Match Report

Goals scored
Martin Bell, Tony Bush, Graham Rix

Man of the match
Dean Weaving

Today's encounter saw Landsdowne Rangers take on Rochfords Sports II at Oakwood Park.

Despite the home advantage and a gallant effort, Landsdowne couldn't prevent themselves sliding down the table after losing 4 goals to 3.

A poor start saw Landsdowne go 2-0 down in quick succession from two unforced errors.

Darren Playford hesitated when the ball was crossed in from the left, leading to a free header for Rochford to score the first goal.

A long ball was then misjudged by the "Mr Dependable" Mark Hart enabling Rochford to score a simple tap in for the second goal.

A tactical switch at half time then saw Landsdowne take the game to their opponents in the second half.

Within minutes of the restart Mark Hart burst down the left, crossing with precision as Tony Bush scored with a bullet header at the near post.

The game then fell into a lull until Rochford forced a corner.

From the corner kick the ball took numerous deflections before landing at the feet of their midfielder. He then drilled a low shot in off the post leaving both Darren Playford and Dean Weaving no chance of reaching the ball.

At 3-1 all looked lost but an intelligent one touch pass from Dave Allen put Danny Sarling into space. He then took advantage by cutting inside and chipping their defence, enabling Tony Bush to give chase. This resulted in the Rochford keeper spilling the ball to Martin Bell who duly obliged by slotting home with a cool finish.

Just when Landsdowne thought they were back in the game, a terrible decision by the referee allowed their winger to race free to score their fourth and final goal of the game despite being 2 yards offside.

A final push from Landsdowne only yielded one more goal, a spectacular corner which was rocketed in directly from Graham Rix's right boot.

After the match Landsdownes players scratched there heads wondering where the next win was coming from.