Tea and a Twix

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Intro

These two sides have played the fewest games (16 and 15 respectively) of all the teams in the league, yet currently Timsbury are 5th and Wells City Reserves are 6th in the division.

Timsbury have won their last 3 league matches, including a 12-0 win over a doomed-looking Stockwood Green who are currently on -1 points. Their last loss in the league was back in October against 2nd place Middlezoy Rovers, and in fact the week before that Timsbury lost 5-2 to today’s opposition. Athletic also find themselves in the semi-finals of the Somerset Senior Cup after a penalty shootout win over Yatton & Cleeve, but they’ll have to get past Premier Division leaders Chilcompton Sports to secure a place in the final.

Wells Reserves have only lost one league game all season; a record shared with the aforementioned Chilcompton Sports who current hold top spot in the division. That loss, somewhat surprisingly, came against mid-table Ilminster Town. Despite this blip they have managed some impressive wins so far; an away 3-0 win over Middlezoy, and a 2-1 victory at 3rd place Clevedon United particularly stand out. Last weekend Wells lost in the League Cup to Middlezoy; a potentially morale-damaging 5-2 loss at home to the south Somerset outfit.

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The Ground

The football pitch at The Conygre is part of the village’s recreation ground – a cricket pitch and playground can also be found here. It is fenced off around the entire perimeter, and has a modest covered standing area on the far side between the two dugouts. This side of the pitch also boasts the only part of the perimeter where you’ll find concrete under foot. The clubhouse and changing rooms are a short walk from the pitch, and welcome refreshments can be sought here at half time and after the games.

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The Match

The first action of the match came after 10 minutes and saw Timsbury keeper Ashton Tucker rush from his area and collide with a Wells forward. It looked like Tucker would receive at least a yellow card, but the striker was ruled offside and Tucker escaped with a word in the ear from the referee. The first half was proving to be a scrappy affair – a rare insurgence into the box and a Wells striker hit the deck; goal kick to Timsbury was the outcome, and it looked to be the correct decision. A minute later and a cross-shot from a Timsbury player flashed just wide after having taken a deflection. From the resulting corner the bar came to Wells’ rescue as the home side came closest to breaking the deadlock. The aforementioned deadlock was broken on 26 minutes; a cleverly worked free kick was played short, the ball was then sent looping to the back post where it was met by a flying Nick Fowler who buried the header past Tucker. At the other end Rico Sobers’ curling shot was saved by the Wells keeper, thought it may have been going wide of the mark.

The 2nd half got off to an energetic start – a one-on-one save from the Wells goalie after Sobers played the ball to his team mate. From the ensuing corner the keeper missed the ball, a Timsbury defender took aim from 7 yards but it smashed against the goalkeeper and Timsbury hopes were quashed. Ashton Tucker pulled off the save of the match shortly after – a one handed parry turned a powerful shot around the post for a Wells corner. Home substitute Sam Gregory attempted a spectacular bicycle kick on 63 minutes but it flew well wide. Athletic were knocking on the door and it took desperate defending to block another Timsbury sub’s shot with quarter of an hour remaining. 4 minutes later a low cross was almost turned into his own goal by a Wells defender. With time ticking away, Wells went against the run of play and put the game out of reach – an interchange between 2 Wells strikers saw Ollie Bryant smack the ball goalward with the outside of his right boot and it nestled in the corner of the net. There wasn’t enough time for the hosts to get back in the game and as the full time whistle went frustrations boiled over as the two teams came to blows in the middle of the pitch. Eventually the hostilities were cooled and the players trudged off to the changing rooms, the visitors the happier of the two.

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The Photos

The full gallery of match photos is also available HERE