Report
The Lilywhites took three points from this vital relegation struggle and took themselves closer to safety after. The win took them to within three points of Edgware with four games in hand. The game was extremely competitive but the Lilywhites always looked stronger in defence and more incisive in attack in extending their unbeaten run to seven games.
The opening twenty minutes exemplified football in the relegation dogfight: it seemed obvious that nobody wanted to make a mistake. Conversely, this meant that both sides were not on their game and mistakes in passing were abundant. Most of the play stayed in the midfield but with Wokingham pushing up as far as they dared it was the Lilywhites who began to find space behind the opposition defence. Soon the Lilywhites’ dominance on the wing bore fruit.
On 31 minutes the deadlock was broken. Jim Peters, once again, got the better of Wokingham’s Nicky Bell who then cynically brought him down on the edge of the penalty area. Jamie Reilly took aimed the free kick low and hard towards goal. Wokingham ‘keeper Stuart Collar seemed to have collected the ball but the ferocity of the ball’s flight took it through his legs to writhe tantalisingly a metre out from goal. While Wokingham defenders stood and stared, Jay Notley and Simon Tickner sped for the ball. Club Captain Tickner was first there and planted the ball home to underline his importance to the revitalisation of the team.
As seems to be the case, Wokingham went on the attack in search of the equaliser but it was once again Jay Notley who could have supplied the killer punch just before half time when he broke away with the ball from midfield. Under constant defensive pressure he got to just inside the Wokingham area and was forced to shoot. Unhappily, the ball just skimmed the right hand upright with the ‘keeper beaten.
Leyton Pennant were not about to lose momentum at the start of the second half. Both Reilly and Peters causing the Wokingham defence all sorts of problems. A through ball by Snowsill was blatantly handballed just outside the penalty area by Evans neither referee or linesman, assistant referee, linesperson, man in black (no, that’s Valentine Dyall and he had nothing to do with football) saw the misdemeanour.
By halfway through the second half the Lilywhites heavy fixture pile up began to take its toll and tiredness began to set in. Wokingham forced on and the Lilywhites stayed more in defence. Tilley, Morgan and Tickner fielded almost every defensive header and, truth be told, Curtis in the Lilywhites’ goal had very little to do considering the home team’s excellent defending and the opponents’ very wayward shooting. The better chances came for the Lilywhites on the break when Tommy Lee and Jamie Whybrow both had chances brilliantly saved by Collar.
After three nail biting minutes of ‘extra time’ the referee brought proceedings to the end and the Lilywhites finished with three well deserved points. The Lilywhites dominance in defence and their ability to steal goals might well see them out of a relegation spot very soon!