[Chief Rum]

August 18, 2002

Northampton Chronicle & Echo

Nationwide Conference Wrap Up

Dag & Red 2, Telford 0 Welsh keeper Tony Roberts got Dag & Red off to a nice start with a shutout of Telford in Dagenham. The defense was exceptionally tight, as Telford failed to get a single shot off. Dag & Red, picked by many as the favorite to win the Conference this year, got scores from reserve striker Mark Stein and midfielder Paul Terry.

Doncaster 2, Leigh RMI 0 The Rovers ran roughshod over Leigh RMI in a shutout victory Saturday in Doncaster. The game featured a tight Doncaster defense which allowed Leigh RMI just two shots on the net, and an active offense with 14 shots by the Rovers. Andy Warrington got the zero, while exciting Scottish forward Jamie Paterson scored a goal, along with striker Robert Gill. The match was particularly brutal, as three yellows and a red card were pulled. The red was used on Leigh RMI defensive midfielder Nei Fitzhenry, who took Gill out from under a floating pass with a hard tackle.

Farnborough 1, Northwich Vics 1 The Vics and Farnborough played to a draw after 90 minutes of stunted play in the mid-zone in Farnborough. Neither team gave much leeway to the other in its own end. The Vics got a score in the 29th minute from Carlisle striker import Johnny Allan, but couldn't hold on, as Farnborough's old St. Lucian striker Ken Charlery notched it up in the 70th minute.

Forest Green 1, Morecambe 0 Quick Nigerian striker Kayode Odejayi beat Morecambe to half time with a score in the 45th minute in a defensive match in Forest Green, and longtime Rover keeper Steve Perrin made sure it stood up with a shutout on his end. Just seven shots were taken in the minor upset, 5 of them by Morecambe, which was picked by many to contend for the Conference title this season.

Gravesend & Northfleet 5, Woking 2 The Fleet sent notice to the Conference it wasn't going to just be another lacking recent promotee with a smashing defeat of Woking in Northfleet Kent. The back-and-forth game featured 19 shots on the net, and an own goal by Cardinals defender Dean Austin in the 84th minute. The goal gave The Fleet a 4-2 lead after the two sides had failed to advance a 2-2 tie since the 26th minute of the match. Woking just missed being relegated last season.

Halifax 0, Burton Albion 0 Last season, Haifax Town wss in the Third Division, and Burton Albion was in the lower Unibond League. This season, though, they are rivals in the Conference, and surprisingly, the once lower Brewers of Albion did most of the shooting--5 of the 6 shots--in the match. But it was all for naught, as veteran Lee Butler and Sheffield Utd. import Matt Duke matched each other with shutouts for the draw in Halifax.

Hereford 3, Chester 0 Hereford's Rushden import striker John Grant greeted the Conference with an acclaimed performance, notching three for the hatttick, before the 30th minute was struck in a hot and rainy match at Hereford. Chester got off just 3 shots to Hereford's 16, and lost going away.

Barnet 2, Kettering 0 The Bees survived injuries to starting striker Ben Strevens and halfback Lee Flynn, a fierce attack by the Poppies, and an unfriendly Kettering home crowd to come away with the victory in this one. New Ghanaian striker Junior Agogo, come to the Conference by way of the States' MLS league, scored in his debut, and young forward Tony Oshitola settled it with a score in the 90th minute. The Poppies outshot the Bees 7-4, but failed to get the rock by Bee keeper Daniell Naisbitt. On a far more serious note, Strevens' injury, a broken leg, will put him down for four months, depriving one of the Conference's top sides of one of their best scorers until January.

Margate 3, Southport 0 The Gate used a penalty score, an own goal, and a regular notch to beat up on Southport in Dover. The Gate, expected to be one of the better sides in the Conference this season, got on the board with a penalty kick by Sierra Leonan international midfielder John Keister in the 34th minute, and then doubled it with a score by longtime striker Phil Collins in the 42nd minute. In the second half, Southport's own defender John Moss accidentally knocked a shot into his own net to seal the deal in a dominated match.

Yeovil 3, Nuneaton Borough 1 Yeovil won a much tougher match than it would appear in Nuneaton, using two penalties in the second half to account for the difference. Yeovil took a 1-0 lead off of an early forward Gavin Williams' score, and a man advantage, courtesy of a red card to Nuneaton's veteran midfielder Mickey Brown. Nonetheless, Nuneaton fought well, and even tied it in the 51st minute with a score by former Yeovil striker Carl Alford. But scrambling to overcome their missing eleventh, Nuneaton was forced to play it tight, and that resulted in penalty kicks in the 54th and 90th minutes, both converted by Yeovil striker Adam Stansfield.

Stevenage 1, Scarborough 0 Scarborough got more shots off, but they weren't good shots, in a tight loss to Stevenage in Scarborough. The two Boros combined for just 10 shots, and the only one that went in was a 56th minute score by Stevenage striker Charlie MacDonald. French keeper and Cambridge import Lionel Perez was good to keep Scarborough out of the net in his Conference debut.