Velocity Wessex League Premier Division – Saturday 24th February 2024
Shaftesbury 1 (Pitman 47)
Moneyfields 3
(Laycock 55, Hazell 68, Franklyn 82)
Moneyfields put on a second half display to put themselves in real contention to overhaul leaders AFC Stoneham by winning a game here that they would have maybe thought was one they may have found potentially difficult and demolishing our unbeaten home record with a second successive league defeat for ourselves.
In truth we were beaten by a side that relished the 3G pitch here.After Brett Pitman had headed in a Dan Bartlett cross past Dylan Kramer two minutes into the second half for his 47th league goal to put us ahead it was literally all downhill from there.
The three Moneyfields goals came from wide positions as they attacked on both flanks relentlessly with Callum Laycock flicking in the first in the 55th minute, Josh Hazell banged in the second and by the time James Franklyn put away the third with eight minutes left a number of spectators had made their way to the bar.
Greg Peel had a goal disallowed for offside when we thought we may just get the chance of a late flurry, though we knew it was the right call and in all honesty. Moneyfields would have just gone on the high press again.
We have missed skipper Steve Devlin as the glue in the side and today the gritty performances of Liam Farrugia or Asa Philips still troubled by injury needing to get right and have more recovery time. Though we are not in the business of making excuses.
In truth though there are none in that Glen Turnbull’s Moneyfields are a well oiled machine. They will now be hoping that we can get into AFC Stoneham next weekend, though we will be mindful that will be more of the same with another side gleefully embracing our top quality pitch.
The first half was a tetchy affair and we defended well smothering a wave of attacks to keep Ryan Pennery at bay. Pennery was incensed he should have had a penalty yet blasted his free kick into the wall and Shane Murphy dealt with the returning shot comfortably.
Cameron Beard earned himself a booking for a foul and we were sticking at it, yet the threat was always there. Beard, Ben Satterley and Louis Kellaway were putting in a shift though it always looked likely that with quality all over the pitch Moneyfields would break the deadlock as the teams went in scoreless at half time.
Where do we go from here?
Manager Jim Milligan and head coach Luke Burbidge will not be happy we have lost two games in a row including a 2-1 defeat by Fareham Town. Their business is winning games of football. To be fair though we have had fate go against us with any momentum extinguished by postponements at Hythe & Dibden and Laverstock & Ford. Having said that Moneyfields have five games in hand!
Every challenging team chucks a doughnut result like Fareham now and then though Moneyfields haven’t as yet. Perhaps we need to go flat and go back to basics factoring Ash Wells into a back four along with Jordan Foot still shaking of the rust of a period in the sidelines at Dorchester Town. That’s something for the management team obviously though and is merely an opinion mooted from the terraces.
So AFC Stoneham? Well the pressure is off a bit as they will be coming here full of beans and expecting to cut us open like knife through butter. We are Shaftesbury though and need a proper North Dorset up and up them performance as such with Kellaway and Callum Sweeney shackling Oliver Jenkins and friends. Steve Walker keeping his eye on Duarte Martins and all over the pitch ensuring this slippery eel that is AFC Stoneham don’t get to grease us all over the park again! Lest we forget their last visit here.
I think we may well have seen the champions last Saturday as who is actually going to stop them? We didn’t. Now it’s time to start a new page. We still have a chance of promotion and it’s now cup finals. Time to galvanise, dig deep. We have quality players we just need to click again.
Shaftesbury – Murphy (Capt), Perrett, Davidson, Walker, Beard, Kellaway, Bartlett, Pitman, Peel, Pollard, Satterley
Subs used – Wells, Sweeney, Foot
Moneyfields – Kramer, De Souza, Hazell, Jeffes (Capt), Pashley, Cain, Cooper, Sargent, Pennery, Laycock, Franklyn
Subs used – Dellaud, Bridgman, Harris, Birmingham
Officials – C.O’Neill, C.Sandoe, M.Ridge
Attendance – 187
Report/Photos – Avril Lancaster 🐌
Action from Saturday’s 3-1 defeat to Moneyfields.
