Sunday 18th May 2008

Paul Birch FC fell to further embarrasment to finish the season on a bit of a low.

After lost weeks defeat against Albatross, the side were looking to pick themselves up with a win but after being 3-0 up, sloppily gave the lead away.

They went 1-0 up after seven minutes when Collins sent through a fine ball over the top of the POW defence and Tony Louch cooly beat the keeper and slotted home.

Calum Comerford doubled the lead ten minutes later when he struck a fine shot from just inside the area beyond the keeper. 2-0

Louch got his third after thirty nine minutes when Comerford fed him into the box and he slotted home. 3-0

Prince of Wales got one back before half time but generally Paul Birch FC looked the better team.

Into the second half and POW came at the reds but PB won a penalty on sixty minutes when Ryan Tarrant was brought down int he area by former PB player Craig Martin. Louch stepped up to try to clinch his hat-trick but he struck wide of the left post.

This appeared to be the turning point as POW went striaght up the other end and scored their second. Then on seventy one minutes, they broke through the defence and the player shot through Wawrzewski's legs to make it 3-3.

The PB players heads were down and this game was only going one way then. On eighty three minutes POW were not closed down and their player made a good run into the right side of the box and struck a fine drive beyond Wawrzeski. They then scored two more before the final whistle to end a miserable game for PB and even worse end of the season.

The side still has two games to play but with the official league season ending today and little to play for, these are unlikely to be played.

It has been a mixed season with getting to the cup final of the Paul Picard cup, doing well in the President's Charity cup and probably doing enough to survive in the Premier Division but this was the ninth straight league defeat.

There will now be a time to reflect for the club and to re-organise and re-structure in the hope that the team can come back stronger next season and be looking to challenge.

Mike Smith

Team:

Wawrzewski, Beale, Watts (Thomas-Pryce 81), Collins, Byworth, Tarrant (L. Collins 62), Comerford, Ashworth, Selby, T Louch, Smith

Subs not used: None