Errea Cup - the (very) poor man's Champions League?

Midweek cup football conjures up images of glamorous European nights, the romance of an FA Cup replay or even a chance to book an early appearance at Wembley in the Carling Cup.

It is therefore fair to say that, in comparison, Swindon Supermarine’s Errea Cup fourth round trip to league rivals Mangotsfield United failed to grab the imagination, so much so that a sorry crowd of under 100 turned out to see Mark Collier’s men ease their way into the last eight.

Supermarine had been left without a fixture for over a week due to two postponements so the game provided Marine with the perfect opportunity to eradicate from the mind their 5-0 mauling at the hands of Team Bath in their last run out.

Unlike in the previous round, Collier named a strong side, but had to make do without the services of the injured David Stroud and the unavailable Leigh Henry. The absence of the two former Swindon Town youngsters made way for the returning Chris Thompson and the latest former Robin to join the Marine nest, Alex Rigley.

Mangotsfield themselves were without a win in eight, and their team selection suggested this was a game they were targeting to bring to an end that winless streak. The hosts, however, failed to start in the manner their manager might have hoped and Marine took charge from the off.

Top scorer Richard Kear and fellow front man Jason Welsh had both fired early warning strikes before Danny Allen’s ninth minute goal, drilled home from 20 yards. This goal was Allen’s eighth of the season which is no mean feat from left back!

Conceding early failed to ignite the Mangos and Marine continued to dominate but failed to capitalise on their considerable possession and neat football. Despite a wealth of half chances the visitors had to wait till the final ten minutes of the first half for their next real chance in front of goal, with Welsh seeing his fierce effort flash wide of the upright.

They did, however, find the breakthrough for the second just before the interval. Stuart Pearson sent a lovely through ball over the host’s backline. Kear picked up the loose ball and rounded goalkeeper Josh Clapham, calmly side footing in from 10 yards. The 2-0 half time score line reflected Marine’s dominance and with Mangotsfield failing to register a single shot on target in the first 45 minutes it was half a job well done.

The second half was a more evenly contested affair but the hosts were grateful to their keeper Clapham, who denied Welsh with a fine save in the opening stages after the break.
Clapham was again to thank when he thwarted first Kyle Lapham and then Alex Rigley with two smart reaction saves.

Midway through the second half Mangotsfield created their first half chance of the match but Allan Griffin headed wide from a Sam Bailey cross. As the game entered its final stages Collier made three substitutions with youngster Sean Wood making only his fourth appearance of the season. Wood, who has impressed in his other three outings and with a stunning winning goal previously to his name, continued to impress in his latest cameo with a series of strong tackles and effective passes.

At the very end of a fairly uneventful second 45 minutes the home side recorded their FIRST shot on target of the game. However, substitute James Crew saw his shot saved well by Tom King. All in all a job done well done by Marine, whose dominance was not reflected in the final scoreline.

No glamour of Europe, no romance of the FA Cup, not even the chance of an early trip to Wembley – but, nonetheless, through to the next round for Marine.

Supermarine will head north on Saturday to King’s Lynn for a game against the league leaders in front of a crowd of over 1000, and spare a thought for this reporter who will be on the player’s coach leaving Swindon at 8:30am…and there I was thinking we played in the SOUTHERN league.

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Canham flattens Marine

The Southern League’s top goal scorer Sean Canham put on a master class of finishing as the former Exeter City man fired four goals in Team Bath’s 5-0 home demolition of inconsistent Swindon Supermarine.

The visitors had started well with captain Kyle Lapham twice testing Bath keeper Darren Chitty from long range and Richard Kear also going close. However as the hosts settled they began to find room amongst Supermarine’s makeshift backline. The deadlock was broken on 17minutes when the lively Takumi Ake beat his man to fire in a low drive past keeper Tom King. Marine looked to regain immediate parity but Ashley Edenborough saw his effort well held by Chitty.

The turning point of the match came on 24 minutes with Canham hitting the first of a remarkable seven-minute hat-trick. A long cross field ball cut apart the visitors and despite strong offside protests, Canham was picked out unmarked at the back post to coolly slot home.

If his first was questioned for offside the second was merely to be admired.
Again a long ball caused confusion amongst the visitor’s rearguard and Canham took full advantage, sending a delightfully weig hted ball above the advancing Tom King and into an empty net.

Canham rounded off his quick fire hat-trick with a well taken solo goal after Dean Smith threaded a neat through ball to find him in space. With 12 minutes of the first half still remaining there was time for Canham to go close to piling further misery on the visitors but King and then Lapham kept the halftime scoreline at 4-0.

The second half was a much more subdued affair in comparison to the goal fest before the interval but when Canham was found once again in space he made sure with a confident finish to take his league goals tally to 18 for the season.

Marine fought to keep the score ine down and to their credit never gave in but their miserable afternoon was compounded when with 10 minutes to play, Gary Horgan saw a second yellow and a subsequent red for a late tackle.

Swindon Supermarine manager Mark Collier remained philosophical despite his side’s torrid day out:

"As a team we are always learning and today is a lesson learnt.

"We never get carried away when we win so we won’t get too despondent with this result."

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Horgan knows best

Midfielder Gary Horgan has returned to Southern League Premier side Swindon Supermarine over ten years after he began his senior footballing career with the club.

Horgan, who made a midweek switch from league rivals Mangotsfield United, played for the Wiltshire outfit in the Hellenic league, and after years of playing football at higher levels, the club have finally caught back up with him.

Horgan will make his debut this Saturday at home to Banbury United in a game that sees boss Mark Collier without SIX key players.

The ill-disciplined encounter with Chippenham two weeks ago will result in captain Leigh Henry and forward Nathan Lightbody missing the first of three games, whilst striker Jason Welsh and Henry’s defensive partner, Cedric Abraham, will sit just this one out.

To add to the availability crisis, midfielder JP Mills is out of the country for two weeks whilst striker Richard Kear, who has been hitting the goal trail in recent weeks, is laid low by flu.
With his options limited Collier is expecting his squad to be stretched to its limits.

“We have always said to compete in this league we need a big squad and this is a real test of that.

“The lads that come in will be showing us that they deserve a starting position so we expect big performances.”

Henry and Abraham have just begun to forge a settled defensive partnership with both players catching the eye of higher league clubs, so to have both out is a massive blow for Collier.

“They have been playing really well together, to replace one is always going to be hard, to replace both is an absolute nightmare.”

Stuart Pearson, Chris Thompson and Chris Copp are all possibilities to cover the unfamiliar positions at centre half, while last week’s star man Ashley Edenborough will be set to line up by himself if Kear is unfit.

Banbury are languishing in mid table alongside Marine but come in to this game on the back of a seven match unbeaten run. With both sides setting their sights on a top half finish this game promises to be an entertaining encounter.

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