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SEASON REVIEW

Thursday 9th April...................with the season now officially ended it’s probably time to reflect on the past season and look at a few stats and high points. The league tables in the column on the right are the final placings for the season although they will never be recorded in the records and no promotion/relegations will take place as a result of these placings. Bad news for these teams at the top of the league but good news for those threatened by relegation ! From our point of view the first team were in 3^rd place in the Dorset Premier League at the close and we could maybe have pushed on into the runners-up spot as we still had Merley Cobham and Hamworthy Recreation to play at home. However, with the league title out of our grasp we were concentrating on the cups and were still involved in the final stages of both the Somerset Senior Cup and the Dorset Premier League Cup so it’s a bit disappointing that these competitions have also been abandoned for this season.

The Reserves had an up and down season in the Dorset Senior League that ended in a mid-table position which was probably about right in the end. It’s been a season in transition for the reserves with new management in place but their main purpose is to support the first team and this season they have provided the transition from Under 18s to first team for three players, Dan Ewens, Isaac Storey and Sam Fuller, so job done in that respect.

In the Somerset U18s League our team again found last season’s champions Bridgwater too strong and once again finished second best in the league and also lost the cup semi-final to them. Nevertheless an excellent season for our Youth squad.

Some stats for the season:-

Top Scorers: First team – JOSH PAYNE, 14 goals, Reserves – SAM FULLER, 9 goals, U18s – RORY THOMSON, 14 goals.

Most goalkeepers clean sheets: MARK CUFF (First team) – 7

Most Man-of-Match Awards : First team – JOSH PAYNE 3, Reserves – SAM FULLER 5, U18s – SEB GODDARD & RORY THOMSON 4 each.

Opinions on the high points of the season for the first team will vary but my choice of the three most memorable matches (MMM) are :-

MMM 1 - Saturday 31^st August, Dorset Premier League: MERLEY COBHAM 4 WESTLAND SPORTS 5

What a game this was with goals galore and a sending off that undoubtedly helped Westlands’ cause. Sports shot themselves in the foot after 5 minutes with a gift goal but Olly Wake equalised from a free kick so it was already 1-1 when the red card was shown to the Merley centre half in the 25^th minute. Westlands then conceded 2 more soft goals before half time but a Louis Irwin goal kept us in the game at 3-2. In the 55^th minute Josh Payne turned in a Louis Irwin cross to make it 3-3 and in the 70^th minute Josh gave Sports the lead running on to a through ball and slotting in the far corner, 4-3 up. In the 73^rd minute Merley made it 4-4 from the penalty spot but four minutes later Jamie Green smashed one into the top corner from 25 yards to make it 5-4 ! Great result for Westlands and a twist on the cup final 4 months earlier when Westlands had been reduced to ten men after 30 minutes, eventually losing 3-2.

MMM 2 - Saturday 5^th October, Somerset Senior Cup: WESTLAND SPORTS 5 WESTFIELD 3

This match featured an amazing second half turnaround by Sports after a poor first half that saw them 2-0 down at the break. Westlands piled on the pressure in the second half and on 61 minutes Jonny Manley bundled one in from a corner to make it 2-1 and game on. A minute later Lewis Morgan swept in a Tim Trevett cross to make it 2-2 and 2 minutes later Malik Kamal smashed one in to put Sports in front 3-2. But the goal blitz didn’t end there with Nick Voss stretching the lead to 4-2 in the 65^th minute. Westfield were shocked as Westlands had hit them with 4 goals in a 5 minute spell that turned the game round completely. Lewis Morgan smashed in a 25 yarder in the 75^th minute to make it 5-2 and just before the end Westfield grabbed a consolation 3^rd goal.

MMM 3 – Saturday 25^th January, Dorset Premier League: GILLINGHAM 3 WESTLAND SPORTS 4

A thrilling end to this match saw Sports grab the victory in injury time. After another poor first half Westlands could count themselves a bit lucky to turn round only one goal down. However Sports quickly struck after the break with a Jamie Green penalty to make it 1-1. Gillingham went in front again in the 76^th minute from the penalty spot but Sports quickly hit back with a Jack Dicker header to make it 2-2. As we headed into the closing minutes Gillingham scored what they thought was the winner in the 87^th minute but Sports silenced their celebrations with an equaliser in the last minute, Jack Dicker deceiving the keeper with a high cross/shot. It looked as if Westlands had snatched a late point but more drama was to follow deep into injury time when Nick Voss smashed in the winner for Westlands ! What a turn up that was, and I don’t think Gillingham quite recovered from that defeat as they went on a losing run from then on.

Three great matches, full of excitement and plenty of goals. Other people will have their own personal favourites but those three games stand out in my memory.

IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN

Saturday 21st March.............today we should have been playing Blandford Utd in the quarter-final of the Dorset Premier League Cup at Alvington, a game we were all looking forward to. However it is doubtful if this game will ever be played now due to the current circumstances regarding the Coronavirus. Coincidentally, almost exactly 10 years ago, on Saturday March 20th 2010, Westlands travelled to Blandford for a league match which Sports won 3-1.

Blandford opened the scoring early on but before half time Westlands had equalised with Sam Farthing netting an Andy Smith cross from close range. In the second half things got a bit physical and when Dean Corden was brought down Mike Rousell tucked in the penalty to put Westlands in front. Then Mike Rousell was brought down and the referee pointed to the spot again. A Blandford player saw red in the resulting melee and Mike again stuck away the penalty to give Sports a 3-1 win. Happy days !!

TOUGH EXIT FOR 18s

Monday 16th March................our U18s League Cup run came to an end yesterday at the semi-final stage with a 3-1 away defeat at the hands of Bridgwater Wolves. Sports dominated possession in the first half and although creating several chances failed to score so the half ended goal-less. Then in a 10 minute spell at the start of the second half Westlands seemed to switch off and the home team took full advantage and went 2-0 up. To their credit Sports heads didn't go down and a goal from SEB GODDARD put them back in the hunt. However, hard as they pressed Westlands couldn't break down a resilient Wolves defence and in the 92nd minute, with Sports pushing everyone forward, Bridgwater broke away and added a third goal.

Full match report

MORGAN WINNER FOR WESTLANDS

Sunday 15th March.............LEWIS MORGAN came on as a 65th minute sub yesterday and only 3 minutes later curled a superb free kick round the wall to score what proved to be the winning goal in a 2-1 win for Westlands against a good Balti Sports outfit. The Alvington crowd were treated to an excellent Dorset Premier League match with JOSH PAYNE opening the scoring for Westlands before Balti equalised, also with a free kick. Full match report

The reserves match at Beaminster was called off due to a waterlogged pitch.

SENIOR CUP DRAW

Tuesday 10th March.............the draw for the semi-finals of the Somerset Senior Cup was made this evening and is as follows :-

KEYNSHAM TOWN RESERVES v CHILCOMPTON or TIMSBURY

BURNHAM UTD v WESTLAND SPORTS

Cup Draws.......

TBA: Dorset Premier League, Qtr-Final: WESTLAND SPORTS v BLANDFORD UTD

TBA: Somerset Senior Cup, Semi-Final: BURNHAM UTD v WESTLAND SPORTS

Recent Results.......

Sat 14th Mar: Dorset Premier League, WESTLAND SPORTS 2 BALTI SPORTS 1

Sat 7th Mar: Dorset Senior League, WESTLAND SPORTS RES 0 CHICKERELL UTD 3

Sun 23rd Feb: Somerset U18 League Cup Semi-Final, BRIDGWATER WOLVES 3 WESTLAND SPORTS 1

                 

Next Matches......

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