Gloucestershire County League

Kingwood 2 Bishops Cleeve Reserves 0

THE FREEZING weather caused several postponements in the league but Kingswood's game with Bishops Cleeve Reserves managed to one that was on.

The pitch was indeed in excellent condition and both sides knuckled down to try and pass the ball around.

The home side took the early initiative and pushed Cleeve really hard but their defence held firm.

After defending in the early stages the first real chance fell to Bishops Cleeve on fourteen minutes when Chris Parsons found himself bearing down on goal but keeper Chris Fox made an excellent diving save pushing the ball off Parsons toe twelve yards out.

A lot of midfield play took place until the thirty first minute as Jamie Evans picked up the ball just inside the Cleeve half played a superb ball through for Ryan Mudd to run clear of the Cleeve defence and drive the ball past keeper Steve Benbow.

Just a minute later Simon Clarke saw his header on target well saved by Benbow. Cleeve brought on Kieran Smart in the second half and a break down the right by the speedy winger might have given the visitors a chance to level but his cross went speeding across the box with nobody getting on the end. Simon Clarke was brought down twenty five yards out and right in front of goal.

Clarke took the kick but failed to penetrate the wall. In the sixty eighth minute Cleeve keeper Benbow almost cost his side a second goal as he tried to clear a back pass and it hit Frank Hitchings as he closed the keeper down, the ball sped towards goal but in his haste to reach the ball Hitchings pushed the keeper giving away a free kick and saving the keeper some blushes.

Kingswood caught the visitors defence out in the seventy first minute with a long ball through to Frank Hitchings who ran thirty yards before dispatching the ball into the Cleeve net.

Bishops Cleeve were very unlucky in the eighty second minute when Smart got free down the right sent in a cross that was met by Connor Sherry but his shot struck the crossbar.