AFC’s cup involvement ended for another year after defeat on penalties to fellow Division Five side Red Lion Dunston, in the third of four games between the two sides this season. Harry Rickels returned to the side in place of James Smith whilst Mike O’Keeffe took over emergency goalkeeping duty from player-manager John Purdy.
Adrian Gray
All posts tagged Adrian Gray
AFC went out of the Ron Eaglen Cup after a thrilling encounter with County Hospital FC. In Christian Sales’ abscence player manager John Purdy continued in goal. Elsewhere there were starts for James Whittingham and Tom Lackey as AFC shuffled the pack in search of a cup upset.
The first half had everything as County Hospital flew into a 3-0 lead in the first quarter of an hour leaving AFC dumbstruck. They were thrown a lifeline though as one of the Hopsital’s defenders talked his way to a red card. This drove AFC on and their comeback began immediately when Tom Lackey evaded the offside trap to poke the ball past the onrushing keeper. Lee Matsell won a penalty only minutes later which Ady Gray dispatched, and Gray wasn’t finished there notching an equaliser from close range just before halftime. Continue Reading
AFC claimed a point in their first away game of the season following a pulsating encounter with Welton FC.
West End started badly and were behind following a defensive mix-up. Their recovery was very impressive and by half time they were ahead following Sam McDonnell’s equaliser where he headed in directly from a throw in, and Mike O’Keeffe’s first goal of the season just before the break.
In the second half West End were pegged back to 2-2, before Ady Gray restroed their lead with a bullet header from a corner. Two more defensive lapses including an unfortunate own goal by Dan Arden had West End chasing the game in the latter stages trailing 4-3. Rich Dungworth’s late equaliser tied a great game which neither side deserved to lose. FT 4-4
AFC West End- Oliver Conway, Dan Arden, Stephen Pearce, Tom Cole, Ady Gray (c), Dave Capps (Paul Crampton), Mike O’Keeffe, Rob Davies, Rich Dungworth, Sam McDonnell, Jack McDonnell (Pally Dhindsa)
MotM – Ady Gray
DotD – Dan Arden
West End Secure Fifth Place With Win Over Rustons
AFC got back to winning ways on the common after three straight league defeats. West End were the better team throughout against Rustons as they secured fifth spot in Division Four with their ninth win. Continue Reading
Heighington Defeat Ends Forgettable Week For West End
AFC completed a miserable week with an away defeat at Heighington. Despite a decent start which saw AFC create a couple of decent chances on the counter-attack, AFC went in at half-time 2-0 down. Heighington added two more in the second half as their fitness seemed to be far too much for the away side to handle. Continue Reading
West End Triumphant As Capps Breaches Trent Defences
AFC fought to a narrow victory over Trent Valley to stretch their unbeaten run to three games. Christian Sales returned in goal meaning Oliver Conway was switched to full-back, Pally Dhindsa returned to the bench whilst Glen Wilson replaced Joe Harper in midfield who was asleep at the time of kick-off. Continue Reading
West End Battle To Dunholme Point
An under strength AFC West End grafted to a deserved point with a draw on the common against Dunholme FC. A draw was deemed to be the fairest result although both teams had cause for complaint regarding disallowed goals. AFC’s first goal came from John Purdy scoring his first West End goal, Purdy played the majority of the game after being introduced as an early replacement for the injured Matt Ingram. West End’s equaliser came from Mike O’Keeffe.
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Cross sneak past West End
West End took on league leaders Cross AFC in a hastily rearranged game on AFC’s own West Common pitch. With the fixture backlog sizeable after a numerous winter postponements AFC were left with no alternative but to accept Cross’ late offer of a game, the late agreement with the league led to the game being played without a referee a factor that had an influence on its outcome. Continue Reading
More Points Lost On Common As West End Plot Own Downfall Against Plough
After a disappointing exit from the Jock Mitchell trophy, AFC were back in action on the common against Athletico Plough as they looked for a performance to kick start their stuttering season. Joint-Manager Joe Harper was absent and replaced by his colleague Sam McDonnell. Rich Vickers was pushed back into the centre of midfield alongside James Dewhurst whilst James Trafford stepped in for the absent Chris Sales.
Debut – 6/9/2007 vs The Brown Cow
Appearances - 92 (5th Highest Appearance Maker)
Goals – 20 (7th Highest Goalscorer)
Players Player of the Season (2007/2008), (2010/2011) & (2011/12)
Man of the Season (2007/2008) & (2010/2011)
Goal of the Season (2007/2008)
Top Goalscorer (2011/2012)
After being brought to AFC West End by his former University team manager Glen Wilson, Ady quickly became a mainstay in the centre of defence for West End. Much was made of the gaps left by players departing for the newly formed Stonebow Athletic but with additions such as Gray bringing ability and leadership West End’s future looked very secure very quickly. In his first season Ady won three end of season awards including a Goal of the Season award for his spectacular effort whilst playing up front against Golden Eagle Reserves.
Ady has lead AFC as captain for much of the last few seasons and despite occasionally being hampered by work scheduling, his commitment when available has been undeniable. After numerous attempts by other teams to persuade him to leave for a higher level Ady has stayed true to the cause and looks set the lead the Beers into battle in 2011/12.
