Royals Match Report 2006-07

Royals just do enough to claim place in cup final
Royals 2-1 Presteigne North (Cup, 22-04-07)

Another windy day at Russell's Meadow, though not windy enough to influence the play as on some previous occasions. In contrast to the previous Sunday it was quite cool making for good playing conditions for the two teams. The fixture with Presteigne North is always a tight one with good football being played by both sides. This time was no exception.

The first few minutes produced two good attacking movement by the Royals with Lewis shooting straight at the keeper and Miles shooting narrowly wide. But Presteigne soon showed how well they can play. Some ten minutes into the game a shot on goal from one of their forwards was deflected by Keugler but the ball hit the far post and ricocheted into the goal to make it 1-0 to Presteigne. A somewhat lucky goal but well deserved nonetheless as Presteigne were playing well and were pressing hard. There were more chances on either side. Green nearly equalised towards the end of the first half with a shot just diverted for a corner by the diving Presteigne keeper. On balance, Presteigne was the deserved leader at the half way stage in spite of playing uphill and against the wind. They played with great determination and their lively forwards were a constant threat.

In the second half the Royals played better, but it was a hard fought battle all the way. Robinson replaced Smith from the start as the formation changed to 4-4-2 from 3-5-2. Presteigne came close to scoring a number of times. They hit the woodwork twice, missed the goal by inches on two other occasions and once saw the ball only just cleared off the line by Green. But the Royals had their chances too. The game began to turn their way when they were granted a penalty for shirt pulling, a penalty which Bourne put away coolly. The penalty was hotly disputed by the Presteigne supporters who saw the offence as having been committed outside the penalty area.

Both teams fought like blazes to get the upper hand. But the Royals defence, fortified by the inclusion of Robinson at half time, kept Presteigne at bay most of the time. While Lewis was often seen in defence lending a helping hand, he had a good game in attack too, bursting through defenders a number of times.  Bourne saw somewhat less of the ball than usual. With 8 minutes to go he was brought down by the Presteigne goalkeeper in a one on one situation. Green nearly scored from the resultant free kick but the ball just sailed over the cross bar. With 4 minutes of normal time remaining Bourne shot fiercely at the keeper who failed to hold on to it. Green was on hand to thump the ball into the net to give the Royals the winning margin.

A tight contest thus ended with Presteigne and the Royals see themselves in their 4th final in 2 years.

Team: Keugler, Riley, Agnew, Brayne, Green, Weynberg, Miles, Smith
(Robinson 30), Bourne, Lewis, Groom. Sub Not Used: Holtz