AP Scorers: Jacob Goddard and James Trevitt

Launton Scorers: Jack Meeks and Nick Allsworth

 

Adderbury Park welcomed Launton to the Lucy Plackett for a game that both sides would feel they could win. The pitch was already very soft and the half hour torrential downpour not long before kickoff, did not help the already bobbly playing surface. Puddles could be seen and it didn’t take long to cut up and become slippy.

 

AP started brightly knocking the ball around well, with Launton doing a lot of chasing. Joe marron twice fired over when well-placed just outside the box and James Trevitt fired just wide. Twice Josh Bowden got close to getting on the end of crosses as AP struggled to find the breakthrough.

 

In typical AP fashion, just before half-time Launton scored with their first real chance. AP re-treated and allowed Launton time to put a ball into the box, AP’s widemen hadn’t tracked and after the ball was failed to be cleared it landed at the feet of Nick Allsworth, who dispatched an excellent effort across the goal into the corner of the net past Dodge Carter in the AP goal.

 

 

 After words were exchanged at half-time, AP changed formation and came out firing. Within two minutes they were level. Some neat build up play down the right lead to Josh Reilly feeding Lloyd Sabin and the full backs excellent first time cross was glanced home by Jacob Goddard.

 

AP huffed and puffed but couldn’t create anything on what was becoming an increasingly difficult pitch. Final balls and wrong decisions, letting AP down.

 

Launton were not creating anything either with the pitch making it rather difficult for both sides to stamp any decisive authority on the game. But it was the visitors who moved into the lead in circumstances typifying AP’s current luck and the state of the playing surface. Jack Meeks picked up the ball and struck an effort from 25 yards at the goal. As Dodge Carter went to move across the goal he slipped in the mud, as he tried to get up again to reach the shot, he again slipped and could only get his fingers tips to the bobbling shot and it agonizingly trickled into the goal.

 

AP though did not give up and tried to put the visitors under pressure. Their approach was rewarded when Josh Reilly broke down the right and delivered a fantastic ball across goal, which was met by James Trevitt and the striker flicked the ball home to bring the scores level again.

 

It was all Park now and they squandered a few chances to snatch the win with Reilly, Bowden and Trevitt all going close and again final balls stopping them from creating anything meaningful.

 

The game closed out and the points were shared.