News Archive
12/06/01
Fishponds Albion now know that they will be in Division 2 next season. At the end of the season the League often restructure but this year the two bottom clubs were simply relegated, so Div.II football at The Netham 2001/2002.
06/05/01
Fishponds Albion finished the season with a double fixture against Baccy Jar. Albion opened the scoring in the first game when Dave Harris neatly slotted the ball into his own net. Until that point Baccy Jar didn't look like scoring, but as Albion pushed forward the gaps let Baccy Jar in for two more. In the second game, Albion were again in control with neither side making many good chances. A fumbled cross gave Baccy Jar the lead which Albion equalised through Tom Starmer. Albion went behind again but equalised with the last kick of the game from Gregory Jones. Fishponds finish the season at the foot of the table by one point despite their late rally.
29/04/01
Fishponds Albion gained three points against The Robins in the morning fixture with a splendid and professional performance. Rob Kingdon got two goals and there was one apiece for Martin Shaddick and Tom Starmer. Dave Harris picked up a booking for an offence well out of the penalty area. There then followed a journey across Bristol to BAWA where The Corinthians were waiting for their opponents. As one of the teams that put six past the 'Albion earlier in the season they may have expected an easy game but they got anything but. Albion feel aggrieved not to have got at least a point especially as there were golden chances at the end, but Corinthians ran out 2-1 winners. Albion now need at least three points from the last double fixture next week to avoid being bottom.
24/04/01
Two games again on Sunday, morning and afternoon. The Albion squad will be stretched.
15/04/01
All the good work of recent weeks vanished today as a lacklustre Albion went down 4-0 to Easton Cowboys away. A fluke goal straight from a corner started the scoring early but at 2-0 down at half time Albion still felt in with a chance, but a failure to control the ball let Fishponds down. Two second half goals, one from a penalty strangely not given away by Dave Harris, gave Easton their deserved win.
08/04/01
The afternoon kick-off worked in Albion's favour today as they gained a valuable point and were unlucky not to claim all three. Unprecedentedly ahead twice, Albion conceded a late equaliser after two goals from Stu Booth. Veteran midfield player Stephe Vowles stayed up way past his bedtime for the afternoon kick off but managed a good man-marking performance. A fine game all round for the Albion with everyone playing well, Captain Martin Shaddick was Man Of The Match obviously well-rested after his relaxing weekend away.
07/04/01
The morning fixture is off. Kick off 2pm against JA Sports at Sturminster Rd, Stockwood. Be there by 1:15 please and we must take down nets after the match.
01/04/01
Next week, 08/04/01, we have two games. In the morning against JA Sports and the afternoon against Corinthians. It is vital to get everybody we can, even if they can only play one game. Also, it is unlikely that these games will be at the same venue.
01/04/01
Battling Albion went 3-1 down to Shield & Dagger in a hard-fought contest at Dundridge Farm. An evenly contested first half saw Albion go a goal down but were level at half-time. Eventually superior fitness told although Shield & Dagger weren't comfortable until the final whistle.
21/03/01
Looks like Sunday's game is off due to lack of pitch again. We're going to train anyway, either at The Netham or on a 5-a-side pitch. Call Ian.
16/03/01
Sunday's game has been called off today because the Council are unable to furnish us with a pitch. It now looks unlikely that we will play Sunday's erstwhile opponents, Baccy Jar, at all, given that they have only played 8 games all season. Teams have dropped out of the league and most will not fulfill their fixtures this season.
11/03/01
Fishponds Albion shot themselves in the foot yet again by conceding four goals despite scoring three. The home side went ahead early on and were then gifted a soft penalty. Two down at half-time, Albion pulled one back and then conceded again. Fishponds then fought back to level with a second goal from player/manager Jonny Collins in a rare start, and from Barry Bird as he lashed in a corner from 8 yards. The game then remained balanced for twenty minutes until the home side scored in the last minute. Yet again Albion gave the game away and although there were some exceptional performances, giving a two goal lead before starting explains why we are bottom of the league.
04/03/01
Fishponds Albion's string of good performances came to an end with a 5-2 defeat at the hands and boots of JA Sports. Albion conceded 2 goals in the first 10 minutes, the second from a free kick that dislocated one of Mark Capel's fingers. Martin Shaddick took his responsibility as captain seriously and went in goal only for the hapless Mark Capel to score from close quarters in his own net. Albion only really started playing well when 4-0 down and brought it back to 4-2 through Stuart Booth and "Little" Mark Purnell who scored the finest goal he has ever scored and probably ever will. As albion commited more players forward JA Sports scored their final goal on the break. A result that flattered the home side but Albion have been flattering other sides all season.
25/02/01
Albion feel very hard done by at the outcome of today's game. Playing against The Star who thrashed us earlier in the season, the team battled brilliantly for 78 minutes then conceded a harsh penalty against the run of play. In fact, Fishponds had the best chances and it didn't look like The Star were ever going to score, still a fine performance against the team that are likely to win the league this season and everyone emerged with great credit.
18/02/01
Fishponds Albion registered their first win of the season with an exceptional performance against The Robins. Despite going behind, Albion battled hard on a terrible pitch and equalised just before half-time through a lethal left-foot shot from 3 yards by Ollis. After the restart Albion dominated and a stinging shot from Mark Purnell proved to be the winner. The defence were superb and held strong against pressure from the home side. Season starts here.
2-1 to The Albion, 2-1 to The Albion
15/02/01
News reaches us today that Netham Recreation Ground changing rooms have been condemned and therefore we will be playing no more home games there this season. We will endeavour to play at Muller Rd but we may also have to use Dundridge Farm.
04/02/01
Injury-hit Albion fielded a much changed side for the clash against Bedminster Sports and were unlucky not to get at least a point. A close first-half saw Albion dominate and man of the match, Stephe Vowles, crashed a shot against the bar from 20 yards, but a pitch reminiscent of The Baseball Ground circa 1976 meant that Albion's superb passing game became bogged down. At 1-0 down at the break, Albion looked set for a good chance of their first points of the season but tired as Bedminster started to move the ball well. Chris Gallian starting for the first time this season, held the ball up well and Jose Machin on the left looked dangerous every time he had the ball. A couple more players returned after long absences, Ollis and Barry, but Albion finally crashed to a 4-1 defeat with a late goal coming from Dave Harris as he was moved into midfield.
21/01/01
Albion went one better than last week by only conceding five. Hawkesbury Upton arrived in confident mood and managed to score inside 5 minutes. Having lulled them into a false sense of security Albion took control of the game and were unlucky not to convert one of the 300 chances they created, but quality shone through and Hawkesbury scored with another one of their crosses. Shieldy, looking to forget last week's performance, bravely stepped up to slot a penalty into the back garden of the houses on Downend Rd. Second half and Fishponds responded with total domination resulting in a goal for Tom Starmer, he just can't stop scoring. The adventurous Albion formation was working but then they stopped and conceded three. Two late goals from Shieldy and Stu Booth were not enough to get Albion their first point of the season. Tonight, doubts over the manager's position persist with Man of the Match Mark Purnell being lined up for promotion from within. Something drastic is now needed desperately if Albion are to avoid the ignominy of a season without a win.There are pictures though, ably taken by Mark Stickley, just click here.
14/01/01
For the first time in four seasons, Fishponds Albion had a player sent off when Shieldy outraged the crowd with a disgraceful two-footed tackle. The referee was right on the centre spot and had his normal long-distance view of the incident but showed no hesitation in dismissing this hard man of British football. Albion started well hoping to retain their record of being unbeaten this year when Tom Starmer put Fishponds ahead with his first competitive goal for the club. Amazed to find themselves ahead, Albion fought a rear-guard action and managed to concede twice before the break. Man of The Match, Stephe Vowles restored parity but Albion conceded almost immediately. Gary Toutt had to come off with a headache so Paul Hunt made his debut for the club on the right side of midfield. Albion carried on conceding at will then were reduced to 10 men by Shieldy's thoughtless act which appeared to be in revenge at being caught offside by a mere 15 yards. A defiant Shieldy afterwards complained, "I didn't touch him" but nobody cared. Jonny Collins pulled one back and The Albion looked in with a shout when awarded with a penalty but Stu Booth kicked it into Wiltshire.
As you may have guessed, there are problems with outstanding fixtures in the League. Because of all the postponements, some clubs still have cup ties to play and cup ties always take precedence over league matches. This will inevitably mean that, like last week, we will expect to play only to discover that our opponents have a different fixture. I'll try to keep this site as up to date as I can, it's not our fault, we did our best to get knocked out od the cups so that we could help.
This week's game will again be at home but at Muller Rd and not The Netham. Why is this you may be thinking? Well, our pitch at The Netham has new goal posts but they haven't been fitted yet due to the weather. So we're playing at Muller Rd. Got it? Good.
Last week's cup heroes exited from another cup competition with a 6-1 defeat against Woods in the 2nd round of The Evening Post Cup. Fielding an unrecognisable side, The Albion seized the back foot by the strange decision to kick against the wind and the slope in the first half. Club Captain, Martin Shaddick defended his decision by shrugging. Shieldy netted at the end of the first half but a valiant Albion side were so tired come the second they couldn't take advantage of the conditions. We'll concentrate on the League.
After a few weeks off, The Albion returned this week in the GFA Premier Cup against The Star who put seven past us not long ago. We lost 4-2 but they were flattered, scoring their first on the stroke of half-time. A fine performance from everybody, goals from Jonny Collins and Gary Toutt who also picked up our first booking this season for the twin offences of ungentlemanly conduct and looking like Mark Purnell.
This week's fixture was cancelled due to inclement weather.
Cup Fever hits The Albion. A first win of the season in Round 1 of the Evening Post Cup, we went one down but pulled back to a 3-1 result with goals from Ian Ferris, Stu Booth and Shieldy. One team in Fishponds, there's only one team in Fishponds.
The Albion crashed to the worst defeat of the season against the league leaders. We held them to 2-0 at half-time but then collapsed in the second half.
Stuart Booth scored a late goal for the Albion who had conceded two early on in the game. Tom Starmer made his first start for the club but the Albion are now rooted to the bottom of the division.
The Albion injury list is still enormous, but we are pleased to welcome back Ian Ferris who played 45 mins on Sunday 1st and scored the only Albion goal of the match. Jason Vaughan made his debut for the club.
You may have noticed some new photos on the Gallery pages. We now have pictures of early Albion players who must now all be in their 50s. Arising from these photos, for which we are indebted to Mr. A. Thomas of Redland, we'd like to do something about the changing Fishponds Albion kit. If you have any of these early kits from the days before polyester, can we have a look at them ? E-Mail us and let us know. Also, we'd like to do a "Where are they now " feature. If you know of the whereabouts of any of these reprobates, then let us know in the usual way , all unsubstantiated rumours greatly welcomed.
Anything you'd like to see on the Fishponds Albion web site, just let us know.
