Wanderers
went into this match expecting the win, despite the injury crisis which had ravaged their squad.
Clint
Falcus (Hernia) and Andy Kinch (Calf) joined Jamie Ryall on the sidelines. Chris
Hillsdon stepped in to make his debut in the centre of defence, Alan Mellor returned in goal.
The
Blues made the prefect start when after two minutes a fine Mark Devenny run released Tom Soane through the middle. His shot from the edge of the box was saved but Anthony Prior was first to the rebound and tapped
home to give Wanderers the lead.
Minutes
later a clever Scott Ford pass found Prior who beat his man but was cynically brought down.
The foul looked to be outside the box however the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. After a strange delay caused by an undisciplined dog, Ford stepped up but his penalty was stopped by the
Downshire keeper low to his left. However the ball was unbelievably blasted back
into the net by a surprised Downshire defender, to give Wanderers a deserved two goal advantage.
From the
restart Tom Soane chased down a weak pass and bravely slid in to knock the ball under the keeper for 3-0.
Just when
it seemed Wanderers would extend their lead, Downshire produced a neat passing move which was well closed down but the loose
ball was placed past a despairing Mellor.
Wanderers
then lost the services of captain Phil Soane who went down twice with a worrying leg injury.
The Blues looked shell-shocked as Downshire scored twice more before the break, one of which was a Ford own goal following
a corner.
What followed
in the second half will haunt Wanderers for a long time to come. From a position
of strength in the first half they found themselves trailing 7-3. Mellor could
do little as Downshire players went unchallenged and shots flew beyond his helpless dives.
Five minutes
from time Wanderers regained some dignity when Prior raced clear to score his tenth of the season and the 100th
of his senior career.
The only
player to emerge with any credibility was Tom Soane. The youngster put everyone
else to shame with his persistent hard work. He challenged for every ball and
won most tackles, even those when the opposition player was the clear favourite.
TEAM: Alan Mellor, Chris Orbell, Dan Van der Laan-Odonnell, Chris Hillsdon, Phil Soane, Mark Devenny, Scott Ford, Tom Soane,
Alan Pearce, Lewis Trusty, Anthony Prior.
SUBS: Andrew Trinder (for P Soane), Oliver Bambrough (for
Devenny), Craig Colman (Not Used).