A second-half goal from veteran striker Richard Walker secured a gutsy 1-0 victory for Beer Albion 1st’s against second-placed Feniton 1st’s in a Macron Premier Division contest last Saturday at a wet and windy Furzebrake writes Richard Honnor
There was little to choose between the two sides in a dour, tight game. Co-managers Mark Rooke and Alan Potter’s game plan was to man-mark Fenny’s key players and Beer defenders Jay Catley and Fraser Beaumont were excellent in this respect.
Feniton made their intentions apparent early on when their striker late-tackled Beer’s influential midfielder Finley Rooke with just 5 seconds gone. To his credit, referee Will Bennett had no hesitation in showing a yellow card for the offence.
Early exchanges were fairly even, and chances were few and far between. Feniton might have gone ahead but for a couple of good stops by Beer keeper Elliot Driver but it stayed goalless at the break.
The second half was just as tight. It was going to take something special for either team to win the game and it was Beer who managed to provide that.
Chris Long picked the ball up in midfield and played a superb pass to Richard Walker who cleverly “rolled” his marker before finding the bottom corner with an exquisite shot.
The Fishermen were in determined mood and held on to their slender lead for a well-deserved 3 points.
The difficult conditions meant that the contest was never going to be a classic but co-manager Rooke was nonetheless delighted with the way his players stuck to the game plan against very difficult opponents.
Match sponsor Steve Bond picked out Beer midfielder Finley Rooke as man-of-the-match.
Next Saturday, Beer 1st’s face the formidable Cronies in a Macron Premier contest at the Furzebrake. Kick-off is at 3pm and the match sponsor is Simon Bartlett Beer Boats.