AFC Waverton 4 v 2 JFC Boughton

Chester & District League (7 March 2010)

Waverton Scorers (season's total in brackets)

Robbie Foster  1 (9)

Alex Wilkinson  1 (7)

Cameron Faulkner  1 (3)

Jorge Percival  1  (3)

MoM Awards

Both the Coach and the Supporters gave a team award for this game, after everbody contributed to an "against the odds" victory.

Report

For such a crucial game, against the "old enemy" in what was virtually a title decider, the Wasps starting line-up was significantly understrength, with one key player unavailable, a second not due to arrive until half time and a third arriving at the game having sustained an injury that morning. That the team available was able to beat Boughton 4-2, and deservedly so (in the end!), shows how much the whole squad has progressed this season. 

Mindful of their weakened line-up the Wasps started the game very nervously, and it was Boughton who dominated the game for long spells during the first half. Waverton were struggling to create any chances, or even to hold the ball upfield for any length of time, putting the defence under almost constant pressure. As always though the back four remained solid, with Ollie helping them by coming out to claim a lot of through balls, and as a result they only conceded one goal (from a goalmouth scramble) in the half. When Matt Sheen beat his man and crossed for Alex Wilkinson to score, with five minutes to go before half-time, the resultant 1-1 HT score was probably more than Waverton deserved at that stage.

Having been reminded of their great "second half" record though, and boosted by Sam Jones' arrival, the Wasps started the second half with much more confidence and started to look the beter team. After ten minutes of the second period therefore it wasn't a surprise when they took the lead, with Jorge Percival hitting a solid thirty yard effort which the Boughton keeper couldn't prevent crossing the line.

With Boughton really needing to win the game, to gain advantage back in the league, this second Waverton goal was clearly a big blow to them and their heads seemed to drop a little at this point. The Wasps continued to press forward, and play some better passing football, and got the results this deserved, with Cameron Faulkner and Robbie Foster both firing in from close range after the Boughton defence had failed to clear, to make the score 4-1.

From this point on the victory was fairly comfortable. The Wasps defence had put up their usual strong performance in the second half, and although they did let in one slightly sloppy goal with five minutes to go, it never looked like Boughton were going to get back into the game, with Waverton completing a league double over them for the first time. This result puts Waverton's first ever league title very firmly in their own hands, barring a couple of slip ups (against teams they should really beat) the team should be able to stay uncatchable at the top of the division, and then hope to build on this in the two Cups they can still win.    

Chester Nomads Colts 2 v 3 Waverton Wasps

Chester & District League (28th February 2010)

Waverton Scorers (season's total in brackets)

Matt Sheen  1 (32)

Sam Jones  1 (15)

Scott Evans  1 (2)

MoM Awards

Coach's  -  Scott Evans

Supporters'  -  Ollie Tyler

Report

For the first time this season the Wasps "lost" the second half of a game, which resulted in a very nervous final few minutes, but they eventually held on to secure a 3-2 victory and maintain their title challenge.

Waverton started the first half with a strong wind behind them, and used it to their advantage to completely dominate the early exchanges. Despite playing some lovely passing football though it took Waverton quite a long time to get the goal their play deserved, with several chances going begging and some desperate "last ditch" defending from the Colts. Eventually a goal was inevitable, and after about 20 minutes the Wasps finally broke the deadlock, with Sam Jones converting a penalty after Scott Evans was fouled when through on goal.

On the balance of chances during the first half the Wasps should have gone into the break 5 or 6 ahead, but the goals just wouldn't come, with one shot hitting a post and several others saved on the line, or flashing just past the post. When Matt Sheen added a second just before the whistle (his 32nd of the season) the 2-0 HT lead was the very least the team deserved from what was (finishing apart) probably the best half of football they'd played all season.

Five minutes into the second period, Scott Evans met a Robbie Foster corner and headed the Wasps into a 3-0 lead and, at that stage, the game looked all over. Despite now playing into the wind it was still Waverton who looked most like scoring for the next quarter of an hour, but again they were guilty of not making this dominance count with more goals.

Then the inevitable happened and the Colts, who'd threatened little against the strong Waverton defence, pulled a goal back with an excellent long distance strike. This gave the Colts some belief back, and for a while the Wasps started to wobble in defending against an ever stronger wind which meant they were struggling to get the ball clear. From the third Colts corner in quick succession the ball was cleared off the line, but rebounded back into the Waverton net, making the score an unlikely 3-2, with ten minutes still to go.

Once again though Waverton showed the same fighting spirit they've exhibited all season, although this time it was needed to hold on to a slim advantage rather than staging a comeback. All eleven players combined to hold out against a Colts side which was now playing much better, only allowing them one clear chance, from which Ollie Tyler made the "save of the season", to ensure Waverton recorded their 14th consecutive victory and remained clear at the top of the league.