In Reserve.

---

Intro

Cribbs Reserves are enjoying a fruitful first season in the National League System after being promoted from the Gloucestershire County League last season. Currently they are just 6 points off top spot in 3rd position. Despite this lofty position it would appear they would not be eligible for promotion, presumably due to the First Team’s current standing in the NLS. At the weekend Cribbs actually suffered a rare home defeat – going down 4-0 to 7th place Wells City. The reverse of this fixture, back in August, finished in a 1-1 draw down in south east Bristol.

I saw AEK Boco get held to a 2-2 draw with Bradford Town at the end of February. Since then they have played just one match – a narrow 1-0 win over struggling Cheddar. They lie in 8th position, 6 points behind Brislington who occupy the final play-off place. Boco faced Cribbs Reserves in the Les Phillips Cup (the Western League’s cup competition) in November – a game which went to penalties and had Cribbs coming out on top 4-3.

---

The Ground

The Lawns is just down the road from the Cribbs Causeway shopping mall in the extreme north of Bristol. It is also just a stone’s throw from the M5, making it easy to reach by car or bus. It is a smart ground found within a complex of other sports facilities including hockey and rugby pitches. There are two seated stands on one side of the pitch; the larger lies alongside one half of the pitch, the other is further down and, unusually, occupies a raised position up a grass incline. The rest of the perimeter is accessible by spectators, but the aforementioned stands off the only sheltered viewing. There is also a decent clubhouse where I was able to pick up two of “Roy’s Rolls” for £1 – one ham, one cheese and onion!

---

The Match

An early lead was more or less handed to the hosts as miscommunication between the Boco keeper Nicholas Croucher and two defenders allowed Aubrey Raymond-Barker to nip in and round Croucher to open the scoring. The lead didn’t last long, however – Cribbs keeper Kyreese Johnson made a decent save to his right but Boco striker Luke Bryan was there to hammer home the rebound. And it got better for the visitors 10 minutes later as Bryan again lashed the ball home, this time low into the bottom corner. The home side weren’t happy about a perceived infringement in the build-up. The final action in a breathless opening 25 minutes saw the referee award a contentious penalty to the hosts. To me it looked as though the Cribbs striker had kicked the ball out of play, and I didn’t spot a foul. The away side seemed to share this sentiment, but the spot kick was given regardless. Liam Clayton stood up to take it but – and some may suggest justice was done – Croucher got down well to parry the ball out of harm’s way. On 35 minutes Boco nearly extended their lead – a free kick into the box was half-cleared and the follow-up shot through a crowd of players flew just wide. The final chance of the half fell to Bryan as he looked to secure his hattrick. A mazy run could not be topped off with a finish to match and Johnson was left with an easy save to make.

At the beginning of the 2nd half Raymond-Barker tried to replicate Bryan’s jinking run from the 1st – he did well but again couldn’t quite find the shot to beat the keeper and Croucher pulled off a good save. Just before the hour Bryan had another effort but this time his shot was blazed over the bar. A deep cross on 69 minutes was met by a great diving header by a Boco player but the ball hit the post and bounced to safety. At the other end Cribbs striker Jack Guthrie burst through the away defense but couldn’t get his shot on target. Time was running out for the hosts and the final chance of the game came with 3 minutes remaining – a 20 yard effort that was comfortably saved by Croucher.

It was a big win for the visiting side as they make a final push for the play-offs.

---

The Photos

The full gallery of match photos is also available HERE