse fixture 5-0, and that was at a time when Smorgon were playing well and Vitbesk kept drawing 0-0. Now Smorgon are getting hammered every week, and Vitebsk are scoring regularly it could be worse. 0-5

Result : 2-0. Possibly the biggest shock of the season ! After conceding 17 goals in their last three games, Smorgon recorded their first win of the season over someone other than Sputnik. Vitebsk though, were shocking and the end of the season probably can’t come too soon for them.

Teverov should have given Vitebsk an early lead but headed weakly wide from the centre of the goal, before Smorgon rightly had a goal disallowed for offside. Pasevich gave Smorgon a surprise lead in the 36^th minute after running onto a long ball and drilling home from just inside the area.

A minute later Vitebsk’s captain, Maksym Kalenchuk, received perhaps an unlucky second yellow card after Bondarenko appeared to run straight into him. It didn’t look as if the Vitebsk player could do much to get out of his way.

The outstanding Pasevich settled the result in the 64^th minutes with a fine left footed finish in off the post after running past Glinskiy for his 5 goal in 8 games since moving from Neman.

FK Slavia Mozyr vs BATE Borisov ( Saturday @ 15.30 UK time )

A must win for both sides but for different reasons. BATE won the reverse fixture 3-0 and should be too good as they look to keep up their forlorn persuit of Shakhtyor. 1-2

Result : 3-1. Mozyr might be BATE’s bogey ground, having lost there in the league and cup last season, and now again in the league. With 7 points out of the last 10, Slavia now have real hope of escaping the relegation play-off.

BATE should have taken the lead in the 14^th minute. After Vasilevich’s shot crashed back from the bar, Umarov blazed the rebound over with the goal at his mercy. The other major chance in the first half fell to Slavia but after being set-up by Narh, Lovets’ poor finish went well over

Slavia opened the scoring two minutes after the interval, when Narh’s long range shot went under BATE keeper Kudravets. The ABFF website put the goal down as an own goal by Kudravets and other sources have given an own goal to Filipovic ! The shot barely took any deflection and was on target anyway.

BATE quickly responded and Yablonski fired in equalizer from just inside the area after Slavia’s keeper could only parry Umarov’s shot straight back into the danger zone. BATE then looked to be getting on top but were rocked in the 64^th minute when Zherdev sent a tremendous shot into the roof of the net from over 20 yards

BATE should have equalized again shortly after but Yusov’s shot straight at the advancing keeper when clear on goal.

With 8 minutes remaining Rybak somehow only received a yellow for bringing down Narh when the last man but Barsukov curled the resulting free-kick over wall and into top corner to clinch the three points for Slavia.

FK Minsk vs FK Gomel ( Sunday @ 11.00 UK time )

When these two sides last met, Gomel won 5-0. Whilst Minsk are not mathematically safe from the relegation play-off, they have less to play for than Gomel. 0-3

Result : 0-0. Possibly Gomel’s poorest performance of the season. Despite having 64% of the possession they rarely looked capable of breaking down Minsk’s stubborn defence, even after the hosts were reduced to 10 men after yet another sending off for Muniru with 20 minutes left. Too often the final ball went straight to a Minsk player and Gomel were reduced to some ridiculous dives in an attempt to win a penalty.

Gomel actually started quite brightly, Borodin hit the bar in the 7^th minute and Batyshchev saw his long range effort acrobatically tipped over the bar. Minsk’s defence gradually strangled the life out of Gomel though, with Solovei missing their only decent chance of the second half.

Minsk nearly snatched the victory in the closing stages, but Lopes shot wide after being put clear by Shramchenko’s first time pass. It could be an important point for Minsk.

Rukh Brest vs Dinamo Minsk ( Sunday @ 13.00 UK time )

A big game in the battle for European football. Rukh won 1-0 in Minsk in May and are unbeaten in their last 15 league matches. Dinamo were disappointing in losing to Shakhtyor last time out, and have lost all matches played against the other sides in the top 5. 1-0

Result : 1-3. Dinamo strengthened their hold on 3^rd place, inflicting a first home defeat on Rukh in doing so. However, the main talking points are likely to be around the performance of referee Sergei Krasnikov.

Dinamo made an impressive start and took the lead in the 6^th minute when Batsula arrived beyond back post to volley a floated cross from Matveychik left-footed past Pavlyuchenko. Dinamo were in irresistible form, Poe twice shot narrowly wide and saw a dipping shot tipped over the bar by the outstretched hand of the Rukh keeper. Putilo had a shot gathered at the second attempt, then Bykov had a long shot pushed away just beyond Lozhkin’s attempt to turn the rebound into the net.

It was totally against the run of play when Rukh equalized in the 24^th minute. Noyok’s low cross reached Kontsevoy, who fired in off the near post from 12 yards.

Savitski then broke to the edge of the Dinamo and laid the ball back to a supporting colleague. Unfortunately, it was the referee, usually these days in black, and probably not easy to distinguish from Rukh’s dark kit in peripheral vision. Oh the irony to think the referee might have been on Rukh’s side !

Referee Krasnikov first got in on the action in the 30^th minute. Vakulich and Matveychik collided in a clumsy challenge midway in the Rukh half in which the Rukh looked the more likely to win the ball. Matveychik dipped his head and Vakulich’s foot was fairly high, but the contact was knee to shoulder ( or vice versa ! ). The free-kick could have been given either way. Matveychik went down holding his head even though there was no contact there and the referee first showed a yellow card to Vakulich, and after a delay then branded the red card.

Dinamo regained the lead 5 minutes later. Shvetsov delivered a defence splitting pass for Bakhar to run on and score between the keeper’s legs. Bakhar had a very long stare towards the linesman but the flag stayed down. However, the TV replay suggested it was a very marginal offside, and had VAR been in use, it probably would have been disallowed.

As tensions rose, 4 more Rukh players were shown yellow cards before half-time, and in added on time Laptev was fouled by a raised foot in a similar incident, and the Dinamo player didn’t even see yellow. Perhaps Laptev should have collapsed to the floor…….To add insult to injury, the ref then blew for half-time before the free-kick in a promising position could be taken.

Dinamo obviously dominated possession in the second half and Lozhkin hit the top of the bar with an audacious volley. However, Rukh looked dangerous on their infrequent counter-attacks, and should have equalized in the 61^st minute. Kiki’s header from a corner was only partially saved by Khatkevich and as the ball bounced up Savitski completely mis-timed his header from two yards with the goal gaping. When the ball was played back into the Dinamo area, Bakaj’s low shot on the turn was well saved.

Dinamo had a good chance to settle the match 13 minutes from time when a shot deflected of a Rukh defender to Lozhkin but his shot was blocked by Pavlyuchenko’s outstretched leg.

Another moment of controversy occurred 8 minutes from time. Bakaj headed into the Dinamo area and both Kontsevoy and Khatkevich went for the ball. Kontsevoy got there first and should have scored but he failed to make much of a contact with the ball. However, Khatkevich took him out in his follow through after the ball had gone. A clear and obvious penalty, but not in the eyes of referee Krasinov ! Dinamo went down the other end of the field and Bykov delivered a low ball into the 6 yard box for substitute Latykhov to slide in and prod over the line for 3-1.

After a long delay following Rukh’s protests, Bakaj kicked the restart straight out for a throw-in, which was met with loud approval from the Rukh faithful. In added on time, Noyok also kicked out for a throw as if he was going for a touch-finder in a rugby match.

Despite 5 minutes added time being display, the referee blew for full-time a little bit early, and it was significant that not one Rukh player went to shake his hand.

Energetik BGU Minsk vs Dinamo Brest ( Sunday @ 15.00 UK time )

A tough one to call with neither side in good form. Energetik have one win in their last 7 games, whilst Dinamo’s last victory was 6 games ago. 1-1

Result : 0-0. Probably a fair result between two out of form sides. For Energetik, oddly playing in Royal Blue rather than their usual Orange shirts, Papariga hit the post from close range and shot badly wide when well placed, and in the closing stages Mamadu squandered a 2 on 1 by going for goal himself rather than giving the simple chance to Abdukhalikov.

For Dinamo, Shestyuk was put clear but his attempt to lob the keeper hit the keeper, and in added on time, a corner was flicked on but Zhurnevich on the stretch inside the 6 yard box could only steer the ball over the bar.

Shakhtyor Soligorsk vs Torpedo BelAZ Zhodino ( Sunday @ 17.00 UK time )

Torpedo won their last match 7-1, albeit against Smorgon, but face a slightly harder task against the Champions in-waiting. New coach Baga appears to made a difference to Shakhtyor and they should serenely proceed towards the title. 2-0

Result : 3-1. A comfortable win for the champions elect which very much confirmed their return to form. Torpedo did well to survive to half-time as Shakhtyor missed a number of chances and keeper Bushma made some fine saves. However, they conceded a soft penalty shortly after the restart when Darboe was brought down in the act of shooting. The Gambian got up to slot home the penalty and a minute later he added a second with a thumping shot that beat Bushma at his near post.

The one-way traffic continued and Ahmedi added the third  in the 68^th minute with a delicate chip over Bushma. Torpedo scored a consolation goal just before the end, Antilevski’s fine header proving too good for Gutor.

Summary :

FK Isloch 2-0 FK Slutsk ( att : 100 )
FK Smorgon 2-0 FK Vitebsk ( att : 330 )
FK Slavia Mozyr 3-1 BATE Borisov ( att : 1,210 )
FK Minsk 0-0 FK Gomel ( att : 280 )
Rukh Brest 1-3 Dinamo Minsk ( att : 850 )
Energetik BGU Minsk 0-0 Dinamo Brest ( att : 100 )
Shakhtyor Soligorsk 3-1 Torpedo BelAZ Zhodino ( att : 1,131 )

Highlights : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyuX1bw-_kk

Comments

Victory for Shakhtyor and defeat for BATE leaves the Soligorsk side needing just 6 more points from their final 6 games to win the title. Dinamo Minsk’s win at Rukh saw them move to only one point behind BATE in third and the two are still to play each other again.  Gomel have to face Shakhtyor twice in their last 6 matches so have a big challenge to catch either Dinamo or BATE.

Isloch’s good run of form means they are favourites to take 6^th place from fading Vitebsk and Dinamo Brest.

At the bottom, Slavia’s excellent result over BATE gave them renewed confidence in avoiding the relegation play-off, although Slutsk still have 3 points to be added for the default win over Sputnik. However, if Slavia repeat this weekend’s form in their final 5 games they could easily record three more wins to put pressure on FK Minsk, Energetik and Torpedo, in addition to Slutsk.

Risborough Rangers 4-1 Arlesey Town ( att : 121 ) - 2021/22 Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division

October 9, 2021

Princes Risborough is a market town in Buckinghamshire, 8 miles from High Wycombe, 9 miles from Aylesbury and 7 miles from Thame.  Despite living so close, this was my first visit to Windsors, as the BEP Stadium is more commonly known. It was also the first Spartan South Midlands League ( SSML ) match I had ever attended as sides in Oxfordshire often get my attention when it comes to considering non-league football !

Princes Risborough were promoted into the SSML Premier Division after an unbeaten season in the curtailed Hellenic Division One and moved leagues as part of the annual non-league geographical reallocations. Princes Risborough had played several seasons in the lower levels of the SSML before being moved to the Hellenic for two seasons, but have now been moved back to the league. I believe this is the highest level they have ever played at.

Rangers went into today’s match in second place in the table with a 6-1-0 record. After drawing their first match 1-1 at Leighton Town, wins have since been recorded over Broadfield United ( H ) 7-0, London Colney ( A ) 4-0, Aylesbury Vale Dynamos ( H ) 4-0 , Dunstable Town ( H ) 2-1, Ardley ( H ) 3-2, Hadley ( A ) 5-0. Including matches in the Hellenic league in previous seasons, Rangers were unbeaten in 40 consecutive league games.

In the FA Cup, Lydney were beaten 1-0 at home before bowing out to Ascot United in a replay 2-3 in front of a crowd of 257 after a 1-1 home draw. In the FA Vase, Rangers have beaten Edgeware Town ( H ) 3-2 and AFC Hayes ( A ) 3-0 and will host Suffolk based Long Melford of the Eastern Counties Premier League in next round.

Many of the Risborough squad have had spells at Thame United. Former Thame captain Ben Sturgess has just signed for Risborough, whilst 33 year old striker Liam Enver-Marum is by my count with his 23^rd club after a brief spell with Thame at the start of this season. His times at Stevenage, Forest Green, Crawley and Ebbsfleet are perhaps the high points of his career. He scored a hat-trick in the 5-0 win at Hadley in Rangers’ last match but he still has some way to go to beating Jefferson Louis’ total of clubs though, and Rangers were indeed the first club Louis represented. Striker Marcus Wylie had 11 goals in all competitions to-date for Rangers.

Risborough’s highest attendance so far this season was 170 for the local derby with the Aylesbury Vale Dynamos, with the lowest being 102 for the game against Broadfields United.

I have seen Arlesey Town play once before, when they lost 0-3 at Oxford City in February 2012 in the Southern League Premier Divison, with Wayne Blossom, Steve Basham and Aaron Woodley getting the goals for the Hoops.

Arlesey’s most notable achievement is winning the FA Vase in 1994/95, where ironically they beat Oxford City at Wembley. Perhaps Arlesey’s most famous ex-player is former Reading, Stoke and Portmouth Premier League striker Dave Kitson, who is strongly rumoured to be the author of “The Secret Footballer” series of books. Kitson is now Chairman of the club where he started his career.

Other players who played for Arlesey before going on to greater things include Scotland international Craig Mackail Smith ( ex-Brighton, Peterborough, Wycombe amongst others ), Pat Kruse ( ex-Brentford centre-back ), Jack Midson ( ex Oxford United and Wimbledon striker ) and ex-Walsall and Bristol Rovers midfielder Stuart Sinclair.

Arlesey have been in the SSML since 2018/19, and haven’t exactly set the league alight, finishing 8^th, 16^th and 15^th since being relegated from the Southern League. They were 10^th in the table going into today’s match with a 3-2-3 record from 8 games, scoring 18 goals but conceding 19, with an average of 4.6 goals a game. With Risborough’s matches averaging 4.3 goals a game, a goal-fest could reasonably be anticipated !

Arlesey’s three wins have been against Ardley ( A ) 2-0, Oxney Jets ( A ) 6-4 and Leighton ( H ) 3-2 whilst the draws were with at Harpendon Town and Crawley Green, both finished 1-1. All three defeats were at home, Holmer Green 1-2, Harefield 2-6 and Leverstock Green 2-3, so Arlesey possessed an unbeaten away record.

In FA Cup, Arlesey won two home matches, eliminating Thetford Town 4-3 and March Town 3-2 before bowing out to Bowers & Pitsea 0-5 in another home tie. They were eliminated on penalties by Deportivo Galica after 4-4 home draw. Archie Sayer had scored 12 goals in all competitions, Jalen Miller had scored 5.

The visitors faced a 38 mile journey from Bedfordshire to Princes Risborough for the first ever meeting between the two clubs. Entrance to today’s match was £7, with concessions charged £4, and U18 £1. Risborough publish a free on-line programme, with a free 4 page team sheet available at ground. The weather at kick-off was sunny, with the temperature a warm 17 degrees after a chilly start to the day.

Risborough’s ground is located down a country lane, adjacent to the cricket club and behind the tennis club. The car park is fairly small, but arriving 40 minutes before kick-off I managed to get a space inside the ground. The bar is also small, and there didn’t seem to be any beers on tap, although there were several different cans of beer for sale for £3 and cider was £3.50. There was a large TV screen, on which the WSL Manchester derby was being shown.

The tea hut was doing some good trade, with burgers at £3.00, cheese burgers £3.50, bacon roll £2.50, with chips at 1.50. Tea/coffee and soft drinks were £1.00. Raffle tickets were £1 each, with the prize being £96. I was four numbers away from winning !

The ground is rather quaint. On the far side was the Richard Woodward Stand, which in reality was a small red hut with a bench that might have seated 6 or 7 people. Behind one goal was the Derrick Wallace stand, which is also a small red hut that may also hold half a dozen or so spectators. The clubhouse was located in the middle two-thirds of one side, in-front of which were two rows of seats under cover. There was also a distinct slope to the pitch, going downhill from the Cricket Club End. There was also a strange looking tower, which on inquiry I was informed was the camera for recording the game for training purposes. It was apparently one of these ball-tracking based devices, which earlier in the season infamously focused on the bald head of the linesman in a game in Scotland mistaking it for the ball…….

The Arlesey squad for the game contained a number of players with foreign sounding names, in  particular Brazilian or Portuguese, and the tannoy announcer had much difficulty reading out some of the names. He was much more assured with the home side’s line-up though…..

The match was being covered by Christofer Walker of MottysMic fame, and it was good to introduce myself to him and have a brief chat before the game, before he had to concentrate on getting set-up for his coverage for CW Sport Radio.

Arlesey started brightly with left winger Herculano Carvalho immediately catching the eye, and three corners were forced, but the first real chance of the game fell to Rangers in the 6^th minute when Wylie set-up Liam Enver-Marum who should have scored from 6 yards but hit the bar instead. Arlesey’s reprieve lasted barely a minute though as a long ball from Squires-Adam down the right channel was laid back from the by-line to give Marcus Wylie a simple side-foot to open the scoring.

It got worse for the visitors two minutes later when midfielder Asher Yearwood sent a chip from just outside the area over the motionless keeper into the top corner for 2-0 after less than 10 minutes.

Arlesey were in disarray at the back, seemingly playing a back three, with Derek Feyi built like a prop forward playing at either left back or the left side of a back three, being regularly exposed and given no supporting cover from midfield.

Arlesey were being over-run and keeper Hilliard made one impressive full length diving stop from Enver-Marum and Yearwood had a shot blocked after a probing run through the centre of the Arlesey defence.

The tide was briefly halted in the 19^th minute when the ball fell to Arlesey’s leading scorer Archie Sayer but he shot weakly at the Risborough keeper. However, the Arlesey players and bench complained furiously that a penalty should have been awarded for a foul on Carvalho, but the referee appeared to say he played advantage as Sayer had a great chance to score. Perhaps he should have awarded a penalty after the chance was missed ?

To rub salt into their wounds, Arlesey found themselves 0-3 down in the 22^nd minute. An aimless long-ball should have been easily claimed by the Arlesey keeper, but a communication breakdown saw centre-back Orenaike also go for the ball and the two players collided. Enver-Marum forced the ball over the line in the ensuing scramble.

It could easily have been 4-0 after 28 minutes when Coles pulled the ball back to Wylie 12 yards out but he sent his left footed effort wide when he at least should have hit the target.

Arlesey’s Carvalho made another impressive run and after playing a one-two with Sayer looked to be in on goal but Kedzierski made an important clearance to deny him.

Arlesey made a necessary tactical change in the 35^th minute when the unfortunate Feyi was taken from the field and replaced by right winger Jalen Miller, and the formation was reshuffled. The changes seemed to give some stability to the visitors although in added on time at the end of the first half, Wylie cut back in from the left and sent a rasping effort across the face of the goal and just wide.

Arlesey were grateful to get to the interval only 0-3 down as they had been outplayed, tactically out-witted, and appeared to be lacking discipline. In comparison, Risborough looked strong in all departments.

Arlesey made another change at the break with another defender, Si Lei, being replaced, but Rangers nearly scored in the first minute of the second half when Enver-Marum ran onto a long ball over the top but put his effort just wide of the post.

Just when Arlesey seemed to be getting back into the game, Risborough scored a remarkable fourth goal in the 55^th minute. There appeared to be little danger when the ball bounced towards Schmidt 10 yards inside the Arlesey half but seeing keeper Hilliard a long way off his line he sent a shot over the keeper’s head and into the empty net.

The home side seemed to relax from this point and Arlesey had the better of the rest of the game. A lovely long ball down the right-hand channel released Sayer but his shot was deflected and gathered by keeper Brooker. Two minutes later Mendoza sent a good cross from the right wing but Sayer headed straight to Brooker.

Twelve minutes from time Arlesey had a triple chance to grab a consolation. First Sayer hit the underside of the bar from close range, from the rebound Miller saw his shot well saved, and Brooker followed that save by saving from Carvalho.

Arlesey continued to press and Carvalho, who for me looked the best player on the pitch, shot wide. However, Arlesey did finally get the goal their play in the last 30 minutes deserved when Miller cut in from the left and sent a low shot between keeper Brooker and the near post to give the final score-line a modicum of respectability.

With 5 goals in the match, both sides further increased their goals per game ratio. On today’s evidence Risborough look to be in with a good chance of another promotion, whilst Arlesey look strong going forward but weak at the back. At least they should continue to be entertaining to watch.

Hirnyk Sport 1-1 FK Metalist Kharkiv ( att : 500 ) 2021/22 Ukraine Persha Liga

October 7, 2022

The Second Division in Ukraine consists of 16 teams, and is known as the Persha Liga. The top three sides are automatically promoted to the Premier League, with the bottom two sides relegated to the third level of football in Ukraine. Unlike neighbouring Belarus whose league has a summer season, the leagues in Ukraine play in the autumn and spring, with a lengthy break for the winter.

Despite the international break, round 12 is being played in mid-week and with local afternoon kick-off times, with matches being live streamed on the Канали Футбол 1,2,3 and ПЕРША ЛІГА YouTube channels. Both channels also have highlights and complete matches of nearly all Persha liga matches. The division has its own excellent website ( www.pfl.ua ), which is a tremendous source of news and statistics.

The major story in the division this year is the re-emergence of Metalist Kharkiv, frequent participants in the Soviet First League, including the last 10 seasons before its dissolution, winners of the Soviet Cup in 1988, and a regular representative of Ukraine in European competitions after independence in 1998.

Metalist achieved draws with both Everton and Newcastle in England in the UEFA Cup but on both occasions lost the return legs at home. Bayer Leverkusen, Sampdoria, Olympiakos, Benfica and Galatasaray are among the list of sides Metalist have beaten in Europe. However, the club went into liquidation in 2016, and two separate clubs have emerged from the ashes.

Metalist 1925 have no claim to the historical legacy and have already worked their way back into the top division in Ukraine, but Metalist have been awarded the rights to be the successors of the previous club, and after promotion from the third level last season now head the Persha liga. They have been playing in front of average crowds of nearly 27,000 in the Kharkiv stadium whereas Metalist 1925 have been playing in front of less than 5,000. The stadium is also the temporary home to Shakhtar Donetsk whilst their Dombass Area remains unusable given the conflict in the eastern areas of Ukraine, and it was one of the host venues for Euro 2012.

Kharkiv is the second largest city in Ukraine and has a population of just under 1.5 million inhabitants. It is just over 400 kilometres east of the capital Kiev, and 30 kilometres from the border with Russia.

Metalist are already looking good for promotion, having won 10 out of 11 matches so far, with only Polessya avoiding defeat, with a 1-1 draw in Kharkiv. Ex- Bragantino Brazilian forward Mattheus Peixoto is the top scorer with 8 goals whilst ex-Lyon midfielder Fares Bahlouli has five goals to his credit. Right-back Mailton played for Coritiba in Brazil’s Serie A and Colombian forward Jose Riascos has scored twice after joining from Portuguese side Nacional.

Metalist’s most noteworthy signing for the Ukrainian second level though was Kadeem Harris, who joined the club in September. After playing 13 times for Cardiff in the English Premiership, Harris joined Sheffield Wednesday, before being released in the summer, having previously also played for Wycombe Wanderers and Barnsley. In two appearances so far for Metallist, Harris has already scored two goals and at 1.5M Euros, he is rated the most valuable player in the division by Transfermrkt. He is also reportedly the first Englishman to play professionally in Ukraine.

Today Metalist travelled to Horishni Plavni to play Hirnyk Sport. Horishni Plavni is in the Poltava region of Ukraine and is located on the Dnepr river. It was a town created in the 1960s to exploit the expanding gas and oil industry and was previously known as Komsomolsk. Its name was changed in 2016 as part of the decommunization laws to curb Russian influence in Ukraine.  The population is estimated to be just over 50,000 and the town is reported to have one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country.

Hirnyk’s squad is all Ukrainian apart from Brazilian winger Kleber. Their Yunost stadium has a capacity of either 2,500 or 5,000 depending on which source you rely on but there is a smart seven row seat covered stand running all the way along one side of the ground.  There is a smaller covered stand along half of the other side of the stadium, and a small enclosed terrace for away supporters on the other side of the clubhouse and dressing rooms. There is also an impressive large hedge towards one corner of the ground. Transfermrkt has much travelled striker Yadym Yavorskyi as their most valuable player, rated at 250K Euros.

Hirnyk are in their 8^th consecutive season in the Persha liga, having finished 13^th in 2020/21 and 9^th in 2019/20. They currently lie in 12^th position with a 3-2-6 record although they have the worst home record in the division with just two draws from 6 matches, and only 5 goals have been scored all season. They did win their last match though, a 1-0 win at Prykarpattia thanks to a second half penalty from Yaroslav Yampol, who lists Dinamo Minsk amongst his former clubs. Home attendances have averaged around 700.

The journey from Kharkiv to Horishni Plavni is just over 150 miles and is estimated to take three and half hours by road. It is though apparently the shortage journey between two teams in the division !

Bet365 had Metalist 1/7 odds-on favourites, with Hirnyk Sport rank 10/1 outsiders and the draw at 6/1. The weather at the 13.15 local time kick-off was expected to be dry and cloudy, with the temperature around 12 degrees.

Hirnyk made 8 changes from the side that beat Prykarpattia, and with many of the dropped players amongst the substitutes it suggested more a case of mediocrity in depth rather than an injury crisis.  All of the starting XI were 23 years old or younger.

Metalist made 4 changes from the side that started in their 2-1 home win over Nyva Ternopil, with Harris coming into start after being on the bench last week.

Metallist played in an all yellow kit, whilst the home side wore red shirts with black shorts. The names of the players on the back of the shirts was in the Cyrillic alphabet but the shirt sponsors were printed in Roman script ! Fortunately, the team lists and all the graphics on the TV feed were  in Roman script although the commentary was in Ukrainian

Like in Belarus, the national anthem was sung before kick-off and the match began quietly, with Metalist having most of the possession whilst Hernyk sat back, but there was little urgency to the play.

Hirnyk had the almost obligatory drummer in the section in the far corner where 10 or so of their ultras had gathered, whilst it looked around 30 to 40 Metalist fans had made the journey to watch from inside a cage.

The first action of note occurred after 10 minutes when Harris shot wildly over from a tight angle, but it was noticeable that he was being closely marked. In the 18^th minute, with two defenders in close attendance near to the corner flag, there didn’t seem to be much danger, but a cute short pass inside put left-back Gorbunov in space and as he ran into the area he fell to the ground when challenged. The referee waived play on.

Peixoto made a strong run from half-way to just inside the Hirnyk penalty area but was halted by an excellent tackle, and shortly after Pidlepenets volleyed wide from 20 yards but the keeper had it covered. In the 33^rd minute a low cross from the right found Harris in the centre of the penalty box, and after controlling and turning he chipped towards the far post, but no-one was there to finish off the move and the chance went begging.

In the 35^th minute a Metalist corner was cleared to Tverdokhlib and there didn’t seem to be much danger. However, the Hirnyk midfielder ran the length of the pitch, moved across the edge of the Metalist area and thumped a tremendous shot into the top corner to give the hosts an unexpected 1-0 lead completely against the run of play.

Metalist were only able to muster one attack in response before half-time. Harris was again found in a good position down the left but his cross was poor and blocked for a corner. A short corner was taken, but the cross went beyond the Metalist attackers at the far post.

Hirnyk led 1-0 at the break having had only one attack, and although Metalist had dominated possession, home keeper Klimov had not been tested.

To add attacking potency, Colombian Jose Riascos came on for Metalist at the start of the second half and was immediately involved in the action. After a good run his shot was blocked by the legs of Klimov but on the turn Peixoto fired the rebound high and wide. Metalist cranked up the pressure, Sarapyi’s volley bounced awkwardly in front of Klimov who couldn’t hold cleanly but he gathered before anyone could pounce.

Two more Metalist substitutes soon entered the fray and by the 62^nd minute all five permitted changes had been made, either as a measure of dissatisfaction or desperation from the coach Kucher. It was all Metalist but Hirnyk did look dangerous on the occasional counter attack, with Kleber in particular showing good skill.

Klimov had to scramble to gather the ball on the line after a glancing back-header from Fomin was blocked by the foot of Tsvirenko but was rolling gently goalwards. This was the start of a 5 minute spell of constant pressure on the home goal, Riascos has a shot blocked for a corner, from which Demchenko had an effort deflected by Chernysh for another corner. Soon after Riascos sent a curling effort from close to the corner flag towards the top far corner, but Klimov athletically tipped away for another corner, from which Ralyuchenko had a goal-bound effort blocked.

However, against the run of play again, Hirnyk should have doubled their lead in the 69^th minute when a cute chip from Posyevkin put Kozhevnikov clear but his attempted first-time shot resulted in a mis-kick and the ball dribbled off for a goal-kick as Kozhevnikov fell over.

The game’s comedy moment came a minute later when Metalist keeper Rybka attempted to clear a back pass but only succeeded in scooping it vertically into the air, and under pressure, he had to head over his own bar to give away a corner.

With their nerves restored, the equalizer duly arrived in the 72^nd minute. A quickly taken free-kick released the increasingly influential Sergei Gorbunov down the left and after moving into the penalty area, his left-footed shot was blocked by Klimov. Gorbunov reacted quickly and crossed from the by-line into the six-yard box. The ball skimmed off the top of the head of Fomin, but Peixoto was on hand at back post to head into the unguarded net from 6 yards. 

With Hirnyk rocking, Peixoto immediately had another chance but Klimov blocked the shot with his legs. The home keeper was called in to action three minutes later when Riascos played a nice one-two with Peixoto but Klimov blocked the close range shot with his body, although the offside flag had been raised.

Going into the last 10 minutes Hirnyk midfield Artem Syomka had three efforts to win the match for the home team. First, his curling left-footed effort from around 15 yards was tipped over the bar by Rybka, and when the subsequent corner was partially cleared, Rybka again had to tip Syomka’s 20 yard effort over the bar. In the last minute, another 20 yard left footed effort from Syomka forced the diving Rybka to parry the ball away to safety.  

In between, an incredible miss prevented Metalist from taking the lead in the 87^th minute. An inviting chip across the face of the goal from Harris was met by Fomin in the centre of the goal three yards out, but somehow the ex-Shahktar Donetsk veteran managed to head back across goal and wide of the post as Klimov dived the other way !

In the fourth minute of added time Syomka broke dangerously into the Metalist half and Demchenko cynically brought him down to snuff out the danger at the expense of a yellow card. Although 7 minutes of added time were played, Metalist couldn’t force a winner and Hirnyk held on for an unexpected point.

At the final whistle the home players happily celebrated with their supporters, whilst Metalist were left to rue two points dropped. However, it is likely to be only a momentary hiccup on the road to promotion.

Hirnyk Sport : Klimov – Chernysh, Chuev, Tsvirenko, Safikhanov – Syomka, Kulakovkyi ( Palamar ), Mylchenko, Tverdokhlib ( Yavorskyi ),  Kleber ( Posyevkin ) – Kozhevnikov ( Shynkarenko )

FK Metalist Kharkiv : Rybka – Shopin,  Mizyuk ( Romanyuk ), Perokh, Gorbunov – Tankovskyi ( Ralyuchenko ), Postupalenko ( Riascos ), Sarapyi ( Demchenko ), Pidlepenets ( Fomin ), Harris – Peixoto

Highlights : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK_s0mkIjqY

Round 12 Results

Olimpik Donetsk 3-1 Kramatorsk ( att : 150 )

Nyva Ternopil 0-1 Obolon Kyiv ( att : 1,200 )

Kryvbas 2-1 Volyn Lutsk ( att : 1,600 )

Kremin Kremenchuk 1-1 Prykarpattia ( att : 300 )

Hirnyk Sport 1-1 Metalist Kharkiv ( att : 500 )

Ahrobiznes Volochysk 1-1 Uzhhorod ( att : 400 )

Podillya Khmelnytskyi 0-0 Alliance Lypova Dolni ( att : 2,350 )

Polessya Zhytomyr P-P VPK Agro