Saltford 1 Wrington Redhill 3
Following on from last week’s impressive performance against Nailsea and Tickenham, player/manager Leigh White announced an unchanged starting line-up other than the recall of Matt Hill in goal due to James William’s absence.
Wrington Redhill started on the front foot with intent as they had ended the previous game and got off to a dream start with a goal within five minutes of the start. Strike partners were both involved with George Fake sliding a ball to Jack Hutchings and being one on one with home keeper Joe Stevens, deftly chipped over him into the net for a 1-0 lead.
In very tricky conditions, a fierce wind and bobbly and uneven pitch did not deter Wrington Redhill from seeking to play their effective slick passing game and indeed created a number of scoring opportunities but could not find the touches to extend their lead further.
The closest scoring chance for the hosts came when from a wind assisted long range effortfrom 30 yards which was heading towards the top right corner, but Matt Hill managed to superbly fingertip the ball over the crossbar. A rare mistake from Leigh White led to another long-range effort catching Hill off his line yet despite heroic efforts to keep the ball out before crossing the line for an unexpected equaliser.
The setback was short lived as Cory Thomas-Barker drove forward towards the box and his lay off to George Fake launched a missile like shot into the top corner from just outside the penalty area and earned a 2-1 half time lead.
The second half became a scrappy affair again affected by the elements and uneven pitch. Saltford tried to get back into the game and for a while were mastering the conditions better than their visitors without carving out any real chances. Most of the danger came from set pieces but Wrington Redhill’s young side showed their battling qualities with the defensive quartet of Josh Pitt, Dan Ferguson, Ethan Johnson, and the ever-improvingJordan Bonner stayed solid with Ollie Clements and White adding protection in front of them with their tenacious tackling qualities.
The introduction of Sam Parkinson for the tiring Thomas-Barker made an immediate impact with his calmness on the ball and he was rewarded with a goal with twentyminutes left on the clock. A good move down the left led to a Hutchings shot being partially saved with the ball finding Parkinson who passed it into the net to increase the score to 3-1.
Saltford would not give up and kept trying to get something out of the game, but this allowed quick counter attacks using Joe Creese as the main outlet with his fleet of foot and direct runs with the added help of Matt Walsh and Ethan Williams brought on with fresh legs and holding the ball up to relieve the pressure on the defence.
The game ended with a fine 3-1 victory, with the whole team producing a very solid and battling performance in very difficult conditions which will add to the experience of this emerging group of players.
The player of the match was awarded to Jordon Bonner.
Team:
Goalkeeper: Matt Hill
Defence: Josh Pitt, Dan Ferguson, Ethan Johnson, Jordon Bonner
Midfield, Joe Creese, Leigh White, Ollie Clements, Cory Thomas-Barker
Forwards: George Fake, Jack Hutchings
Substitutes: Sam Parkinson (for Cory Thomas-Barker), Matt Walsh (for George Fake), Ethan Williams (for Jack Hutchings)
Hilly provided great cover in goal for James, looked like he’d never been away.