Carpet Munchers 3 Blackwood Homes 6

Carpet Munchers FC(0)3 [Chris Elliott, Iain Wilson 2] Blackwood Homes (2)6

Squad – Craig Wilson, Iain Wilson, Tony Albonese, Rick Elliott, Chris Elliott, Andrew Dignon, Lee Hopkinson

Once again Munchers were on the losing end of an absorbing game against Blackwood Homes, and as in previous games, it was finishing that let them down. Despite dominating the first half, they changed round 2-0 behind, and could have even been 3-0 down but for a shot that Craig Wilson touched onto the inside of the post. The Homes keeper was by far the busier, making some good stops when goals seemed inevitable.

A lucky rebound stretched the lead to 3-0 before Chris Elliott finally scored to open the Munchers account. Another superb finish by the post soon restored the three-goal margin, but when Iain Wilson scored twice in quick succession, it looked as if Munchers were going to get something out of the game after all. However, whilst pressing for an equaliser, they were caught out at the back for the fifth goal, and Homes sealed victory with a sixth goal just before the end.

Carpet Munchers 8 Norfolk n Good 16

Carpet Munchers FC (5)8 [Stephen Woods 4 – 1 penalty, Richard Elliott, Tony Albonese 2, Andrew Dignan 1] Norfolk n Good (9)16

Squad – Iain Wilson, Richard Elliott, Stephen Woods, Tony Albonese, Andrew Dignan

In the end, Munchers were well beaten, but the nature of the opposition’s obnoxious manner left a nasty aftertaste. Munchers took the lead when Stephen Woods scored from a penalty after the ‘keeper was harshly adjudged to have handled the ball outside the area, but after Norfolk equalised following a deflected shot, nothing much else went right for Munchers. By the time Rick Elliott scored a second goal, Norfolk had established a 4-1 lead. The last few minutes of the first half saw a flurry of goals, with Tony Albonese scoring to make it 3-5 and 4-8 and Stephen Woods netting to make the half time score 5-9.

The second half began with Munchers closing the gap, as Andrew Dignan made it 6-9 and Stephen Woods scored another two at 7-11 and 8-11. In truth, the game was never as close as the score suggested, for while Norfolk’s goals were all of high quality, most of Munchers’ were down to poor goalkeeping by the Norfolk custodian. Towards the end of the game, Norfolk extended the lead. At 8-14 they were awarded a penalty when Iain Wilson was adjudged to have handled outside the area, but this was a very poor piece of refereeing as the ball was nowhere near the line. Justice was done as the spot kick hit the outside of the post, but two late goals gave the league leaders a winning eight-goal margin.

Hawkings 2 K-Town 5

Stephen Hawkings Football Boots (1)2 [Iain Wilson, Stephen Woods] K Town (4)5

Squad – Craig Wilson, Iain Wilson, Chris Elliott, Richard Elliott, Andrew Dignan, Stephen Woods, Francis Dignan

Another very close game between these two equally matched sides. Hawkings had more of the early chances, but went behind after Craig Wilson made a fine save only for the ball to fall at a K Town forward’s feet, and he rolled the ball into the empty net. Two quick goals made it 3-1 before Iain Wilson finished neatly not long before half time, but K Town scored again to make it 4-1 at the break.

Stephen Woods reduced the arrears again, before K Town scored their second rather fortunate goal of the night, the ball coming back off a post behind the goal straight to a K Town forward. The K Town ‘keeper made several fine saves to keep his side in front, although Craig Wilson again had to be at his best on numerous occasions in a performance that once again won him the man-of-the-match award from the referee.

Carpet Munchers 5 FC Kronenbourg 5

Carpet Munchers FC (1)5 [Tony Albonese, Rob Danson, Iain Wilson, Lee Hopkinson, Stephen Woods] FC Kronenbourg (2)5

Squad – Craig Wilson, Iain Wilson, Lee Hopkinson, Rob Danson, Stephen Woods, Tony Albonese, Rick Elliott

A draw was perhaps a fair result after a see-saw game which saw both goalkeepers in inspired form. In a very tight first half, Tony Albonese equalised Kronenburg’s opening goal, but the opposition went 2-1 ahead before the break.

Rob Danson equalised early in the second half after a good passing move involving Tony, and once again Munchers found the post or bar in the way of what looked like scoring shots. After Kronenburg went ahead for the third time, Iain Wilson’s perseverance led to a deflected equaliser, and goals from Lee Hopkinson and Stephen Woods seemed to have secured the points. However, a deflected goal at the other end made it 5-4, and late on Kronenburg equalised to ensure both sides took a point from the game.

Carpet Munchers 11 Bar Stewards 7

Carpet Munchers FC (4)11 [Lee Hopkinson 6, Tony Albonese 3, Rob Danson, Andrew Dignan] Bar Stewards (2)7

Squad – Craig Wilson, Iain Wilson, Tony Albonese, Andrew Dignan, Lee Hopkinson, Rob Danson

Craig Wilson returned after several weeks out through illness as Munchers resumed after the Christmas break. Playing some nice football in the first half, they soon established a 3-0 lead through Lee Hopkinson and Tony Albonese, with two, but tiredness affected them towards the interval, and Stewards pulled two goals back and kept Craig alert for several minutes as he preserved the lead with some good stops. Tony relieved the pressure with his third goal just before half time.

As pre-arranged, Iain replaced Craig in goal for the second half, but in the early stages the action was all at the other end, as Rob Danson scored his first goal for the side and Lee added another three goals – one an exceptional effort as he followed up his own shot to reach the rebound first and hammer it home. Iain was kept busy with some fine stops as Munchers tired again, and 8-2 soon became 9-7 with just another Lee goal on the credit side. Towards the end, Andrew Dignan and Leigh scored again, and despite the good saves made by both the Wilsons, the score line fairly reflected the game as the Stewards ‘keeper also made several good stops, and Munchers hit the post on a half dozen occasions.