Vs. Magham Down (A)

 

 

 

Starting XI

Substitutes:

 

 

Grant Lewis

 

Owen Davies

 

Darrell Hartley

(55 Seb Elliott)

Steve Chapman

 

Paul Ford

 

Alan Cowley

 

Adam Johnson

 

Dale Scowen (c)

 

Simon Hockley

(50 Mike Gould)

Dom Fowler

 

Gary Walsh

 

 

 

Referee:

Goals: Walsh (35),

Fowler (85).

 

HT Score: 1-1

 

FT Score: 2-6

 

 

 

A calamitous and uncharacteristic spell in the second half cost Battle Baptists very dearly in this mid table clash with Magham Down. On a notoriously difficult pitch with several first team players missing, Battle knew they were in for a tough game but cannot have any excuses following a mad 20 minutes during the second half when they conceded 5 goals.

 

The game started fairly evenly with some good attacking play from both sides, Magham Down shaving the encounter with the better chances and this was rewarded when a well taken free kick could not be kept out of keeper Lewis’ net. This only seemed to spur on Battle and it was them who had the lions’ share of possession from then on, and it was from another great free kick that Gary Walsh rose to head the equaliser into the far corner. Opportunities came and went and it was all square at half time, though Magham Down saw a seemingly good goal ruled out by an entertaining referee for a foul on Lewis.

 

Kicking uphill, the second half was always going to be a tough one but having absorbed some early pressure Battle made some encouraging inroads to the Magham Down defence. It was midway through the half that Battle made changes to personnel and formation and harshly this coincided with the start of a twenty minutes to forget. Poor marking and concentration lapses were at fault as Magham Down gleefully capitalised to effectively end the encounter. Battle rallied well to keep their heads held high and the best move of the game saw Dale Scowen release Adam Johnson down the inside right who crossed well for Dom Fowler to slot home and redeem some pride.

 

With a break next week Battle have two weeks to ponder this game and will no doubt come back stronger and more determined as they seek to banish this game from memory.