United suffer narrow loss to Wantage

The opening fifteen minutes of the game were even with a couple of over hit crosses from the visitors whilst Woodley's best bit of play came courtesy of a nice run down the left by Owen Davies.

United had the game's first shot and it came courtesy of left back Carl Prestidge after a good spell of possession. His shot from distance was easy for the Wantage keeper.

Town had two half chances twenty minutes in. Striker Steve Robertson delayed his shot too long allowing Abdul Kamara to block before Ben Willoughby missed to the left from a tight angle.

The away side went ahead half way through the half when Joe Grant turned in a left-wing cross.

Wantage's lead didn't last long, as nine minutes later James Tennant scored from a rebound after Davies' shot from the right was brilliantly kept out by Curtis Meare.

Moments after the equaliser, Meare was the catalyst for a swift counter when his throw out to the right caught United with numbers forward. The resultant through ball had a bit too much on it allowing Alex Reed in the Woodley goal to race off his line and clear.

Nine minutes before the break saw Town retake the lead with a fantastic strike from Willoughby. Out on the left flank and with nothing seemingly on, he fired an unstoppable shot into the top corner.

The half ended with the sides trading shots. Robertson narrowly missed to the right from fifteen yards whilst Tennant shot over from just outside the box.

HT Woodley United 1-2 Wantage Town

The second half started in the worst possible way for United when Robertson beat Reed with a low shot from eighteen yards.

Rather than deflating the side, the goal spurred Woodley on, with the hosts going on to dominate the rest of the game.

A lovely move working the ball from left to right ended with a low cross from Davies being hacked clear. United immediately regained possession allowing Danny Horscroft to force a decent stop from Meare.

On the backfoot, Wantage went on to create only one more meaningful chance. A really clean strike from Willoughby was well held by Reed after United could only partially clear a corner.

Woodley made a change on the hour when Toby Bridges made his debut in place of Abdul Kamara.

The following ten minutes saw Wantage's defence hold firm.

With eighteen minutes left the home side made another change when Tennant made way for Greg Beckett.

The introduction of Beckett nearly paid off immediately when he fed in Jake Nicholls on the left. His pass to Toby Briggs saw a shot on the turn miss to the left.

The pressure on the Town goal was mounting; a lovely move ended with a Beckett shot having all the pace taken off it due to a deflection, allowing Meare to save.

Wantage's goalie was keeping his side in the game; his next stop was much more difficult but he was up to the task, keeping out a Horscroft effort headed for the left corner.

United made their final change with thirteen minutes left; Liam Wilson came on for Prestidge.

Five minutes after the change, Woodley got a deserved second to set up a grand stand finale when Briggs bundled home a right-wing cross at the back post.

The final chance in an entertaining game saw an incredible passage of play. A Briggs pass to Davies on the right saw Meare off his line quickly to cut the angle and pull off another decent save. The rebound fell to a United player twenty-five yards out who crashed a shot against the bar; the second rebound also fell to a blue shirt who had a powerful effort cleared off the line! Desperately unlucky.

FT Woodley United 2-3 Wantage Town