A first half hatrick from Richard Bland wrapped the game up early against a Newbury side that were made to look very ordinary at Faraday Road on Saturday. On paper this looked to be a difficult encounter but from the start Wokingham looked to be up for it. With Luke Lee serving a one match ban , Manager Wayne Wanklyn elected to move Darren Thorne from his Central Defensive role to play along leading scorer Bland. Wokingham also welcomed back both David Bellis and Alex Walton into the side. As you would expect the home side started on the front foot, firstly from a corner that was only half cleared , Adam Campion fired over the bat from 25 yards out and then Shaun Wanklyn had to produce a fine defensive header to concede a corner, again Campion was high with his effort. From Wokingham's first real attack Thorne cleverly released Bland in on goal and only a fine save by Newbury keeper Richard Stewart denied the striker an early goal. As Wokingham gradually began to take control they took the lead in the 9th minute. Wanklyn's free kick from inside his own half bounced in the Newbury penalty area, a total mix up ended with Tom McLean heading past his own keeper. From this point Wokingham tore into the home side ripped them apart. Bland who in midweek was the speculation of a possible move with both Sandhurst Town and Reading Town putting in offers for the striker, Bland however turned them both down stating he wished to remain with the Cantley Park side, good to see there is still some loyalty in football. A long clearance by Wokingham keeper Stuart Harris released Bland through the middle, again Stewart denied him. Looking on from the sidelines, it was obvious that there were goals to be had and Bland obliged in the 15 minute. Poor defending allowed Bland to race into the right of the area, under pressure he kept his cool to drill the ball in low from an acute angle. With Chris Byrne, David Bellis, Jack Broome and Alex Luis knocking the ball around confidently Wokingham threatened every time they went forward. An excellent build up involving Broome and Bland ended with Thorne heading high and wide. Bellis and Broome combined to release Bland, the striker skipped inside only to see his goal bound effort blocked. On the half hour it was 3 - 0. A clever turn by Thorne in the area saw him lay the ball into the path of the advanced Alex Luis, his first time effort hit the back of the net in the blink of an eye. Three minutes later it was 0 - 4 again Wanklyn being the supplier a long ball dropped for Bland to control he rounded Stewart before slotting home. It was Bland who went on to complete his impressive hatrick on 40 minutes. Alex Luis's ball over the top allowed Bland to race into the box before squeezing the ball past Stewart. As the sides disappeared down the tunnel there seemed to be a scuffle between the players with a couple of home supporters getting themselves involved too, totally unnecessary and not wanted in football.
With calm restored the second half got underway and the home side at last had what turned out to be their best spell for the opening 20 minutes. With the points in the bag Wokingham looked to take their foot off the pedal. With a hatrick under his belt. Richard Bland was replaced by Shane Cooper - Clarke in the 50th minute and he home side also made changes during the interval. Poor marking by the visitors presented the home side with a consolation effort in the 51st minute from a ball played in high from the right, Newbury substitute Kalief Madden rose unchallenged to head home at the far post, a poor goal to concede. The goal lifted the home side and Darren Jones tested Harris low down. Manager Wanklyn made his second change in the 58th minute with Nicky Bateman, who returned to the club in midweek after a spell at Bracknell Town were he made several first team appearances replacing the hard working Jack Broome. Twice within ten minutes the home side hit the crossbar. Firstly Campion looped a header on top of the bar and then the same player hit it again from well outside the area. This seemed to shock Wokingham and although not looking so dangerous when going forward, they slowly regained their composure again in midfield. The final change came in the 68th minute with Andre Stairmand replacing Chris Byrne. Wokingham's best chance of the second period fell to Thorne in the 80th minute. Good work by Alex Walton on the right saw him cross into the area where Thorne couldn't convert, the ball going wide of the target. A couple of crude challenge on Bellis as he skillfully tried to get clear went unpunished as Wokingham ended in control again. So this impressive performance leaves Wokingham still 8 points clear at the top. It was a good afternoon all round for Wokingham with second in the table Henley Town going down 4 - 0 at home to Eton Wick and with other title contenders Holyport and Thame fighting out a 3 - 3 draw. Manager Wanklyn acknowledged. " What looked to be a difficult encounter on paper turned out to be very comfortable ". " We done something that had been on the cards for some time, in the first half we converted nearly all the chances created, that was pleasing ". " The second half seemed to fizzle out and this allowed them a period where they hit the bar twice, but overall I was pleased with the overall performance , although slightly disappointed not to keep a clean sheet ".