Finchampstead 1, Wokingham & Emmbrook 2
Saturday 12th December
Wokingham & Emmbrook's relentless drive towards promotion continued at Finchampstead on Saturday. A Grant Lewin strike two minutes from time secured maximum points that the visitors display fully deserved. However despite dominating throughout in front of a healthy crowd the visitors almost threw it away when Finchampstead levelled in the 82nd minute. The visitors who failed to take advantage of their superiority throughout were almost made to pay the price. Apart from the opening ten minutes and a brief spell in the second half, Wokingham were in full control, with some of their first half football outstanding. At times the home side just couldn't get near them. The outstanding David Bellis, Nicky Bateman, Grant Lewin and Alex Luis stroked the ball around at will. However it was Wokingham keeper Stuart Harris who was forced into action early on. A Finchampstead corner played in high from the right was well dealt with by the keeper. From this Wokingham broke, Luis, Lewin, Richard Bland and Luke Lee combined to open up the home defence but good defending denied the visitors an early chance. At the other end loose defending gave Dean Thomas room to use his blistering pace releasing Ben Knight but the striker fired wide of the target. Slowly the visitors got into their stride. Jack Broome's effort from fully 30 yards out flashed just wide of the target. It seemed only a matter of time before the visitors would take the lead and this was endorsed in the 18th minute. A composed move undid the home sides defence, moving the ball confidently out from the back the ball ended at the feet of Bellis on the right, cutting in across the edge of the area he pick his moment to roll the ball into the feet of Nicky Bateman. After looking up the midfielder picked his spot and curled his left foot effort way beyond the diving Perry Howard, just inside the post. It now looked as though the visitors would go on and put the game to bed. Bellis saw his header cleared off the line from a Luis corner. Howard then had to save at full length from Luis to concede a corner, from the cross Darren Thorne fired high over the bar. Bateman then tried to reverse rolls with Bellis playing the ball in low but after a god turn Bellis's effort lacked power. At this stage the home side had to rely on quick breaks that rarely troubled Harris. Bland then had a series of well struck efforts that were either charged down, off target or saved by Howard. Bland's final effort after good work by Lewin, Lee and Bellis, flashed inches past the upright. The home side were dealt a blow in the 39th minute when their main danger Dean Thomas limped out of the action to be replaced by midfielder Steve Selby. Alex Luis still only 17, was a constant threat down the left showing composure way beyond his age, the youngster has excellent touch, vision and can certainly pick out a pass. To their credit the home side showed slight improvement in the second half having more of the ball than they had during the first 45 minutes. Manager Neil White made a change during the break with Ex Bisley midfielder Brain Murphy replacing Sam Wyatt. Wokingham boss Wayne Wanklyn must have been satisfied with the overall performance but the in ability to finish the home side off must have been a slight worry. From the restart Bland was only just offside after being released through the middle. A decent break from the back by Steve Tranter took him deep into home side territory laying the ball into Bateman, the midfielders effort was deflected for a corner. From the corner taken by Luis, Bellis again saw his header cleared of the line. The home sides first real effort didn't arrive until the 51st minute, when Harris saved Pat Selby's well struck effort. Finchampstead were managing to get forward a little more without really threatening. The main danger to Wokingham was from set pieces, free kicks and corners. A quick Wokingham raid was ended when Tom Hopper pulled down Bateman, but Shaun Wanklyn's free kick failed to trouble Howard from the edge of the box. Things began to get a bit fiesty with a few tackles going in , but it soon settled down again after a couple of yellow cards were brandished. With Wanklyn and Tranter being allowed to break from the back it still looked odds on that the visitors would increase their lead, but resolute defending by the home side denied them this. Although from another corner Thorne this time saw his header cleared off the line. Bellis and Broome both missed the target by inches. Manager Wankyn made his first change in the 80th minute with Chris Byrne replacing the hard working Broome , Byrne was deployed just in in front of the back three. Then two minutes later the home side levelled out of the blue, some sloppy defending allowed Ben Knight to get behind the Wokingham defence, keeping his composure he fired past Harris from close in. So were the visitors going to be punished for not taking their numerous chances throughout. Neil White made his third change with Steve Ryan replacing Scott Bursill. Would Wokingham boss Wanklyn now settle for a point ?. That was answered almost immediately when defender Steve Tranter was replaced by a striker Shane Cooper - Clark another 17 year old. The home sides goal seemed to raise Wokingham to another level. Bellis saw his effort well saved low down. With time running out could the home side hold out for a point that certainly didn't look likely at any stage. With two minutes left on the watch plus any time to be added, Wokingham struck. Winning a corner out on the left, the ball was played in deep and high, the home defence failed to clear. The ball sat up nicely for Grant Lewin on the angle of the 18 yard area, the wide player's well struck effort looked to be arrowing into the far top corner, but in trying to head the ball to safety Russell Carter could only direct the ball high into his own net. Justice had been seen to be done , the better side on the day had deservedly collected the points. The home side tried to respond winning a couple of corners that caused a few dangerous moments in the Wokingham area. With only seconds left Danny Horscroft replaced Nicky Bateman to see out the remainder of time. This coming Saturday Wokingham & Emmbrook entertain Rayners Lane at Cantley Park. Kick off 2 00pm. Wokingham will be looking to gain revenge as it was the Middlesex side who inflicted Wokingham's only league defeat of the season so far, beating them 3 -0 earlier in the season.
Teams
Finchampstaed: Howard, Wright, Carter, Bursill ( Ryan ), Hopper, Prentice, Thomas ( S.Selby ), Hogg, P.Selby, Knight, Wyatt ( Murphy ). Not used Rumsby.
Wokingham & Emmbrook: Harris, Lewin, Luis, Thorne, Wanklyn, Tranter ( Cooper - Clark ), Broome ( Byrne ), Bellis, Lee, Bland, Bateman ( Horscroft ).
Not used Walton & Smith.