[Chief Rum]

Sunday, September 22, 2002

Northampton Chronicle & Echo

Nationwide Conference Wrap Up

Barnet 3, Farnborough 0 While Barnet certainly were controlling the game ont he pitch Saturday at their own ground of Underhill in London, it took them 70 minutes to finally make any good come out of it. That's when striker Junior Agogo finally broke a scoreless match with his first goal since the opening match of the season. He would later score his second goal of the match, and third of the season, in the dwindling minutes of the match. Bees reserve striker Toby Oshitola extended his scoring streak to three straight matches with his fourth goal of the season, a match-sealer in the 78th minute. Farnborough put a pathetic two shots on net all match.

Chester 3, Northwich 0 So what if Northwich hasn't been defeated, say the Blues. Chester showed the Vics the door and rudely, blasting them out of Deva Stadium in Chester. Northwich had entered the match in third in the Conference standings and was the only remaining undefeated side in the league--until Saturday. Striker Ryan Sugden got his fourth goal of the season in just the sixth minute, and added a second goal in the 41st minute. Fellow striker Daryle Clare scored his fifth goal of the season just before halftime, and he would have had two scores as well, had he made his penalty attempt in the 19th minute. The Blues outshot the Vics 12 to two.

Forest Green 2, Dag & Red 0 It's becoming more and more apparent that this Dagenham squad isn't quite as solid as last year's runner up. The Daggers struggled to get any offense going against the woeful Rovers of Forest Green, who, despite the win, is still in a relegation spot. Truth be told, Rover keeper Ellis Glassup was just on today, as the two sides had nearly matching shot totals (seven to six, Forest Green). High profile Irish international veteran midfielder Alan McLoughlin got his first goal of the season in the 40th minute, and striker Neil Grayson, another player on the wrong side of 30, scored his second goal of the season in the 45th minute to provide the final deficit. The Daggers, considered to be the preseason favorite to win the Conference, falls to twelfth int he standings now, with just three wins in seven matches and a paltry +1 goal differential.

Kettering 2, Hereford 0 The Poppies got two int he first half at their home ground of Rockingham Road and then coasted the rest of the way. Striker Ryan Trudgian scored his third goal of the season in the 14th minute, and surprise scorer Lee Howarth added his first of the season in the 43rd minute. The Bulls outshot Kettering, but couldn't solve goalkeeper Bowling. Unfortunately for Kettering, Bowling suffered a shoulder strain and will miss some match time over the next couple weeks.

Leigh RMI 1, Gravesend 0 The Fleet has to be the strangest on-off team in recent memory, what with their habit of pouring on the scores in some matches and then going powerless in others. Fourtnately for host Leigh, this was one of Gravesend's power outages. Gravesend got some shots off in the match at Hilton Park in Bolton, but they weren't very much on the mark. Striker Scott Fitzgerald's score in the 26th minute proved to be the difference. Fleet midfielder Ben White will be kicking himself this week, when his manager isn't, that is. He missed a penalty in the 65th minute that would have tied it.

Morecambe 3, Halifax 0 Morecambe, a preseason favorite, seems to be trying to get back intot he groove after a bad start. They have won three of their last four matches after Saturday's demolition of the Shaymen at Christie Park in Morecambe. Halifax played a risky match, resulting in two penalty kicks, both of which Morecambe converted, and eventually in getting striker Simon Parke sent off in the 90th minute. Striker Robbie Talbot scored his fifth goal of the season on a penalty in the 28th minute, and forward Gary Thompson scored his first of the season the hard way in the 33rd minute. Reserve forward Ryan Zico-Black scored his first goal on the second penalty, in the 86th minute of the match.

Scarborough 1, Margate 0 Few sides play in smaller-score matches than Scarborough has early this season, so it's no surprise that when they get a win, it comes in the 1-0 fashion. Striker Neil campbell scored his first goal of the season, and an active defense which limited the Gate to two shots made the score stand up in a match held at The McCain Stadium in Scarborough. The Boro did get soem bad news when reserve midfielder Scott Jordan strained his knee in the 80th minute and had to leave the match. He will miss two weeks.

Yeovil 3, Southport 1 Perhaps still smarting from being smacked at home last weekend by Northwich, Yeovil took it out on the Port at Hoig Avenue in Southport. Striker Kirk Jackson, who played well in limited action with Stevenage last year,got his first two goals of the season for Yeovil in this one. In between them, midfielder Lee Johnson got his first of the season as well. Southport actually outshot Yeovil nine to seven, but their only score was an 83rd minute strike by reserve striker Paul Wheatcroft.

Stevenage 3, Nuneaton Borough 1 This is one of those strange matches where one team is playing so well offensively that they even scored for the other team. By the time forward Michael Blackwood accidentally pushed across an own goal in the 70th minute, table-topping Stevenage was already ahead 3-0. After a mostly defensive first half by the Boro at their home ground Broadhall Way in Stevenage, the home side got two scores from striker Anthony Elding, his first of the season. Midfielder Leon Bell then scored in the 66th minute. The match was typically dominated by Stevenage's defense, which held Nuneaton to just two shots.

Telford 0, Nuneaton Borough 0 The most exciting thing that happened at New Bucks Head ground in Telford Saturday was when Burton fullback Darren Wasall had to leave the match with a minor arm injury in the 36th minute. Wasall will be available for Burton's next match, but he should be glad he didn't have to stick around for this one. Just nine shots total were taken in the match that resided mostly int he middle of the pitch. Burton keeper Matt Duke was particularly excellent in fending off six Buck shots.

Doncaster 1, Woking 0 The Rovers seem to be making 1-0 road wins all the rage. One week after edging out Kettering on their home ground, table-topping Doncaster did the same thing to the Cardinals on their home pitch, the Kingfield Sports Ground in Woking. Striker Paul Barnes scored his third goal of the season in the 47th minute, and the Rover defense smothered Woking, allowing them to take just three total shots.

INJURIES & BANS

Scarborough midfielder Scott Jordan suffered a hyperextended knee in the Boro's win over Margate. The reserve will miss about two weeks. Kettering keeper Ian Bowling hurt his shoulder in the Poppies' win over Hereford, and will also likely miss two weeks.

Halifax striker Simon Parke broke the league's recent string of good behavior by being sent off in the 90th minute of his side's 3-0 loss to Morecambe. Prior to Parke's gaffe Saturday, the league had gone two full match days and three weeks without a red card.