A clear and warm winter afternoon as Bradley Stoke travels to AXA Sunlife who previously beat Bradley Stoke 3-1. Both teams initially start the contest a little timid with the ball magnetically attracted to AXA's left wing. Limited opportunities arose for either team until AXA gained a free kick just outside the box. A curling in swinger hit the far post and ricocheted in off of Bradley Stoke's keeper Phil Harwood. This gave AXA the confidences to start passing the ball in tight triangles as Bradley Stoke struggled to regain possession followed by poor passing or just lumping the ball up the pitch. The only light of hope at this time was Bradley Stoke's centre back/sweeper Tom Hutchings who’s exceptional efforts turned away AXA's many opportunities just before the last pass or shot.
Bradley Stoke slowly started to awake from their deep slumber, passing was quicker and on target, closing down was effective and they gained a few good scoring chances that just didn’t fall right.

The second half was looking good for a comeback and everyone was confident about the feel of the side out on the pitch. The Bradley Stoke shape was good as they built on the examples of the conclusion of the first half. Ben Osbourne was tearing past AXAs fullbacks again and again on the right wing and more opportunities went begging as a back post header by Dave Stephens floated over the bar and a couple of shots by Jerry Harper just weren’t on line. Then against the flow, AXA pushed up as many as 7 players into one attack, leaving Bradley Stoke very exposed. The cross from the left met the on rush of several AXA players for a point blank second goal. Directly after the restart Bradley Stoke still couldn’t find the net and AXA were defending their lead more and more. With this Bradley Stoke had to make a change, moving to a 4-3-3 for a more attacking formation. It worked to a degree as they were pressing AXA's midfield and defence and regaining possession, creating many more opportunities.  However, when AXA did escape the embrace of Bradley Stoke’s new formation they looked quite dangerous at the other end. Eventually it paid off for the away side as Jerry Harper’s hard working paid off with a header that found the net from one of the numerous corners delivered by Andy Gray in a strong first start for the club. With time running out an equaliser was not on the books. Bradley Stoke was well worth a point today, but luck is just not there at the moment.

Match report courtesy of Roger Smith.