Wanderers suffered a disappointing defeat in the first of their Tuesday night matches against FC Wokingham.

Mark Timms stepped in to replace the absent Nick Harding in goal, but the midweek kick off saw Wanderers lose Ian Griffiths and Paul Martin.

Jon Mercer started on the right wing as Tom Soane returned up front to partner Richard Scott.  Captain Dave Griffiths also returned to the side in the centre midfield.

The game kicked off at a fast pace, and neither side looked settled in the opening minutes.  Mark Timms made a couple of early catches from crosses to help settle any nerves.

The first twenty minutes failed to produce any clear-cut opportunities, with both sides expressing frustration with offside decisions.  Just after the midway point in the half, Wanderers had a lucky escape.  A rare lapse in concentration saw a long ball reach the FC Wokingham forward, but his shot rolled off the far post with Timms beaten.

Wanderers hit the woodwork themselves with an attack minutes later.  Steve Martin released Tom Soane, who saw the 'keeper parry away his fierce shot.  Richard Scott followed up with a well-struck left footed volley, but he too was denied by goalkeeper and crossbar.

FC Wokingham had a goal disallowed for offside before the interval, and Wanderers' Tom Soane and Anthony Prior both had shots saved.  With eight minutes of the half remaining, Jon Mercer limped off for Wanderers following a recurrence of his ankle injury.  This saw Lewis Trusty come on at half-time, with Scott dropping back into midfield and Steve Martin moving out to the right.

Wanderers made the worst possible start to the second half, falling behind within thirty seconds.  After an attack was broken down, FC Wokingham countered and their midfielder evaded two challenges before hitting a pass that was missed by the Blues' defence.  Timms quickly advanced from his goal but had little chance as the ball was nudged past him into the bottom corner of the net.

The Blues looked to hit back, but found it difficult to beat the FC Wokingham offside trap.  Tom Soane had a golden opportunity as he raced onto a ball over the top.  After knocking the ball past the 'keeper, Soane was off-balance and shot wide with the goal at his mercy.

Wanderers had one other chance of note.  Soane did well to beat two challenges down the right, but his cross was volleyed over the bar by Anthony Prior.

With the home side pushing bodies forward, FC Wokingham countered and beat Timms from close range to seal a 2-0 victory.  The result was harsh on Wanderers' depleted side, but a fair reflection of the balance of play.

TEAM: Mark Timms, Jamie Ryall, Chris Hillsdon, Clint Falcus, Darren Wakley, Jon Mercer, Steve Martin, Dave Griffiths, Anthony Prior, Richard Scott, Tom Soane.

SUBS: Lewis Trusty (for Mercer) and Peter Killingworth (Not Used).