Wrington Redhill reserves 1 Selkirk Utd 2

With the twin imposters of the weather and the Corona Virus threatening to ruin the season, both teams were just relieved to get onto the field of play. As a result they served up an entertaining, competitive game that was keenly contested until the last minute. Selkirk are third in the league and still in contention for the title whilst a disappointing recent run has seen Wrington slip into mid table. True to form, Selkirk started by dominating the midfield and Wrington struggled to get their forwards into the game. With Joe Collins looking dangerous up front for the visitors,it took several smart saves from James Williams to keep the scores level. However, just as the home side started to settle, a speculative long ball saw Clements covering from full back but his clearance ricochet off his own defender and fell to Collins whose precise low drive finally beat the diving Williams. The bounce of the ball was certainly falling Selkirk’s way but that comes with playing on the front foot. Again the ball broke free in midfield and as Wrington appealed for the foul, Collins was released down the right wing and his low cross resulted in a tap in for Matt Noke. Wrington also suffered the loss of their Captain and reliable defender,Dean Rix with a nasty neck injury during the same sequence of play. However, with his replacement Fin Taplin adding some youthful energy and bite in the tackle, Wrington showed real character in getting back into the game. Once they got a foothold in midfield with Holland full of running, Johnson and Horton always carried a threat. Johnson really should have scored after being put through on the keeper but his tentative lob slid past the post. To make matters worse, the lively Mason Hodge had a goal disallowed for a marginal offside and Hollands acrobatic overhead kick was well saved by Jordan Allen. As halftime approached the chances were now falling to the home side and they were unlucky to end the half still two down.

The Wrington half time team talk was for defenders to get tighter and the ball forward quicker. Burnett, Gallagher and Marsh certainly responded to the former but the latter still resulted in too many balls going astray and chances at both ends dwindled to set pieces. Jake Betts couldn’t connect to Clement’s perfect corner when well placed and the game settled with Selkirk happy with their lead and with several players carrying injury, Wrington struggling to force the issue. However with George Andrews and Nick Anderson replacing Burnett and Hodge, Anderson held the ball up well and Andrews helped out in midfield which resulted in Wrington playing some better football. Marsh found Anderson who laid the ball off to Betts who released Johnson to finish emphatically and breath life into the game again. Selkirk sent on their three subs and Jordan Allen was forced into another fine save from a Betts shot. For all their good play, Selkirk were hanging on and resorted to holding the ball in the corners to run down the clock for a valuable away win. However, coach Gallacher should be encouraged by the performance and spirit of his team and everyone’s enjoyment of the game was heightened by the realisation that we might not play again for sometime. We would also like to thank the ref Steve Acton for managing to accommodate the early start.

Wrington Team

Williams, Marsh, Rix, Burnett, Clements, Hodge, Gallacher ,Holland, Betts, Horton, Johnson
Taplin, Anderson, Andrews.

Selkirk

Allen,Wookey , Lawson, Collins, Kemble, Frost, Chapman, Bracey ,Collins, Noke, Davies
Esposito, Clee, Davies