Guildford Saints 1 Ascot Utd 3

With our two centre backs already missing and the late withdrawal of Alex M due to injury we really did have to cobble together a defence on Sunday but Matt & Mike D stepped into the breach and performed very well against an organised and quick attacking opposition.

It was Saints that started brightly with Joe R, Julien, Tom & Jamie all playing their part in some sweeping attacks. Julien eventually found a way through the Ascot rearguard with a lovely looping shot to give us a 1-0 lead. We could have increased the lead but our finishing was not brilliant and as the half wore on Ascot started to see more possession and started to create chances of their own. Eventually they equalised when Matt stood off an attacking player a little to long and he was able to pass by him and strike a low shot into the corner of the net. We seemed to have weathered the storm after this but just on the stroke of half time a fantastic (if not speculative!) shot from an Ascot midfielder flew into the top corner of Josh's net giving the 'keeper no chance and the visitors a 2-1 half time lead.

In the second half we again took the game to Ascot, pulling them all over the park with some excellent running and passing, but despite this we failed to create many good chances and when we did the Ascot 'keeper made some excellent saves. Midway through the half Ascot struck with a third from a free kick that curled away from Josh and into the far corner and this goal effectively killed the match. Saints continued to try and create opportunities but quite often failed with either a poor final pass or some weak finishing and, to be fair, as we left some gaps Josh had to perform a couple of great stops to prevent Ascot adding to their lead. Eventually the game petered out to another disappointing defeat that realistically ends our hopes of a runners up spot in the Premier this season.

I thought the lads general play was OK to day. The effort was definitely there - in particular Ross, Mike D, Connor, Nathan and Tom R all worked their socks off - unfortunately the quality of our passing and finishing quite often let us down. However let's not forget that the eventual difference in the side was two "wonder" goals that we could do little about. A good effort from the lads today but a disappointing result.

Men of the Match - Mike Donne & Tom Richards

Perrywood Sports 1 Guildford Saints Blues 1

Having spent most of Saturday composing an email to parents berating the behaviour of my players I now have the happy pleasure of compiling a Match Report praising the very same players for an exemplary and disciplined performance against Perrywood... particularly in the face an appallingly inept performance from the match referee.

In a complete contrast to Friday's debacle the boys responded positively and with a great deal of passion and energy to make one of the division's leading sides look distinctly average.

When after 10 minutes the "referee" failed to give a clear foul on Joe B and Perrywood broke away and scored I feared the worst but the boys responded magnificently. Joe B was superb in the first half and seemed to be everywhere on the pitch as we dominated possession. Alex O, like a number of players playing his fourth match in eight days, also worked tirelessly, chasing down opponents and winning back possession regularly.

Despite plenty of the ball we, like Friday, seemed unable to create any clear cut scoring opportunities until right at the end of the half we thought we had achieved an equaliser but Chris Smith's brilliant free kick was well saved by the 'keeper.

In the second half we made one small change pushing Mike Bell further forward and dropping the always busy Scott G just behind him and it paid off as Mike Bell converted ten minutes in for 1-1. Mike then dropped into midfield for the remainder of the match replacing the tired Alex O and played brilliantly working his socks off to win back possession and create chances for Ed up front which unfortunately he was unable to convert.

When Perrywood did break our defence worked very well together today with Tyler & Chris getting in some timely tackles, Tom covering and supporting his team mates superbly and George, in particular, outstanding on the right.

Nathan was called into action late in the game and made a brave save at the feet of a Perrywood striker but all in all 1-1 was a deserved result.

After my disappointment Friday, I must admit that I was very proud of the boys today. Their conduct was first class. The referee was extremely poor today (for both sides) and seemed unwilling or unable to give any decisions and I thought the players handled this extremely well. As a result of this positive behaviour and because their concentration remained on the game the performance was extremely pleasing and the result very good. The team work was very evident and the willingness of the players to pull together and work for each other resulted in a job well done. My thanks to the boys for this.

Men of the Match - George Collett & Joe Barras

Staines Town 1 Guildford Saints 1

"Immense!!"

That was Kevin's view on his sides performance today. Denied a memorable victory only by a very, very late equaliser in "Added" time the Saints and their manager can be rightly proud of their efforts today against runaway league leaders Staines Town.

This is Kevin's Match Report;

"Following the last few week's poor displays today was a complete revelation in everyone’s attitude, desire and commitment. With just 11 players available the team played not the neatest football we have ever seen from the Saints but a most composed, committed and defensive display.

With Matt, Mike, Tom, Ben & Ollie all missing we had to go 4-4-2 with Alex M dropping back to centre back alongside Martin, Ross and Christian - and what a performance they gave, full of energy and desire to not let anything past them. Seb started on the right with Connor and Nathan in the middle and Jamie on the left, leaving Julien and Joe up front. Jamie, today, gave his best performance in a Saints shirt! He was closing people down, heading and laying neat passes on for Julien and Joe to feed on. Joe and Julien ran their socks off up front as we looked to close Staines down at the back and defend from the front.

Saints enjoyed the better possession in the first half and Martin was unlucky to see a free kick narrowly miss the post from a long way out. Alex M and Martin along with Chris and Ross destroyed every Staines attack and restricted them to long range efforts which either went wide or were easily dealt with by Josh. On the one occasion when a aimless ball was played over the top Josh was off his line like a greyhound out of the trap only to get clattered by the Staines forward. Luckily Josh was only winded and resumed his place in goal. Although we had the possession we really did not threaten the Staines goal and the half finished 0-0.

The boys were buzzing at half time and with plenty of reason to be so - we also knew that Staines were there for the taking if we carried on like this. With Staines wanting to wrap up the title they came straight at us but we stood up to be counted in style. Ross and Jamie were putting bodies in the way, Chris and Seb were denying time and space down the right and Alex M and Martin were dealing with everything through the middle. Finally we put the ball in the net when Nathan shot and the ball bounced in front of the 'keeper for Joe to put it away - unfortunately he was judged to have jumped at the 'keeper. Still midway through the half Joe latched onto a pass and steered the ball home for a deserved 1-0 lead. Cue a Staines onslaught!! A shot rattled our cross bar, corner after corner was defended magnificently and Ross threw his body at a goal bound shot... but despite this we still looked relatively comfortable. With 10 minutes left Seb was cruelly brought down by a cynical challenge and it looked like we would be left with 10 men but up he got and played on - a real testament to his desire and strength. Just before the end Julien had a chance but rolled the ball agonisingly the wrong side of the post. Josh gave us a heart attack when, trying to play for time, he saved the ball, put it on the ground then picked it up again conceding an indirect free kick. Staines took a quick free kick but Josh redeemed himself with a brilliant save. Moving into ‘Fergie time’ Staines were getting frustrated and we were getting tired when a hopeful ball was swung over from the right and the Staines player volleyed towards our goal - this type of shot do one of two things they either fly high, wide and handsome or fly in and unfortunately it flew in. Still the referee played more mins (46 at this point!!) but we played ourselves to a memorable point.

It just shows that when the boys are focused they can achieve almost anything. Maybe I have been harsh over the last couple of weeks as runners up spot was within their grasp and a lack of discipline and focus caused too many dropped points. They are very capable of playing like this every week and it is frustrating to watch them not play to the best of their abilities. Without doubt though this was by far and away their best performance of the season and one I and them should be very proud of. With so many excellent performances out there today it's been really hard to select one individual but in the end Jamie just edged it, a player more than capable but does not always show it.

Man of the Match - Jamie Henderson

Staines Town Colts 2 Guildford Saints Blues 0

Tonight's was surely the most disappointing game of the season - not because we lost... not because of the performance... but because of the shameful behaviour of my players particularly in the second half when energies that should have been channelled into competing and challenging our opponents were expended in arguing with our team mates, abusing the referee and arguing with our coaches. As a result a match that we could have won went away from us and a club that prides itself on our fairness and friendliness has been let down by the very players that have so superbly represented it for a number of years now.

Having written to all our players and parents about this there is no need to say more in this match report other than I expect a positive response in future matches.

As for the match itself we dominated possession in both halves but were unable to create much in the way of clear cut opportunities as frustratingly our final balls were misplaced or over hit and too often our players turned back into trouble rather than passing into space making it easy for a pedestrian Staines side to clear their decks. In the second half Staines counter attacked quickly twice and scored twice before our frustrations boiled over and we just disintegrated. We were fortunate then to keep it down to two and this was only in thanks to some resolute defending, a couple of good saves from Nathan and some poor finishing from Staines.

This really was a match thrown away. I thought Staines were very average and, although I accept that we were probably quite tired, in the end we beat ourselves with our indiscipline. A very disappointing day for me as a coach and for the players.

Man of the Match - Mike Bell

Guildford City Tigers 1 Guildford Saints Blues 2

A really battling performance from 10 man Blues saw them achieve a deserved victory against local rivals City to complete a season double over our friends from across town.

Again struggling for numbers Saints were further setback when only nine players were on the pitch for kick off. Shortly after the start Ed appeared to give us ten but we were always a man down for the remainder of the match. Things looked to be going from bad to worse when City took the lead midway through the half when an uncharacteristic fumble from Nathan allowed a flick on to drop through his hands and into the net. Unusually though this had a positive effect on our young 'keeper who then proceeded to put in one of his best performances of the season claiming all further crosses and shots with confidence and pulling out a couple of match saving saves later in the game.

Despite going behind it was clear that if we could counter City's direct style we were the better footballing side and with patience chances would - and did - come our way. An awful surface didn't help but we did try and pass the ball forward quickly and quite often we did create good space only to fail with the final ball or miss our shots. Scott had a great chance to equalise but pulled the ball just wide, while Jack had two great opportunities to score but on both occasions his shots were hit too heavily and flew over. Eventually though we did equalise when a fantastic free kick by Chris caused mass confusion in the City defence and when the ball fell from the scrambling 'keepers grasp Scott was on hand to toe poke home.

In the second half we continued to pursue the match. Ed posed a threat up front and twice Alex broke through but was unable to get a clean shot off. City also broke a couple of times but our defence was superb and rarely allowed them to get shots off and when they did Nathan was in unbeatable form. Midway through the half the outstanding Alex O ran clear from midfield and drew a fine save from the City 'keeper with a powerful shot but the rebound fell nicely to the on rushing Jack who fired home for the winner. As you would expect we "locked the door" a little after this and were able to see the match out with some fabulous defensive work from the whole team.

This was a good team performance (if not the best footballing performance!) and a fine result. The boys showed great character and put in some real hard work today and got their due reward with the win. Nathan played well as did the whole back four with George absolutely awesome in the second half. Alex Oldland had an excellent game in midfield full of energy & commitment but the star man for me was Scott who must have covered every blade of grass today and scored a valuable goal in the process. Well done to all the boys today though who all played a part in the victory.

Man of the Match - Scott Gotham

Guildford Saints Blues 1 Badshot Lea Blades 4

The Blues' season is imploding as we racked up our third home defeat in a row against a Badshot Lea side that were well organised but posed little threat from open play.

The Blues were much weakened by players away for Easter and we could only field a bare eleven. The boys did very well in the first half though and we had the best chance of the half when Scott pulled a shot just wide of the far post.

Right at the start of the second half we were caught cold at a set piece allowing Badshot a free header for 1-0. Credit to the boys though we continued to battle and Alex O was switched up front to support Scott and looked very lively. Unfortunately we were to concede two more quick goals - both again from set pieces - before we grabbed a consolation when Chris's corner was toed into his own net by a defender. Alex then had a great chance to score but his shot was saved and Jack too was clear but his half volley just went wide of the post. Badshot grabbed their fourth just before the end and against the run of play but overall they deserved their win in the end.

Marcus had a great first half dominating the game with strong heading and good clearances and Tyler gave him good support but in the second half, I'm afraid, the defensive side of our game was found wanting. We need to compete and challenge at corners and free kicks otherwise it's going to be a long, hard end of season run in for us.

Man of the Match - Chris Smith

Staines Albion 2 Guildford Saints 1

This is Kevin's take on another disappointing result for the Saints on Sunday;

"Following the poor display Friday night, Saints again started this match very slowly and gave away possession far too cheaply and it was not long before Staines took the lead when a long range shot caught Josh off his line, hit the bar and went in. We then started to look better and had much more of the ball after that but it was always going to be a struggle on pitch that was uneven and long grassed. Half time 1-0.

In the second half we were soon two behind when a speculative shot went under Josh. Still we got our act together and scored what we thought was a perfectly good goal only to have it chalked off for an offside!!! Seb then went on a run, squared to Tom whose shot was parried and Joe shot home the rebound. We were then subjected to a run of tackles that boarded on assaults but only one yellow card was shown and in the end we just ran out of steam.

Man of the Match - Tom Richards

Guildford City Lions 6 Guildford Saints 2

A disastrous evening all round really as the Saints lost out to local rivals City with possibly their worst performance of the season.

On a truly awful surface it was always going to be the team that showed the most passion and fight that was going to be victorious - unfortunately for us it was City!! Our performance in the first half can only be described as lazy. We were second to every challenge and weak in our clearances and, despite taking an early lead through Tom Richards, we were never in the game.

3-1 down at the interval some strong words were needed at half time in order to get a reaction from the players. Unfortunately the team talk was interrupted and this disruption, coupled with the continuing inability for the Saints to lift their game, resulted in a final score of 6-2 to City.

This really was a very disappointing performance and the players let themselves down today. There seems to be a "job done" attitude at the moment and as a result games we should be winning are going away from us. This was a "big game" for a number of reasons not least that City are one place below us in the league and the fact that the boys showed little fight or desire to compete is very concerning.

Man of the Match - Tom Richards