Last  Season

Top Goalscorer:

Lee Wolverson (14)

Most MOM Awards:

Terry Mcdonald (4)

League Position:

3rd - 35pts

Match Reports 05/06

reports 04/05

Darren Beasley

< Lee Mcdonald

Terry Mcdonald

Dean Stokes

Nick Clarke

< John Cartwright ©

Peter Bojan

Ryan Stokes

Ste Griffin

< Terry Cartwright

Richard Grove

Substitutes

Ian Jeff >

Matt Cartwright >

Andy Trigg >

Opposition:

Venue:

KO:

Date:

Competitions:

WYLDE GREEN

Home

10:30am

4 Sep 05

Division 2

Scorers:

Star Man:

Lodge got off to a flying start with attack after attack down both flanks. Unfortunately they all came to nothing with players spurning chance after chance. It wasn't long before Wylde Green had a few chances of their own & then one through ball managed to elude the defender & the striker slotted home. Only a few minutes later a free kick was gently lifted between the central defenders & a similar goal was scored. Just before the break Lodge got the breakthrough with a penalty when Terry Cartwright was brought down by the keeper. He dusted himself down, only to send the ball high and wide.

In the second half Lodges lack of fitness was apparent & they failed to convert any chances, of which they had more than enough, or did they capitalise on the wealth of possession. Things will need to improve quickly if this season is to be a success.

Starting XI

Darren Beasley

Shaun McMullen

Terry Mcdonald

Dean Stokes

Lee Mcdonald

John Cartwright ©

Peter Bojan

Ryan Stokes

< Ste Griffin

< Terry Cartwright

< Richard Grove

Substitutes

Ian Jeff

Matt Cartwright >

Nick Clarke

Danny Wilks >

Anthony Mcdonald

Luke Stokes >

Opposition:

Venue:

KO:

Date:

Competitions:

SPORTING STAR

Home

10:30am

11 Sep 05

Division 2

Scorers:

Terry Cartwright

Ste Griffin

Luke Stokes

Matt Cartwright

Star Man:

Lodge started this game desperately seeking their 1^st win of the season after a poor show last week. They started well with lots of possession and making plenty of chances. The football was of a high standard with crisp passing and movement. It wasn’t long before they made the breakthrough with a nice interchange between Ste Griffin and Terry Cartwright on the corner of the area leading to a ripper of a shot into the top right corner from Cartwright. Lodge looked in full control of the match with the defence coping comfortably with Sporting's attacks. A long hopeful ball from the halfway line though was somehow dropped by the goalkeeper and the striker following up simply poked it into the net.

Second half Lodge were struggling to find the 2^nd goal, despite creating plenty of opportunities. Then a corner from the right was tapped in by Ste Griffin and this sparked life back into the side. Other than a couple of half chances for Sporting Star it was all Lodge, with Substitutes Luke Stokes & Matt Cartwright adding to the score late on. A late consolation goal from a corner wasn’t enough to rock the boat and Lodge’s title campaign is eventually up and running.

Starting XI

Anthony Mcdonald

Shaun McMullen

< Terry Mcdonald

Dean Stokes

Lee Mcdonald

< John Cartwright ©

Peter Bojan

Ryan Stokes

< Ste Griffin

Terry Cartwright  

Luke Stokes

Substitutes

Matt Cartwright >

Danny Wilks >

Richard Grove >

Andy Trigg

Darren Beasley

Opposition:

Venue:

KO:

Date:

Competitions:

COLESHILL ATHLETIC

Away

10:30am

18 Sep 05

Division 2

Scorers:

-yeah right!

Star Man:

Oh, dear. What a terrible match. Unbelievably Lodge were by far the best team in this game, probably creating the most chances in a match they have ever created. Unfortunately, once again, they just cannot put away chances that seem harder to miss. Right from the outset there was chances galore for the two front men, as well as a few for the midfield, but the finishing was just woeful. The Coleshill keeper, did make a fair few saves to keep them in it, and at the other end Lodges defence were more than capable of keeping the Coleshill strikers at bay. But, at half time and the score still at 0-0 there were doubts about Lodges capability to score in this match. Midway through the second half the game changed when Terry Cartwright was shown the red card, this totally unsettled a Lodge side who surely would have at least put one chance away, and they were rocked when somehow a Coleshill player was left free in the penalty box with just the keeper to beat. They never really recovered from this, heads dropped, and some players were totally uninterested in the fact they were 1-0 down. Even till the end the remaining players on the pitch were firing high & wide when through on goal, and one on ones were made to look impossible when really they should have been comfortably slotted home.

Starting XI

Anthony Mcdonald

Ste Griffin

Terry Mcdonald

Dean Stokes

Lee Mcdonald

< John Cartwright ©

<  Peter Bojan

Ryan Stokes

Danny Wilks

Terry Cartwright

Luke Stokes

Substitutes

Dave Moran>

Richard Grove >

Andy Trigg

Darren Beasley

Opposition:

Venue:

KO:

Date:

Competitions:

OLYMPIC VALE RANGERS

Home

10:30am

25 Sep 05

Paul Carr Challenge Cup

Scorers:

Terry Cartwright

Ste Griffin

Danny Wilks

Luke Stokes

Star Man:

After starting well in this game Lodge once again conceded a poor goal early on when a through ball was not followed in and the striker from Vale pounced to score. However, this week the players responded and within a few minutes, a ball was wrestled away from the keeper by Luke Stokes and he calmly laid up the oncoming Terry Cartwright who sweetly finished from outside the box. Shortly after, Ste Griffin put Lodge in the lead after a Ryan Stokes attempt from a long throw at the near post was palmed into his path by the Vale keeper. Lodge then settled and started to pressure the Vale defence which was struggling to contain the movement up front. Vale held out till half time, but with the wind advantage in Lodges favour in the second half, it seemed their chance had come and gone.

Second half, Lodge piled on the pressure and apart from the odd break, Vale were not a threat to the defence. A great run down the left flank by Danny Wilks was perfectly finished off with a powerful nearpost shot which went in off the post. Lodge eased off a little after the third goal, and were caught out when a Vale midfielder was able to completely run through the centre of the park unchallenged and thread a ball through that was easily put past the keeper. This caused the last 15 minutes to be pretty tense at 3-2, that is until Luke Stokes was able to tap in a Terry Cartwright corner unchallenged at the far post and send Lodge sailing into round 2.

Starting XI

Anthony Mcdonald

<  Shaun Mcmullen

Terry Mcdonald

Nick Clarke

Lee Mcdonald

John Cartwright ©

<  Ste Griffin

Ryan Stokes

Danny Wilks

<  Terry Cartwright

Luke Stokes

Substitutes

Dave Moran >

Peter Bojan >

Kieron Robinson>

Darren Beasley

Opposition:

Venue:

KO:

Date:

Competitions:

SHARD END  BROOKMEADOW

Away

10:30am

2 Oct 05

Division 2

Scorers:

Kieron

Star Man:

This was always going to be Lodges toughest game of the season so far and it turned out to be just that. The first 20 minutes were pretty frantic, with Lodge failing to stop Shard End players running straight through and at the defence time after time. Unfortunately, it was another error though that led to the first goal, a lodge defender got caught dwelling on the ball by the penalty spot, only for the Shard End striker to nip it off him and slot it home. After the goal the game settled down, with hardly any clear cut chances being created. Worryingly, there wasn’t even any half chances being created by Lodge who just couldn’t keep the ball long enough to do anything with it.

Second half saw Terry Cartwright leave the pitch with injury and his replacement was a new signing who within minutes had equalised. A mix up at the back left Shard End defenders waiting for the offside flag that never came, whilst the ball was calmly put in the net for the first time in the league this season. The goal got Lodge going and starting to create openings, but none of them could be put away. Not long after though, the defence got overwhelmed by a flood of players freely running onto them and a cross ended up being smashed home by one of the two free attackers at the far post. This was a hammer blow after all the hard work getting the equaliser and was topped off by a shot near the end that amazingly nutmegged the Lodge goalkeeper from the edge of the penalty box! Unfortunately, on the day, Lodge just couldn’t match Shard End in the attacking stakes and it is looking like this season, they can only score against weaker opponents.

Starting XI

Anthony Mcdonald

<  Shaun Mcmullen

Terry Mcdonald

Nick Clarke

Lee Mcdonald

John Cartwright ©

Ste Griffin

Ryan Stokes

Peter Bojan

Kieron Robinson

<  Luke Stokes

Substitutes

Dave Moran >

Danny Wilks >

Opposition:

Venue:

KO:

Date:

Competitions:

ORTON RANGERS

Away

09:30am

16 Oct 05

Division 2

Scorers:

Star Man:

Lodge, struggling to get going this season, knew they were in for a match today and that they would have to work hard for any kind of result. They started well though in this game. From the off the defense looked solid and midfield were working hard to try and carve out chances for the front men as well as perform their defensive duties. There wasn’t many chances in the 1^st half though - for either side with the odd half chance falling either way but although Lodge thought they had done well to go in at half time 0-0, there was still the lingering doubt about whether goals could be scored here.

The second half was totally different, the gap between midfield and defense widened and Orton took advantage. Time after time Ortons midfield were simply running at the back four and they eventually conceded to a good finish. With Lodge trying to claw back a goal, the huge void was never filled and a stream of Orton attacks straight through the centre were the beating of Lodge twice in 10 minutes. All three of Rangers goals were well taken strikes, something which Lodge are severely lacking this season as 4 goals in 6 matches obviously points out.

Starting XI

Anthony Mcdonald

Dave Moran

Terry Mcdonald

Lee Mcdonald

Ste Griffin

<  John Cartwright ©

Danny Wilks

Kieron Robinson

Peter Bojan

<  Terry Cartwright

Luke Stokes

Substitutes

Richard Grove >

Darren Beasley >

Opposition:

Venue:

KO:

Date:

Competitions:

ROYAL HOTEL

Away

10:30am

30 Oct 05

Division 2

Scorers:

Luke Stokes

Star Man:

Lodge’s worst start to a season showed no sign of an end here today. Repetative as it may sound Lodge started brightly and were totally dominating the game in the first half, with all the possession but once again not creating any clear chances on goal. The defence looked comfortable with anything Royal Hotel had to throw at them and midfield was working hard, but as soon as Lodge crossed the half way line they panicked and constantly resorted to long aimless balls to nobody. During the last 10 minutes of the half though a lapse in concentration saw Royal Hotel score out of nowhere, and straight away the heads dropped.

Luckily the goal came just before half time and a short rollicking spurred the wanderers to respond, almost straight from the off they were level, some nice short passing ending with Wilks sliding the ball through to Luke Stokes who calmly slotted home. This should have been what Lodge needed to kick start the match but it seemed that because they didn’t score again soon after they gave up trying. The now infamous dividing gap between defence and midfield reared it’s ugly head again and the game slipped into a familiar second half pattern for the season. The side plays in two parts, the front section of midfield and forwards who try & fail to create anything, then the defence who, when constantly exposed to the onslaught of opposition players, can only hold out for so long before they concede. This results in defeat – as it did here. The results Lodge are getting are not a reflection of their performance in matches – only their second half performances, which if not sorted out could send them down to division 3.

Starting XI

Anthony Mcdonald

Shaun McMullen

Terry Mcdonald

Lee Mcdonald

Dean Stokes

John Cartwright  

Danny Wilks

Richard Grove

Peter Bojan

<  Terry Cartwright

<  Luke Stokes

Substitutes

Ste Griffin >

Kieron Robinson >

Darren Beasley

Opposition:

Venue:

KO:

Date:

Competitions:

PHEASEY ATHLETIC

Home

10:30am

6 Nov 05

Challenge Cup

Scorers:

Danny Wilks

Ste Griffin

Star Man:

On a day where the weather was appalling, the game was switched to Pheasey’s ground due to Lodges home pitch being sodden, and it seemed that today could be Lodge’s turning point. After coming expecting little from the game against a side top of the Sutton Premier Lodge started brightly, even though the rain was coming down so hard it was virtually impossible to see past your hand, they were comfortable on the ball and passing it around crisply while Pheasey were creating chances but seemed to be struggling to hit the target. Unfortunately, right on cue, after about 10 mins the goalkeeper let one of the softer shots meander under his body and Lodge were 1-0 down. Strangely enough though, this week it sparked Lodge to respond and within seconds and a few decent passes Danny Wilks slotted home the equaliser. For the next 20 mins it was a fairly even match and though not many chances were created, with the wind and slope to their advantage 2^nd half it seemed Lodge might just be able to get something out of this game but then a shot from almost the byline was somehow able to squeeze under the keeper in the terrible slippy conditions and was tapped in by the striker. Add a well taken header from a corner and Lodge were 3-1 down at half time.

Second half and Lodge just collapsed into an embarrassing shambles, goal after goal was scored, gaps appeared all over the place allowing Pheasey to walk around the penalty box passing between them, John Cartwright was sent off for a 4 minute argument with the ref and half the side were already thinking about their warm Sunday dinners waiting at home.

Ste Griffin scored a late consolation with a great strike that was wasted in such a game, and in an amazing twist, on a pitch that was like a mudbath with players soaked through with brown gunge, 3 Lodge players managed to leave the pitch without a spot of mud on them?

Starting XI

Darren Beasley

<  Shaun McMullen

Terry Mcdonald  

Lee Mcdonald

Ste Griffin

John Cartwright  

Danny Wilks  

Richard Grove

Peter Bojan

Kireon Robinson

Luke Stokes

Substitutes

Nick Clarke >

Anthony Mcdonald

Opposition:

Venue:

KO:

Date:

Competitions:

QUESLETT RANGERS

Home

10:30am

13 Nov 05

Division 2

Scorers:

Luke Stokes (2)

Star Man:

Todays match was marred by an unfortunate injury to a Queslett player after only 29 seconds. An ambulance was called and he was taken to hospital with a suspected dislocated frature. Eventually the game got underway 35 mins late and so only 30 mins were played each way.

Lodge started well, with continuing pressure on the Queslett defence, creating lots of chances which was a nice change although there was a 5 minute spell where there was chaos at the back. The pressure continued with Queslett getting a few chances of their own which the Lodge defence did well to keep out, but it wasn’t long before the home side actually got a decent shot at goal and naturally it went under the Lodge keeper who went down like a feather. So it was time to try and claw something back out of the game and it came in the form of a Luke Stokes goal to equalise just after half time with a free header from a corner. This was just what Lodge needed and they upped the tempo and started to really dominate the game, and when Robinson hit the bar you could sense another goal was there for the taking. Eventually they got the second after some good work down the left flank by Robinson made himself some room to get in a shot which was helped in on the line by Luke Stokes with about 10 mins to go.  It seemed like a much needed 3 points were in the bag when a goal kick taken by Lodge’s right back was un-challeged in the centre and then lumped over the top where a Queslett striker couldn’t believe he was onside but came round to slot home his easiest goal of the season.  In the end a draw wasn’t a true reflection of the match but mistakes and missed chances are going to prove costly this season for the Wanderers.

Starting XI

Darren Beasley

Shaun McMullen

Dean Stokes

Lee Mcdonald

Dave Moran

John Cartwright

Danny Wilks

Terry Cartwright

Peter Bojan

Terry Cartwright

Richard Grove

Substitutes

Opposition:

Venue:

KO:

Date:

Competitions:

MANDALE FC

Rectory Park

10:30am

27 Nov 05

Wicks Cup

Scorers:

Dave Moran

Star Man:

The wheels have well and truly come off for the Wanderers by this performance. Still some believe we are the better side and creating loads of chances but the truth is – Lodge are a poor side who create little to no chances in 90 minutes.

Once again they started out decent enough, but decent means comfortable without really threatening. Poor refereeing was the beginning though, and the ref missed some blatant decisions, the most notable a hand ball in the box which should have been a penalty to Lodge and then ruling off a good goal for offside, even though the scorer ran from about 10 yards onside to slot home. Then, while 7 players were still moaning to the ref, Mandale put a long ball through and netted the opener. From here it is the same old story, long aimless balls to nowhere, and Lodge players getting caught and tackled far too easily whilst trying to breakdown the opposition defence. It seems that every time the Wanderers go behind this season the passing and movement disappears and in its place comes amateur narrow minded play which gets nowhere and frustrates Lodges side more than the opposition. Mandale carried on attacking, and as the clock ticked down it became easier as more and more of the Wanderers side gave up, 2 became 3 and before long 4. The Mandale side were hardworking and bossed the middle of the park, with all 4 goals being top quality finishes which Lodge could only dream of at the moment, their defence hardly broke a sweat and the goalkeeper was still clean! Dave Moran scored a late late consolation goal which he probably deserved for playing in the Falcon Lodge defence for 90 minutes.