MIDWEEK MATCH REPORTS

Premier Division
Binfield 2 - 2 Slimbridge
A pulsating encounter that both sides played exciting attacking football at pace, twice in the lead, the Moles just couldn't quite hold on for the 3 points. Although most watchers would admit that a draw was the fair result.
Binfield started with the same spine to their side that played on Saturday, but with changes enforced by injury down both flanks. Jean-Pierre Jamil came replaced Paul Mortimer at left back and Dave Fenton made his first appearance of 2011 on the left of midfield. And Fenton had a great game until he tired near the end, giving his full back a torrid time and putting in a pinpoint corner for Binfield's second goal. On the right, James Partridge moved forward to midfield and Paul Shone came in at right back.
Right from the start of this match, both sides attacked with pace. Ryan Millward and Gary Callaway were a threat at every set piece on the night and from two of those, Millward scored both Binfield's goals. The first came midway through the first half, stabbing in the loose ball after a corner wasn't cleared moments after Binfield had missed a great chance to open the scoring from the penalty spot. Carl Davies tried to place the ball to the keeper's left, but scuffed his attempt and it was comfortably pushed round the post. Slimbridge will have felt that was justice as the award for a trip on Ian Davies, who was going away from goal looked harsh. Just before half time, Slimbridge were level, as a sweeping move down the left ended being switched to the unmarked Carter who shot across Dan Weait and into the far corner.
HT:            1 - 1
5 minutes into the second half, Binfield were ahead again as Ryan Millward scored his second of the night, meeting a Dave Fenton in swinging corner with a superb diving header that flashed into the goal. Binfield then pressed for what could have been a decisive third, but though several good chances came to Partridge, Davies and Suarez, Slimbridge just about held out and then hit back with the sucker punch. One moment Binfield were shooting on the edge of the Slimbridge area, the next, Slimbridge had cleared the ball long down field and Langworthy ran on to shoot across Weait again and into the bottom corner.  
Slimbridge are a good attacking side - much like the Moles - great going forward, but will let in goals to the better sides. And they hit back late on in both halves. Great game for the neutral - both sides could have won it, a 2-2 draw probably about right.

Bracknell Town 3 – 4 Abingdon Town
BRACKNELL COLLAPSE TO DEFEAT
Leading by two goals after an hour played, Bracknell Town contrived to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory as a combination of panic, mistakes and ill discipline allowed visitors Abingdon Town to score three times and win by the odd goal in seven on Tuesday night.
The hosts opened the scoring in the 14th minute. Liam Woozley retained possession well and moved down the left channel before slipping the ball to Robert Yorke-Goldney. His cross was met by Callum Whitty who needed the slightest of touches to flick the ball in for a smart finish. Abingdon responded well and forced a series of corners with Chris Adams forced to tip two of them over his crossbar before Paul Alder headed one over.
The equaliser came in the 30th minute through Lance Williams’ penalty. Adams’ spilled Drew Fowler’s free-kick before clipping the ankles of Mark Janes. Williams confidently stepped up and sent Adams the wrong way to despatch the spot kick with ease. George Archer sent in a deep cross which Whitty bundled over the line in the 39th minute but the goal was disallowed as Whitty was adjudged to have fouled goalkeeper Matt Hutton who was clearly in discomfort and showed great character to play out the rest of the match.
HT:      1 – 1
The Robins looked to have the game won with two goals inside the opening fifteen minutes of the second period. Firstly, Toby Webster fouled Whitty just inside the area and he dusted himself down to smash home the resulting penalty in the 48th minute. The third goal was the result of a great team move. Liam Woozley, Whitty and Yorke-Goldney combined down the left hand side with the latter sending in a cross. Tom Nugent dummied the cross and Adam Crittenden took the ball before rounding Alder and firing past Hutton. Williams added his second goal in the 62nd minute in controversial fashion. As the ball was crossed in from the right, Archer attempted to shield the ball from Williams and went to ground claiming a free-kick for a push. With no whistle from the referee, Williams pounced to score from close range. Despite the protracted protests from the Bracknell players, Archer appeared to lose his footing from the slightest of nudges so not awarding a free-kick and allowing the goal to stand was the correct course of action. As panic set in amongst the hosts, the Abbotts soon equalised. Kieran Davies swung in a corner from the left which was missed by everyone and flew directly into the top right hand corner. The Robins then started to defend deeper and deeper and lost their discipline. Archer, still aggrieved by the award of an earlier goal was booked and then warned twice for his conduct and had to be hauled off before he was sent off to be replaced by Sam Dennison. At this point there only looked likely to be one winner and Abingdon duly complied in the 88th minute. Adams clearance was met by Alder who evaded Crittenden to send in a high ball which was expertly controlled by substitute Rhys Denton who turned and finished well to leave the Larges Lane side ruing their shambolic collapse and losing out on a much needed three points.
Basement side Fairford Town visit this Saturday in a game the Robins should win if they can cut out the mistakes and keep their heads.

Flackwell Heath 1 - 0 Ardley United
Ardley’s title aspirations took a knock when despite dominating the 1st half they failed to find the net, allowing Flackwell to steal all three points from a deflected free kick.
Adam Garner fired in a low hard shot from a corner early in the game, only to see it cleared off the line, and this was somewhat the pattern of the half. Garner repeated his attempt minutes later with the same outcome. Flackwell’s first attack did give the visitors a wake up call when Harry Pritchard’s speculative effort rattled the cross bar, but despite further chances the half ended with no score.
HT:            0 - 0
Flackwell started the second half with more belief, and for a while took the game to the visitors but the defence stood firm thwarting any attempt on goal. Ardley were awarded a free kick wide left and a Murray Nicholls effort was tipped over by Sam Southedon in the Flackwell goal. It was Southedon who was to prove to be the saviour for Flackwell pulling of further stunning saves from Jordan Ayris, and again from Adam Garner. Danny Bone did have the ball in the net only to be judged offside much to the relief of the home side. With it beginning to look like a 0-0 draw Flackwell were awarded a free kick some 20 meters out Danny Jordan hit it low and it would appear that Fox in the Ardley goal had it covered but it deflected of the leg of Ben Milner and into the net. With only 5 minutes remaining Manager Kevin Brock threw caution to the wind in an attempt to salvage a point, substituting a centre half for a centre forward but to no avail. Three vital points were gone allowing the chasing pack to move even closer. 

Oxford City Nomads 5 – 0 Shrivenham
Nomads’ stop-start season – after another fallow Saturday – got back on track with a visit from under-pressure Shrivenham who find themselves unusually occupying a relegation spot.
Andy Sinnott gave a home start to Kynan Isaac and he was quick to show an impressive turn of speed as he raced at a retreating defence. The early exchanges were fairly even with Jemaine Ferreira getting behind the visitors’ defence to deliver a testing cross, and Shrivenham’s pacy Michael Silvanus bearing down on Joe White’s goal, but firing wide.
James Dobson picked out Isaac with a long pass and his acceleration took him into a good position, but his low shot across Luke Alford fizzed just wide of the far post; while, at the Clubhouse end, ex-City man Tate Hulbert linked effectively with Shane Davis to allow Steve Robertson to test White. A turning point in the match came on the quarter-hour as Isaac outpaced his marker for a through-ball on the left and delivered a deep cross to the far post where Ferreira was waiting.  His well-hit shot was acrobatically kept out by the arms and legs of Alford who landed very awkwardly and entwined in the net, requiring two or three minutes’ treatment before he could resume.  Dobson’s corner was met firmly by the head of Joel Meade to be scrambled away by a defender on the line, but only as far as Jack Longford who made no mistake with a low shot through a crowd.
The visitors’ keeper struggled gamely on for a little while, but was clearly hindered by his injury, before Nomads hit their second of the night on 25 minutes.  Adam Morris took a quick free kick on the right moving the ball on to James Dobson near the top of the box who had plenty of time to work a position to allow him to place a left-foot shot accurately into the corner of the net with the keeper unable to respond.  Steve Kear took over between the posts on the restart. Nomads were playing some good possession-football now, and a patient twenty-pass move eventually allowed Dobson an on-target shot that tested Kear.  Ferreira and Isaac were both more than prepared to attack the back-four at speed, and Ollie Lynch and Josias Carbon both had penetrating runs from deep as Nomads looked to build on their lead. Shrivenham were not without their chances though and looked to use Silvanus on the counter when possible. He had another threatening run near the half-hour that was ended by Meade, but it was Craig Shand who went closest as he found room 15 yards out and almost lobbed White who just managed to push the ball over the bar for a corner, from which Shand again tested the keeper.
Nomads’ pressure brought a third goal on 38 minutes after Isaac had picked out Dobson on the left with a long pass.  His centre was within millimetres of finding Pablo Haysham’s head and the ball was ushered behind for a corner. Dobson’s flag-kick eventually fell nicely for Isaac who lashed the ball home from fifteen yards.
HT:            3 - 0
Nomads began after the break in attacking style and within a minute Pablo Haysham, very unlucky on the night not to add to his already impressive goal-total for the season, burst into the box to thump a shot off Kear’s left-hand post.  And almost immediately afterwards Isaac showed a clean pair of heels to the defence to hit a shot that was somehow guided off-target by the airborne Shane Davis covering behind his keeper.
Shrivenham reminded their hosts on a couple of occasions that any lapses in concentration at the back might be punished and both Silvanus and Davis went near with shots when given too much space.
Jemaine Ferreira was unfortunate not to net, putting the ball against the post after he had been quickest to react after Kear had parried Dobson’s cross, but the Nomads’ stalwart did extend the lead on 58 minutes when he finished a passing move with a shot from the top of the box that flew in via the inside of the post.
And it was Ferreira two minutes later who released Kynan Isaac into the penalty area where he fired home a rising shot that Kear could get a hand to, but not stop.
Shrivenham kept looking to hit Nomads on the break and substitute Adam Rudman went near with a volley, before Steve Robertson spurned his side’s best chance of the half as he pulled his shot wide of White’s right-hand upright.
Stubborn defending and some good work by the visitors’ stand-in keeper denied Nomads any addition to the score though Haysham and Isaac went close.

The Berks and Bucks F.A.
Senior Trophy Quarter Final.

Aylesbury United  1  (1)   Wantage Town F.C.   2 (0)   
Wantage secured a County Cup semi-final place, despite going behind in the second minute, when they failed to clear an Aylesbury corner, the ball running to central defender John Mulholland, who drove in past the rooted Wantage defence, from the edge of the box. Wantage responded immediately, Danny Keen striking a shot from outside of the box, which was safely gathered by Aylesbury keeper Jack Sillitoe. The play evened up with both sides trying to get their passing games underway. In the 16th minute, a Richard Claydon free kick drifted just wide of the home side’s post, with Wantage’s central defender Stuart Cattell just unable to make contact. At the other end, Aylesbury’s Danny Jones sent a free kick just wide after Matt Biddle had fouled the midfielder just outside of the penalty area. Aylesbury enjoyed a period of pressure for twenty minutes in the first half, winning a couple of corners, which were well managed by the Wantage defence. On the half hour, Keen shot well over as the Aylesbury defence opened up in front of him, after good probing work by winger Gavin Jones. Claydon was the next to show, shooting just wide, but subsequently adjudged to have been offside. Wantage conceded another free kick just outside of the penalty area, Danny Jones driving the ball well over the bar and wasting the opportunity. As the half closed, Wantage were getting more possession, but were unable to set up clear chances.

The second half opened with both sides playing with a little more urgency. On 52 minutes, Richard Claydon managed to turn his marker and struck a well placed shot, which was well parried by Sillitoe in the Aylesbury goal. First to react was Wantage’s Ellis Langford who drove the ball back past the luckless Sillitoe into the back of the net, to put the visitors on level terms. In the 63rd minute, Adam Bruce replaced Danny Keen to add fresh legs to the Wantage strike force. Bruce was immediately in action, playing in Ellis Langford who shot just wide, again from the edge of the box. Wantage were looking sharper, playing more controlled football at ths stage, Gavin Jones pace causing problems on the wing for the tiring Aylesbury defence. In the 75th minute, Jones set up Claydon, whose shot zipped past the wrong side of the post. A minute later, the busy Adam Bruce intercepted a short back pass, took the ball to the keeper, before neatly clipping the ball back into the path of Richard Claydon, who made no mistake from 10 metres out. In the 80th minute, Claydon forced a great save from Jack Sillitoe, the Aylesbury keeper turning the well placed free kick, just over the bar. For the last 10 minutes, Wantage were forced back and had to defend deeply as, to their credit, the homeside chased the equaliser, but the defence, with Gareth Tucker, Stuart Cattell, Sam Belcher and Sean Webb, looking strong, held out and reduced the Aylesbury pressure to just a couple of half chances.

With the County Cup semi-finals not due to be played until mid-March, Wantage face another Cup game on Saturday in the second round of the League Challenge Cup against Witney at Alfredian Park. This is followed by an away trip to Shortwood United next Tuesday evening for an exciting league fixture.