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Kintbury Rangers 0, Wokingham & Emmbrook 2
Saturday 6th February 2010
After a slight hiccup at Chinnor the previous week it was back to business as usual at Kintbury on Saturday when a goal in each half put Wokingham & Emmbrook back on top of the table after being knocked off in midweek by Thame Utd who won at Milton. Manager Wayne Wanklyn took a positive step by changing from 4 - 4 -2 to a 4 - 3 -3,a bold move at a venue that the visitors have had very little luck at in the past. With Steve Tranter injured Neal Hanson came in at the centre of defence and Shane Cooper - Clarke replaced the unavailable Darren Thorne. From the start Wokingham were on the front foot with Shaun Wanklyn releasing Richard Bland down the right but the resulting cross was easily dealt with by Ex Wokingham keeper Kane Roberts. A long clearance from keeper Stuart Harris was flicked on by Bland for Luke Lee to latch on to but Lee was crowded out in the area. A repeat move minutes later saw Lee's cross met by Nicky Bateman but his effort lacked power. Harris was first called into action taking another Ex Wokingham player Tommy
Chapman's cross high up. With Cooper - Clarke showing some sublime touches up front Wokingham were always a threat. Wokingham then won two corners, Bland's effort was headed out for a corner which saw Alex Luis curl the ball behind and then the second scrambled away. The home sides first effort came in the 17th minute when David Livings effort
sailed high and wide from 25 yards. Wokingham spurned a great chance in the 26th minute when a quality ball into the area picked out Lee, Lee possibly had time to take a touch but elected to take it first time and placed his shot wide. This period of Wokingham pressure with Lee and Cooper - Clarke prominent would surely produce a goal. Billy Elgar and Bland combined on the edge of the area but Bland's well struck effort went just wide. Eventually the break through came in the 33rd minute with the simplest of goals. Alex Luis played the ball out from the back, Cooper - Clarke's brilliant deft touch with the outside of his boot released Bland out on the left. Under pressure from George Sage he cleverly cut into the area knowing any sort of challenge would possibly result in a penalty, the top scorer kept his composure to slot past Roberts low into the far corner of the net. The remainder of the half saw the visitors searching for a second with very little threat coming from the home side.
The second half got underway with Jack Broome's effort from 25 yards being blocked on the edge of the six yard box. Lee cut in from the left to see his effort deflected for a corner.
Stuart Harris's first real save didn't arrive until the 51st minute when he was brilliantly down to save from Chapman, pushing the ball out for a corner. Bland's strength at the other end took him through a couple of challenges but his final ball just failed to pick out Cooper - Clarke. Twice Lee almost turned provider firstly Elgar fired high and then after good skill from Cooper - Clarke his shot was blocked. Roberts then did well low down from Lee. The home side then had their best period of the game, spreading the ball around , Wokingham were forced to defend. In an effort to stem the tide Danny Horscroft replaced the hard working but tiring Billy Elgar, Elgar just returning from injury. Wokingham had a let off midway in the second half when sloppy defending let in Curtis Angell, Angell got behind the defence but saw his effort rebound off the foot of the post. Wokingham really needed a second to get into the comfort zone, which they couldn't do at Chinnor. Slowly they regained their composure and Cooper - Clarke went close. Then in the 81st minute the points were made safe with probably the best move of the game. Bland started the move on the right, feeding the ball into Cooper - Clarke who cleverly controlled, turning he spotted Nicky Bateman's perfectly timed run in behind the home defence and like Bland he slotted home low into the far corner. Manager Wanklyn happy with the two goal lead made a double change with Jose Gomez and Ben Rice replacing Lee and Lewin. Twice Wokingham almost scored the third Roberts tipped over from Bland and a Horscroft header just cleared the bar. However Wokingham still had to endure another let off in the 91st minute when the home side had the ball into the net only to see it ruled out for what must have been an infringement in the area. Referee Mr. Profitt waved away the home sides claims for the goal and produced a yellow card. Manager Wanklyn was pleased overall with the performance shown by his young side. " I thought we controlled it from start to finish , our attitude was spot on throughout and we defended well when needed". " Our midfield dug in and we looked lively, with the formation suited us on the day ". " For someome so young I thought Shane Cooper - Clarke showed excellent awareness and some of his touches were of real quality ". " It was nice to get the second goal although it would have been nice to get it a little bit earlier to settle us ". Wokingham take another break from league action on Saturday when Sandhurst Devils are the visitors to Cantley Park for a Reading Senior Cup tie in which Wokingham & Emmbrook are the holders. Kick off 2 - 30 pm. Then on Tuesday 16th February Wokingham travel to 2nd in the Premier Division Wantage Town for the previously postponed League Cup tie. Kick off 7 -30pm.
Team: Harris, Lewin ( Rice ), Luis, Broome, Wanklyn, Hanson, Lee ( Gomez ), Bateman, Bland, Cooper - Clarke, Elgar ( Horscroft ).
Not used Smith.