Wokingham Wanderers F.C.
Wanderers 2 Ashridge Park Res. 3
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23rd March 2003 - Division 4 - Langborough Rec.

Wokingham looked to win 3 in a row for the first time this season as they entertained struggling Ashridge Park Reserves at Langborough.

 

Wanderers started confidently and should have gone ahead when Scott Ford played Anthony Prior in, but the Ashridge keeper stopped his shot.  Another chance went begging as Priors corner found Stu Orbell at the far post and he headed narrowly wide.

 

Following further pressure, Wanderers took a deserved lead when Dan Van der Laan-ODonnell flicked on a Mellor kick and Prior took the ball on to calmly slot into the back of the net. 

 

Wokingham took confidence from the goal and pressed Ashridge further, with Tom Soane causing problems in attack.  The Blues were then awarded a penalty, as Ford was pushed in the box. Prior stepped up and blasted beyond the Ashridge goalkeeper to put Wanderers 2-0 ahead.

 

Shortly after the second goal, captain Phil Soane suffered a recurrence of his knee injury and had to come off.  Orbell dropped back to left back and Mark Devenny took his place on the right wing. 

 

In the second half Wanderers continued to threaten but allowed Ashridge to get more into the game.  Around fifteen minutes into the half Ashridge scrapped through the Wanderers defence and lobbed over the advancing Mellor.

 

Wanderers problems increased when Andy Kinch turned awkwardly on his ankle and he had to be substituted.  Lewis Trusty came on in attack and Prior dropped back to midfield.  At the same time, Owen Holland replaced Alan Pearce, who by now had swapped with Devenny and was on the right side of midfield.

 

The Wokingham self-destruct button had already been pressed and Ashridge equalised when Wanderers were too slow in closing down and a low 20-yard shot was driven beyond Mellor.

 

As Wanderers pushed forward in search of victory they were caught out by a counter-attack and a push on Chris Hillsdon, which went unnoticed.  This left Mellor exposed and he was unable to prevent Ashridge scoring the winning goal.

 

TEAM: Alan Mellor, Chris Hillsdon, Clint Falcus, Dan Van der Laan-O'Donnell, Phil Soane, Chris Orbell, Scott Ford, Andy Kinch, Alan Pearce, Anthony Prior, Tom Soane.

SUBS: Mark Devenny (for P Soane), Lewis Trusty (for Kinch) and Owen Holland (for Pearce)