By Rich Jennings (Puriton Utd Manager)
High-flying Puriton United lost their 100% Uxella League record on Sunday in a narrow 4-3 home defeat to fellow Division Three pace-setters, Artillery West Huntspill Boys.
It was to prove a bad start for United when a good flowing Artillery move down the left flank resulted in a great cross from their number seven. The cross duly found an Artillery striker who needed only the simplest of tap-ins to give the visitors the lead after just five minutes.
Puriton kept plugging away and had a great chance to level the scores soon afterwards but were to be denied by a fine save by the visitors' keeper from a Darryl Taylor 20-yard drive. However, in the 25th minute, up popped in-form Lee Mitchell to level matters with a great angled shot into the bottom right-hand corner.
Puriton then stepped up a gear and put Artillery under real pressure and scored again soon after with a real "keep it in the family" effort on 32 minutes when Dean Taylor made a solo run into the box and dragged it back for his dad, Darryl, to blast home his 15th goal of the season.
Artillery were under so much pressure now and started to get sloppy, making a few dubious late tackles on the Puriton players. The referee, Mr. Richard Jennings, was forced to book an Artillery player for foul & abusive language after talking to him on five previous occasions. Then, on 40 minutes, Dean Taylor made a brilliant tackle in his own penalty area before running the length of the pitch and striking a superb 20-yarder into the roof of the net to put United 3-1 up at half-time.
Most of the play took place in the midfield in the second half with no real changes for the first twenty minutes. Mr. Jennings saw fit to book a second Artillery player after another series of foul and abusive exchanges. Then, in the 70th minute, Will Beggs ran through the Artillery defence and, with only the keeper to beat, contrived to blast it well over the bar.
On eighty minutes United substitute Matt Holt came on and immediately ran through the visitors' defence. The keeper came out of his box with what appeared to be a two-footed tackle, completely missing the ball, but somehow managed to escape without a caution. From the resulting free-kick Darryl Taylor struck a fine curled shot towards the top corner but the same keeper pulled off a brilliant acrobatic save to keep the score at 3-1.
Then the Artillery fight-back began on 83 minutes when a pinpoint cross was converted clinically to make the score 3-2. Three minutes later the scores were level when an Artillery defender ran right through the middle of Puriton's sloppy defence before lobbing the keeper from twenty yards. Even partisan Puriton observers had to admit that it was a brilliant goal. Just as Puriton were reconciling themselves to coming away from the game with a mere point Artillery's number seven tore it from their grasp when he ran into the box from a tight angle and rifled the ball in the top right-hand corner to give the visitors a victory that had seemed improbable only ten minutes earlier.
(Story First Published: 16.11.04) |
