Spartans Youth 1 (0) v Woodley United 2 (0)
For the second time this season, Woodley visited Bedfont’s The Orchard, this time to play tenant’s Spartans Youth, and for the second time this season left with the match points with an odd goal in three win after falling behind to the home team in the second half. In doing so, United ended the day top of the league table.
On a heavy pitch, following the week’s rain, the match was played in a variety of conditions including floodlights on from the kick off, bright sun, wind and rain!
Not withstanding this being United’s first game in eighteen days, following recent postponements, the visitors started positively with man of the match Dylan Clark and Kaylum Barlow causing problems on both wings and linking well with Ornildo Shehu who saw a shot cleared for a corner kick and another shot cleared by home goalkeeper Henry Ford also for a corner.
Clark also saw Ford parry a shot into the path of the oncoming Barlow but the Woodley player was unable to make contact with the ball.
This continued to be the story of the first half with Troy Williams seeing a shot cleared and another go wide with the hosts happy to defend deep with their midfield close to their back five and allowing Woodley plenty of possession. Clark saw his low free kick narrowly go wide of Ford’s left hand post and in the first minute of stoppage time Barlow fired over the cross bar following Williams heading the ball downwards from Archie Simpson’s cross.
The second half started much as the first half ended with Woodley enjoying plenty of possession and Spartan’s continuing to defend deep and frustrate their visitors. The sixty first minute saw the home team have their first shot on goal when Jean Luc Aikpinnou broke free on a counterattack only to shoot wide of Joe Hill’s goal. This move signalled a change in Spartan’s play as with the introduction of a second forward in Elijiah Carter they looked to counterattack at every opportunity.
Half way into the second half Jude Van Spall fired over the bar from close range following a cross from Lucas Taplin but the counter attacking Spartan began to enjoy success with Lewis Davis shooting wide from Aikpinnou’s pass and then opening the scoring in the seventy fourth minute when he (Davis) ran between to Woodley defenders to score from close range from a low cross on from the visitors’ goal line.
United responded with Shehu shooting wide and Zeid Hannachi forcing Ford to gather the ball low at his feet from a shot outside the penalty area.
Woodley finally got their goal when Clark whipped a freekick in from the left hand side which Harvey Collins flicked with his head into the top left hand corner of Ford’s net in the eight first minute. Ford was to then gather the ball from another Clark free kick before Clark scored from close range with four minutes of normal time remaining when he reacted to Taplin’s flick from Kian Leahy’s long cross from the left into the penalty area.
It took a Hill save in the fourth minute of stoppage time from Carter, for a corner, to ensure United successfully saw out the five minutes added time to secure the win.
Hill, Maadini (Leahy), Clark. Hannachi, Downes, Simpson (Van Spall), Barlow (Fanstone), Stewart (Taplin). Williams, Collins, Shehu Sub not used Blake