The weather at The Michael Anthony Stadium was awful on Tuesday night for our game against high flying Winslow United. There was a strong wind and the rain was pelting down making the pitch difficult but the supporters of both teams were treated to an excellent game which finished all square at the end. The point gained by the visitors took them to the top of the table on goal difference and our local rivals will fancy their chances of claiming the title or at the very least reaching the Play Offs.

We made one change from Saturdays fine win over Wormley Rovers with Dave O’Connor replacing young Liam Mann who dropped to the bench where he joined Greg Deer and Harry Shepherd who were both unavailable at the weekend as well as Bailey Osborne and Harry Beaumont.

Winslow came into the game with some impressive stats – being the second highest scorers behind Kings Langley and having the second best defensive record after Cockfosters – and they started the game strongly as befitting a team high on confidence. It took them just 12 minutes to open their account when we failed to clear our lines and their Skipper Aaron King who had bags of space thumped home a shot into the roof of the net from a pass cleverly laid off to him following a cross into our area. Score 0-1.

It was not the start we wanted and we had to be thankful to Josh Ameganvi who a few minutes later made a great save from George Kerr who struck a fine low shot. Winslow’s leading scorer Harry Scott who has bagged an impressive 24 goals so far this season tried his luck but his effort flew well over the bar.

The conditions were not easy and our players had to face a strong wind so it took us a while to get into our stride but once we overcame these difficulties we started to play some lovely football which culminated in us getting an equaliser in the 39th minute.

The move that led to the goal started when Mason Clarke collected the ball off Josh just outside our area and then went through Harry Jones and Dylan Fitzpatrick before reaching Max Hercules on the left hand side of the oppositions area. Max has been in scintillating form and his super cross into Winslow’s area was chested by Blake Argent to Dylan Whitelock who swivelled round and slotted the ball past keeper Jack Strange for his 13th goal of the season. Score 1-1.

The goal clearly perked us up and we enjoyed a lot more possession but had to be thankful to Josh again just before half time when he made a fine save from Lynton Goss who has a wealth of experience at a senior level at clubs such as Aylesbury United, Thame United, Harrow Borough, Berkhamsted, North Leigh, Bedford Town, Welwyn Garden City, Leighton Town and Biggleswade Town.

So after a slow start we came back well to level the scores at half time. HT Score 1-1.

We started the second half well with Max Hercules striking a free kick wide and then we took the lead in the 55th minute. It followed a good move started by Luke Peerless and involved Max and Dylan Fitzpatrick with the latter’s sumptuous cross to the far post being knocked into his own net by a defender who was clearly aware that Dylan Whitelock was breathing down his neck. Score 2-1.

Harry Scott struck a fierce shot which Josh tipped over the bar and Max similarly went close with a long range effort. With 10 minutes of normal time left we conceded a corner which we failed to deal with and Aaron King tapped home from close range to level the scores. Score 2-2.

Both teams went for the killer winner and the play flowed from end to end. Bailey Osborne had only been on the pitch for a few seconds when from a throw into Winslow’s area he was involved in an opportunity that fell to Dyan Whitelock but his close range effort was saved by the keeper.

From that near miss Winslow went straight up to the other end with Aaron King’s super pass releasing Harry Scott but Josh came to our rescue with a terrific save. The tension grew as both sides went for a late winner with Harry Shepherd sending Dylan Whitelock away with a lovely pass but it was the visitors keeper’s turn to save his side from defeat with a fine save.

Max tried a long range shot which skidded across the wet surface forcing the keeper to tip the ball just round the post. We also won a series of corners whilst our opponents were always a threat on the break but in the both sides had to settle for a draw which was enough to take Winslow to the top whilst we seem stuck in 9th place 5 points behind the Play Offs having played more games than all of our rivals. FT Score 2-2.

This was a very good performance to compete on an equal basis, get a draw and score 2 goals against a very good team with an impressive defensive record. There have been signs of recent improvement with just 4 defeats from our last 14 League games and in all those 4 games we lost by just a single goal. These are the fine margins between winning and losing and hopefully we can turn things around during the remainder of the season.

The Man of the Match award went to Harry Jones for a spirited performance and for being involved in a lot of our best moves.

Our next game should be at home to Haringey Borough on Saturday but clearly a lot will depend on the weather and the forecast for the rest of the week doesn’t look too promising so check the web site to see if the game is on or off.

TEAM,
TA: Josh Ameganvi, Mason Clarke, James Kimber, Dave O’Connor, Dylan Fitzpatrick, Jack Harvey (Capt), Luke Peerless, Blake Argent (Bailey Osborne 84), Max Hercules, Dylan Whitelock, Harry Jones (Harry Shepherd 84). Subs not used: Greg Deer, Harry Beaumont, Liam Mann.

Scorers

TA: Dylan Whitelock (39), Own Goal (55)

WU: Aaron King (12, 80)

Crowd: 110

tch Report to follow