Match Report | Bury Town (A)
The Yeltz stumble at the first hurdle of the campaign with narrow defeat in Bury St Edmunds to Bury Town
It was a hot August day at Ram Meadow, the home of Bury, and not the one in Lancashire FYI. Some have been confused by it before. Russ Penn’s first Yeltz line up of the season was unchanged from our last pre-season outing against West Brom’s Academy last weekend. Just the one change to the bench as well, as Rob Evans returned for the first time since the Kiddy friendly.
This game rather started like that West Brom match, as we began very slow. The only difference is that so did the opposition, summed up by the fact that the only highlight of the opening 10 was Jamie McGrath going down in the area – no penalty given. The first piece of defending arrived before the quarter hour mark, as Ryan Wollacott, tipped by the Radio as our MOTM, dealt with an over the top from McGrath to sweep the ball across to Ryan Wynter.
We had to wait until the 18th minute for our first shot of the game. On the edge of the box, Callum Ebanks held up the play brilliantly to find Jason Cowley. The ball instead found Todd Parker, whose shot was blocked. Just as one shot came, another soon followed. A ball from Dan Meredith found Cowley, saw the latter hold off Joe Carroll, before being brought down. The resulting free kick from Cowley hit the wall.
We hadn’t even reached the half-way stage of the first 45 at this point, and too say the chances for the remainder of the half were lacklustre would be an understatement. The only sniff at goal mouth action was a Milan Butterfield ball over the Bury backline to Cowley, but experienced goalkeeper Charlie Beckwith met the ball first to gather. It was a poor half of football, but the better moves forward had come our way.
The second half very nearly started in an electrifying way. The long range goals against Harborough Town & Stourbridge this year obviously aren’t enough for Cowley, as he again went for the half-way spectacular. Only this time, the ball went wide of the target. A rare chance for the hosts early in the half, saw Ollie Canfer knock the ball off Ben Cassidy for a corner. The delivery from Tommy Hughes bounced into the box, but the ball was cleared by Meredith.
As we approached the hour mark, the game was still at the deadlock, but this is where the intensity slowly grew. A Cassidy burst through the middle saw him brought down on the edge of the area for a free kick. Standing over the set piece was Butterfield, whose strike went just over the bar. Just after the hour mark, ball in behind to George Quantrell down the left, saw the latter cross into the box, but Wollacott was positioned well to cut out the ball.
A goal for either side never really seemed on the cards, but when it did arrive, it was the hosts who were celebrating. A ball over the top of the Yeltz defence found substitute Sam Ford, who slotted the ball past Dan Platt for his first competitive goal since arriving from step 4 side Felixstowe & Walton United. Our reaction to the goal was initially poor, but as times got desperate so did our attacks. Vanylson Silva brought some positive wide play off the bench, and a Lewis Ison free kick found the top of the net. Overall the performance was poor, but Spalding United lost their opener last season and still got promoted, so all is not lost.
Teams
Bury Town: Charlie Beckwith (GK), Joe White, Joe Carroll, Ryan Jolland, Tommy Smith, Max Maughn, Tommy Hughes, Ollie Canfer (C) (Seth Carroll-Chambers 88’), George Quantrell (Ethan Mayhew 84’), Bailey Clements, Jamie McGrath (Sam Ford 68’)
Unused Subs: Lewis O’Malley & Ally Conway
Yeltz: Dan Platt (GK), Ben Cassidy (Vanylson Silva 78’), Matt Preston, Ryan Wynter (C), Ryan Wollacott, Todd Parker (Jim Kellermann 67’), Lewis Ison (Rob Evans 89’), Jason Cowley, Callum Ebanks (Ty Barnett 78’), Milan Butterfield, Dan Meredith
Unused Subs: Ethan Sephton