Bowers and Pitsea match report
report by Taimour Lay
One of the discoveries of this season, a talent that belongs higher than the Isthmian Premier, has been Dean Wootten, Bowers & Pitsea's matchday commentator. Home and away, his understated delivery paints vivid pictures with words. When a habitual lull in the action occurs, Wootten is not afraid to fall into silence for up to 45 seconds, letting the sound of wind or spectator shouts tell the story. Wootten knows all the opposition player's names. He pronounces them correctly. He is obviously a Bowers employee but never steps into partisanship. The tone is pragmatic, perhaps a little disappointed. He is like Barry Davies surveying an Olympic women's hockey match, all calm authority and careful articulacy.
I've enjoyed both K's-Bowers encounters this season from the comfort of my own home, with Wootten's tones impressed upon my ears. Let Wootten's voice be the final one on this 3-3 draw. At first glance, you might think it was a classic ding-dong. No. One fan called it the "worst 3-3 I've ever seen".
As Wootten put it at half-time: "One for the purists, this one, see you in 15". When Pedro Silva Barbosa Bento De Carvalho made it 2-1 to the away side on the hour, Wootten offered the following aside on the player's name: "Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink has got nothing on him". When Walter Figueira attempted a wild shot: "Ooooh. Oh. No. Not the right decision". When Bowers had just equalised for 3-3, when you might expect the game to be reaching a fever pitch, Wootten drew our attention to something more important: "Enjoyable fact here: I'm pretty sure the corner flag is taller than the assistant referee".
Overall, a point seemed fair. K's score goals. Usually. We concede goals. Invariably. Fabio and Nyren Clunis are surely part of K's future and both made their mark here, both in front of the opposition goal and in their defending.
But the 5th and 6th goals summed up our season. Ollie Cook made it 3-2 in the 71st minute. The hard work had been done. He then put the ball through his own net and the game was thus drawn. There have been shots this season but also lots of shooting of ourselves in the foot.
At the final whistle, Wootten let his commentary drift off with the breeze. A few claps could be heard as the players trudged off. A tannoy buzzed. A bird tweeted. Someone shouted "well done boys". No chants or songs. The sound of gratitude for midtable respectability.
Kingstonian: Julian Schwarzer, Nyren Clunis, Fabio Saraiva, Simon Cooper, Ollie Cook, Alfie Young, Kenny Beaney, Gus Sow, Daniel Ajakaiye, Walter Figueira, Teo Kurtaran.
Subs: Kershaney Samuels (for Daniel Ajakaiye, 76m), Eze Ebuzoeme, Declan Skura (for Teo Kurtaran, 76m), Jordan Wilson, Serine Sanneh.
Bowers and Pitsea: Mitchell Beeney, Alex Bentley, Tom Stephen, Ben Steward, Max Cornhill, Quentin Monville, Lewis Manor, Jamie Dicks, Michael Ademiluyi, Pedro Silva Barbosa Bento de Carvalho, James White.
Subs: Declan Nche (for Michael Ademiluyi, 90+3m), Mitchell Gilbey, Joshua Rusoke, Arron Benstead, George Wind (for Pedro Silva Barbosa Bento de Carvalho, 90m).
Goal scorers: Fabio Saraiva (14m, 1-0), Lewis Manor (35m, 1-1), Nyren Clunis (48m, 2-1), Pedro Silva Barbosa de Carvalho (60m, 2-2), Ollie Cook (71m, 3-2), Ollie Cook (82m og, 3-3)
Attendance: 235
