Report
If ever there was a “game of two” halves this was it: apart from the first ten minutes Windsor held the upper hand for most of the first half. They built up a lead of two goals and looked good for three points. The second half was a different affair though. The Lilywhites came to grips with the conditions and seemed to have been injected with skill, enthusiasm, and a desire to win to carry them through the second half.
The game started well for the Lilywhites; they packed the midfield in an effort to snuff out the Windor attack, however this meant that we were giving away quite a few free kicks ten yards into our own half. The defence coped fairly well with the resultant free kicks but the next five minutes saw constant Windsor pressure bring its reward. Windsor won a corner on the right and, for once, the Lilywhites’ defence seemed unable to deal with it. The ball bobbled around the six-yard box and new signing Chuck Agudosi scored from close range.
From then on the Lilywhites had to sustain constant pressure with only the odd foray causing trouble for Windsor. One such instance came when Reilly fought his way through the centre of Windsor’s defence to shoot just wide. Two minutes later (25 mins) Windsor increased the lead. Gordon Hill rose unchallenged at the back post to head in another free kick. Things could have been worse on the stroke of half time when Agudosi thought he’d scored Windsor’s third. However, he was ruled off side.
Tommy Lee must have said something to the Lilywhites at half time: they came out fired up and ready to fight. Tommy Lee was first to lay down a marker on 48 minutes when he met a cross at the far post. Unhappily, his header went straight to the ‘keeper. It was Lee’s constant harrying in midfield together with an upping of the pace by all the Leyton Pennant players that meant the Windsor defence were now on the receiving end of attack after attack from the Lilywhites.
Spirit and quick thinking bought their just deserts on 53 minutes when the Lilywhites got their first goal. Tommy Lee (I think) took a quick free kick out by the left touchline. The Windsor players were arguing for a throw and the referee (if truth be told) was not really watching what was going on. The ball went straight to Jamie Richards on the edge of the penalty area. He reacted much more quickly than the Windsor defence, strode past them, rounded the ‘keeper and slotted home.
Leyton Pennant were in full flight now and pressured Windsor into making mistakes and rash passes. With only two minutes of the 90 left, the Lilywhites won a free kick on the left. Four Leyton Pennant players managed to head the ball in the six-yard area, keeping the ball away from the keeper and defenders. It was Jay Notley who finally directed the ball over the ‘keeper into the net.
Having learnt the lesson of previous matches, the Lilywhites kept the pressure on rather than try to defend the single point. A minute into injury time, Lee Mitchell forced his way through the Windsor defence. His possible match winner from twenty yards was, unhappily, just over the bar.