Westside 2 (2) v Woodley United 2 (1)
United returned from Westside, who sit one place outside the play off positions in sixth place, with a valuable point especially as the performance was a Jekyll and Hyde one with Woodley considering themselves fortunate not to be trailing by more than on goal at half time.
The hosts kicked off playing down the slope but Woodley created the opening chance in the first minute when Dylan Clark passed to Kaylum Barlow who shot wide. This was to be the story of the half with scoring opportunities squandered due to poor finishing notably Westside’s Kai George who put two shots over the cross bar in the opening five minutes of the match.
George on the home team’s left and Blessing Homblssa on the right were a constant threat to Woodley in the first half and stretching the visitors’ defence.
The opening goal came in the nineteenth minute. A free kick was played into the Woodley penalty area which Kieran Maylen headed clear only for the ball to fall to Sherwin Williams, whose shot from eighteen yards deflected off Joe Robertson, side footing Joe Hill in the Woodley goal, and entered the net.
Woodley’s best play came in the twenty third minute and involved Troy Williams, Barlow and Clark with the latter shooting at home goalkeeper Seb Hunt. Five minutes later Ornildo Shehu was tackled on the edge of Westside’s penalty area as he prepared to shoot which was followed by Mohamed El Azouan shooting over Hill’s goal.
United was reduced to ten players when Zaid Hannachi was sin-binned in the thirty ninth minute but a minute later Woodley had levelled when a good run by Nico Cammock on the left saw the wing back shoot across the goal and seeing the ball hit the base of the far post and enter the net.
Westside immediately restored their lead when Woodley failed to clear a loose ball in their penalty area which fell to Alex Foorde whose shot was deflected wide of Hill and hit the upright on its way into the goal.
Hill was required to block a shot seven minutes into the second half whereafter Woodley began to cause Westside issues with both Clark and Cammock dangerous on the wings and substitute Lamin Ceesay influential in midfield.
As Woodley pushed forward, they were susceptible to the counterattack which required Hill to save from Foord after sixty five minutes.
Woodley’s enterprise was reward on seventy minutes when Clark reacted to a loose ball in the Westside penalty area and saw his shot enter the net via another deflection.
Both sides continued to attack looking for the decisive goal which eluded them both and saw the points shared at full time.
Hill, Downes, Cammock, Hannachi, Maylen, Simpson, Clark, Collins (Ceesay), Williams, Shehu (Weekes), Barlow (Van Spall) Subs not used: Maadini, Meikle