Match Report – Team Solent vs Verwood Town
TEAM SOLENT, who had collected only five points from their previous six Premier Division matches, looked to get back to winning ways against Verwood Town. It was a mission that was eventually accomplished, although there were times in the game that the Potters played better than the final score of 6-1 suggests.
Matt Fletcher had got behind the Solent defence in the opening minutes but Ellis White covered well to clear. The ball was lost in the Solent midfield and Charlie Gagic’s 25-yard effort for Town forced home keeper James ‘Cat’ Taylor to a fine diving parry. A visiting defender did well to block a Jesse Waller-Lassen effort and, as the ball moved up to the other end, Patrick Nolan did similar for the home side.
Solent went in front on 13 minutes when Nolan’s fine pass from midfield found Thorn who got to the left dead ball line and supplied a telling pass to Silviano Obeng who thrashed it into the corner from close range. It had to be said that the goal was a shade against the run of play at that point.
Waller-Lassen strode forward from midfield and sent a fine ball to Jim Orvis on the right whose effort forced Town keeper Chris Lynch to tip around the far post at full stretch. Cat, in trying to play the ball out, only found Lewis Brown who failed to take advantage.. Town’s defenders were putting in some good interceptions as Solent built some promising situations with Liam Donachy doing particularly well for his side.
Tyrell Mitford tried a 25-yarder that went just over but the second came when Waller-Lassen’s inch-perfect pass found Obeng who controlled it, swept past a defender and completed a neat low finish. Taylor upended Martin Smith with a tackle from behind, the visitor was facing away from goal, and Gagic [pen] stepped up to score from the spot via a touch by the diving Cat.
HT: 2-1.
Obeng didn’t resume for the second half and was replaced by Tobi Adekunle.
Verwood had a great spell in the opening fifteen minutes of the second half with Cat out swiftly to thwart Brown and he then tipped over a Smith header following a corner that wasn’t initially cleared. Soon after, Gagic, Russel Dyer and White all went close.
The pressure was taken off somewhat when Mitford received a Pitts pass and made a purposeful run into the visitors box and was tripped; Mitford [pen] stepped up to place the ball into the corner.
Orvis soon added a fourth with a good slotted finish, Waller-Lassen claiming the assist and suddenly it was 4-1 with 67 minutes played. White got forward to receive a Waller-Lassen ball into the box but was off target whilst a neat corner routine saw the ball played out, two players allowed it to run and Wiseman’s shot from 25-yards forced Lynch to a low save.
Solent made two changes for the final ten minutes, Mitford giving way to Matt Sheedy but, of possible concern, Nolan limped off with a knock and one hopes that the Solent defensive kingpin will not be out for forthcoming games. Steven Black was his replacement.
Into the final throes and Solent were now in rampant mood, like a big cat hunting its prey (no, I don’t mean ‘The Cat’ this time!). They added two further goals to send the Solent habitues to their homes in an exultant end of year mood. First, Adekunle released Sheedy on the left who put it on a proverbial sixpence to Waller-Lassen who, for him, got a ‘rare tap-in’ effort. Next, Adekunle showed some dainty feet inside the box and supplied the cross that enabled Black to apply the touch in the middle.
FT: 6-1.
Verwood may well feel an element of rough justice with the overall result as it doesn’t quite paint the picture that it suggests. But, quite simply, you have to put the ball into the net during dominant periods and Solent bided their time and did precisely that. Everyone played their parts today and it was particularly nice to see Wiseman back in the midfield engine room following a recent spell of injury.
