Town bow out of the Bluefin Challenge Cup

Town started the game on the back foot. Left back Jordan Goddard got up well to head clear a Jamal Stewart cross from the right. Six minutes in and the game's first shot produced the first goal of the afternoon; Daniel Glock's shot from twenty yards was placed perfectly into the bottom left corner giving Dan Smith in the Woodley goal no chance.

Woodley's performance for most of the first half was lethargic and a far cry from last week's dominant display. Passes were going astray and they couldn't produce any momentum. When they did get a chance to test Rory Mullane in the Rayners Lane goal he was able to comfortably catch an Adam Cashin-Murray set piece.

The visitors continued to look the more dangerous of the two sides; Chezney Cassell went on a good run cutting in from the left before seeing his shot blocked by Town centre back Stuart Doe before the same player saw his shot deflect for a corner, a decision hotly contested by Town.

It took till the thirtieth minute for Woodley to really test Mullane; he was able to gather Adam Cashin-Murray's free kick at the second attempt after initially parrying the Town midfielder's shot. Eight minutes before the break and Town striker George Dallarda was shown a yellow card for dissent.

Rayners Lane ended the half with a succession of chances. Daniel McPherson blazed over before the visitors had two very good chances to double their lead. First the pacey Stewart broke Town's offside trap only to see his well-struck effort saved well by Smith, then Jordan Robinson found himself in acres of space but saw his header from a deep free kick sail over.

Ending the half with a nice move, Town worked the ball from left to right, Jonathan Malone's cross found the head of Dallarda but his header lacked power and was dealt with by Mullane. The first half concluded with Town midfielder Adam Bygrave cautioned for a tackle just inside the Woodley half.

HT Woodley Town 0-1 Rayners Lane

Town made a change at the break; Seun Odusanya replaced Josh Blackwood. This saw Dallarda move out to the right wing and Odusanya play up top.

Rayners Lane started the half quickly and doubled their lead with only a minute played when McPherson lost his marker on the right and smashed into the centre of the goal. This woke Town up and they started to play with a greater urgency. A Goddard free kick on the right was only cleared to Sam Barham whose effort from twenty five yards was blocked for a corner.

Odusanya then showed good strength to hold off his marker but could only fire his off-balance shot wide of the right post. At the other end, Town's Gary Smith bravely headed clear a free kick while getting clattered in the process. Town then forced Mullane into only his second meaningful save of the match when he tipped over an Odusanya header. The resulting corner was delivered flawlessly but somehow evaded anyone in a pale blue shirt!

Sixty six minutes gone and Town made their second change when Tafari Downes replaced Barham. This saw Town change to 4-4-2 with Downes playing on the right side of midfield and Dallarda joining Odusanya up front.

With fifteen minutes left, the visitors created a couple of half chances. Stewart was able to shrug off a challenge and get in a shot from the left side of the box which was blocked by a Town defender, then Robinson missed to the right after picking up a pass from substitute Daniel Thomas.

As the game entered its final ten minutes, Town made their final change when Andres Rodriguez replaced Malone. Town tried desperately to find the spark that had been missing all afternoon. A superb ball from the left by Doug Groves was cut out at the last second by Mullane, who had a very solid game, before Downes could get on the end of it. Right back Rodrigues then found himself in the opposition penalty box and did well to set up Downes who struck his shot well only to see it blocked by a defender.

As the hail stones started to fall, Town were twice denied by Chris McConnell on the goal line. Groves' effort was struck well but stopped by the Rayners Lane defender who recovered brilliantly to thwart Cashin-Murray again on the goal line! As the game entered stoppage time, Mullane was once again called into action stopping Cashin-Murray's effort after he picked up a Dallarda pass.

All in all a disappointing performance when compared to last weeks.

FT Woodley Town 0-2 Rayners Lane
D Smith, Malone (Rodriguez), Goddard, Doe, G Smith, Bygrave, Blackwood (Odusanya), Cashin-Murray, Dallarda, Barham (Downes), Groves

Unused subs
Brown, Campbell, Stiff