Report

General travelled to Studley FC to take on runaway leaders, Church Hill United on a still morning following a springling of snow. General were again struggling for numbers and were only able to name one sub.
As expected Church Hill dominated possession with General happy to concede half the pitch with their 451 formation and it certainly frustrated the hosts as for long periods General soaked up the pressure and made it very difficult to get close to goal and they restricted them to long range efforts.
At the other end Cory Bennet was trying his hardest to get a hold of the ball, but Matt Fearon on the right wing was General's best outlet and did pose problems, especially when supported by the willing running of Tom Trow-Poole.
in the early stages General probably had the clearest openings, both falling to Spencer Hicks-Kenward, his first effort was blocked and his second was just over the bar.
General's defending was such that it took until the 35th minute for Church Hill to force Dave Inman into a worthwhile save, however he then went onto make 4 in as many minutes as the pressure intensified.
General Fell behind on 40 minutes when General's stand out defender Alby Crawford was ajudged to have handled the ball for a penalty that was converted by Ross Kendall, 0-1
General thought they may have had a penalty of their own when Rich Whitlock appeared to be impeded but referee, Gary Walker was having none of it.
Half time 0-1.
The second half was much of the same with General continuing to defend manfully and Dave Inman in inspired form keeping the hosts at bay.
on 75 minutes Chric Hopkinson replaced Ross Fearon, who had had his best game of the season and Chris's creativity brought General some chances of their own. Firstly he found Matt Fearon who fired over and then Spencer should have scored following a goal mouth scrabble, but the best chance fell to Chris himself as he saw his goalbound shot deflected awauy for a corner.
With 2 minutes to go, Church Hill finally put the game to bed with a second goal scored by Danny Wakefield, which was probably the least they would have expected, but a little harsh on General who had put in a whole-hearted and very creditable performance.
Final score 0-2
Man of the match - Dave Inman just shading it from Alby Crawford
Dick of the week  - Marc Cartwright for going to the wrong ground in Studley!!