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Forbes hits hatrick in doninant display to fire South West into a third successive cup quarter final.

A bright start from Alliance as always saw some quick passages of play between the two forwards, Geo & Forbes escalate quickly into a 1 on 1 for Geo, in which he saw he’s effort saved & finally ruining the ‘100% 1v1 success rate’ fairplay to the keeper he done well but Geo should’ve probably scored.

We continued to apply pressure with no real threat at all from the oppostion and a perfectly weighted in Corner from Geo saw Forbes rise highest and header home to make it 1-0. Still we pressed and looked for more and just before half time, Cowling threaded through a sumptuous pass through to Forbes who netted his & Alliance’s second giving us a 2-0 lead at the break.

Second half seemed to have quiten down abit with Alliance just passing the ball around and not really going full pelt knowing the game seemed home and dry, Geo had other plans and after skipping past the right back with ease, fired in a curling ball to Forbes who again headed home for the hatrick, clinical. With about 20 minutes to go, Alliance were awarded a penalty in which Forbes gave to Geo & then Geo handed to bran after he still hadn’t scored for the club, the drought goes on for the winger after he blazed high and wide, apparently it ended up at another game down the road, unfortunate for Bran as he played the best game for the club to date. Ash was unlucky to after hitting the post also.

Final outcome 9️⃣0️⃣:
A convincing 3-0 win and a clean sheet sees us into another quarter finals. Credit to the opposition, they seemed like a decent bunch of lads but in terms of football, it could have been 7 or 8, we didn’t really get out of second gear.

Goalscorer ⚽️: Forbes x3

Assists 🎯: Geo x2, Cowling

Man of the match 🏆: Holton at left back was absolutely outstanding, some might say he is the key to our success & I wouldn’t argue with that at all, first to every ball, wins every header, gets up and down & plays with he’s heart on he’s sleeve. A true gem.
Shoutout to Lahib in the middle who literally doesn’t stop running, the work rate from him is incredible and sets an example to all of us.

‘We will be 5-0 up at half time’

This game had some build up for. Going into this one was fairly tense I will be the first to admit, not only are Bvilly joint top of the league, it had a rivalry feeling going into the game and it sure lived upto a ‘rivalry’ title to say the least.

It was 0-0 at HT and to be honest that probably summed up the first half, not really much in it, both teams finding gaps but not really anything testing either keeper, just very scrappy and some flying challenges from both sides making it difficult for the game to flow.

The second half it really started to liven up, Bvilly started the better of the two sides and failed to capitalise on numerous set pieces driven goalwards, at this point it really could be going either way. Around the 65th minute, Watson who was playing in midfield was shown a second yellow after a foul to break down play and Alliance went down to 10 & to be fair to the boys & a change of shape from the manager Jackson, we still looked in the game and pushed for a winner. Again Bvilly causing problems from set pieces in which case they went 1-0 up after a goalmouth scramble and a blatent push on our goalkeeper, some give it, some dont, nevertheless we found ourselves down 1-0 with 10 men with just under 20 minutes to go. Any game losing 1-0 is tough, let alone to a team with a 100% record and spanking teams every other week but credit were its due, we still pushed forward to get something out the game. We were pushing and leaving gaps, rightly so we needed a goal but Bvilly also pushed for a second which perhaps they would have got on another day, nothing really clear cut but some fine defending to keep them out, body’s quite literally on the line stuff. With practically the last kick of the game, Alliance were awarded a free kick about 25/30 yards out with Geo stepping up to take it. It was all or nothing basically knowing the full time whistle would be going straight after. A balance of whip and power beat everyone and a slight deflection off their defender left the keeper beaten, the home fans erupted on the pitch, a lovely top off, Ronaldo tense celebration infront of the travelling supporters to top it off.

Back at home 🏟

After two back to back cup ties in Worcester, we are finally back on home turf in Rubery, taking on a Crusaders side who are yet to win away from home this season. With some real momemtum building, Alliance find themselves full of confidence going into this one knowing full well a win will shoot them into the business end of the table.

Alliance come out winners in yet another cup game after dominating the opposition from start to finish, again another team struggling to get to grips with the dictation of play and pressing from South West from the off.

Another defensive masterclass made it just two goals conceded in both cup ties, unfortunately another penalty meaning we’ve conceded no goals from open play in the last two games.

Final outcome 9️⃣0️⃣ : Alliance make it two wins from two cup games after beating a fairly decent Perrywood side who couldn’t quite break down the defence and struggled to cope with our directness and pace going forward, giving us a 3-1 victory away from home.

Goalscorers ⚽️: Cowling, Holton, OG
Assists 🎯: Linehan, Watson, Holton

Attendance 🏟 : Again regular faces made the trip to Worcester to support the lads & spurred us on throughout which was appreciated, it can make the difference. 🤝

Man of the match 🏆 : On a day in which everyone played well, Ashley Watson made he’s return to the 11 starting at right back, the first time he has featured in this position. He had a massive impact in setting the tone for attacking from the back and also added an assist to he’s name, making it a deserved MOTM performance.

Following a 3-1 away win in Worcester the weekend, Alliance find themselves back in the same sort of territory this Sunday, where they face a Perrywood Reserves side who again are an unfamiliar opponent & also another cup game

Alliance book their spot in the next round of the cup after beating a very physical Berkeley Arms side in Worcester.

The cup game which had a much anticipated build up due to not knowing anything about the opponents prouded a fair few chances for Alliance and very little for the home team who struggled to cope with the pressing & intensity of South west who showed no remorse from the start.

It was a fair result overall for Harris Jackson’s men ( interim manager ) who delivered a second to non defensive performance which made it one draw and one win from two competetive games in all competions.

Final outcome:

Berkeley crash out of the cup in the first round and Alliance progress to earn a spot into the next round after a 3-1 victory away from home.

Goalscorers: Cowling, Holton, Forbes
Assists: Lahib, Geo, Holton

Attendance: A big thanks to the lads who made the trip up to Worcester to support, it was appreicated and we hope to see you all again soon.

Man of the match: It was a tough decision between MOTM with both Linehan and Forbes getting the plaudits from the rest of the squad after the game but after the 30 yard lob to seal it, I feel we have no option but to give it Forbes, a performance nonetheless every single one of the side should be proud off.

Next up:

Alliance find themselves back in Worcester a week today with another cup game against Perrywood reserves, again a game out of our territory but one we will certainly look foward too.