Match Report
Malvern Town v Willand Rovers
The final game of the season took Rovers up the M5 and across a bit. Matchday 42 saw a matchup between Malvern Town and Willand. The hosts needed a win to cement their playoff space, while Rovers were here to play out one last fixture to place themselves around the mid-table point.
A couple of changes were brought in as George Burton missed out due to an injury which occurred against Bideford on Monday where he had to come off early and Josh Searle was also not in the squad this week. 18-year-old Thomas Seymour who has been training with the club all season was given his debut in between the sticks.
The players emerged out of the tunnel and the ball got rolling when in the very early stages Rovers would have a chance to go in front. The ref whistled and pointed to the spot. Up steps Douglas Camilo and nestles it in the left corner to get his third of the campaign. Willand is in front on a crucial day for the hosts.
The Hillsiders had a mini mountain to climb of their own throughout the first half as they continued to barrage Seymour who stepped up to the plate and produced some fantastic saves. Reece Shanley also decided to do a bit of keeping of his own as on several occasions in the first half he was required to clear shots off the line.
The mission was set though for Malvern, make it to the playoffs they would not give Willand a moment to catch their breath with even more shots on target and near misses firing our way but it would all add up in the end for them with Jack Watts finding the back of the net to level the scoring up.
Then came the revenge from the early penalty as up the other end another point to the spot was ordered. Watts required once again to make it count and so he did with Seymour going left whilst the striker going right to have Malvern in front.
Before the break, the hosts would be at it again with Clark rifling it down the middle of the goal where Seymour just couldn’t quite see as it travelled at pace. Their playoff hopes edging just closer with 15 minutes to compose and cool down.
The second half wouldn’t go in Rover’s favour either as the hosts were still hot on our heels to find a fourth as they carved out chance after chance, you could be mistaken for them attempting about 20 times before the hour mark at goal.
Rovers did have a corner or two in the earlier parts of the first half, Allen aiming mostly towards the back post but the backline was well drilled and cleared when needed and would not let Willand slip in whatsoever as the scores in other places were still on their mind.
Willand could’ve had another penalty in the second half with Wellington pulled down just inside the area needed to point to the spot but the ref dismissed his claims but did not leave the youngster empty-handed with a yellow brandished for his troubles.
A fourth then did arrive for the hosts, MacDonald worked his way into the box from a corner and the right place at, the right time to deliver a header past Seymour which would secure the game for the hosts in the afternoon.
Subs were needed to add a bit of energy back in and so Harvey Dorothy & Jack Kennell both made way for Gene Price & Ollie Crisp to get things cooking again on the pitch. A couple of chances did fall our way but nothing as concrete as before.
One last player to use on the bench and Nathan Byrne made his way onto the 3G for River Allen. The rest of the second half went a bit flat with one chance coming our way as Byrne looked to squeeze a shot in from a tight angle with the keeper not being overly phased as it didn’t reach the target this time.
Added time was not needed and the curtain was lowered on another season in the Southern League for Willand Rovers, not quite on the highest note but we go back into battle once again in the magic league itself next season for another swing which is what matters.
Good luck to Malvern Town next week as they will take on Bishops Cleeve in the playoffs to put them one game further to step 4. Full-time at the HDAnywhere Stadium, Malvern Town 4-1 Willand Rovers.
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