Woodley go down to controversial defeat

United made the trip to a wet Amersham on Tuesday evening for their league match with Penn & Tylers Green. With the scores level going into the last few minutes, Adam Barnard thought he had scored the winner but after the referee had consulted the linesman the goal was controversially disallowed. Two minutes later the home side won it when Raju Pritpal fired into the right corner.

Woodley started well, bossing the opening ten minutes. For all their possession the nearest they came was when Jon Malone had a header cleared off the line following a Chace Jewell corner.

After a slow start, the home side’s first real chance also came from a set piece. After being fouled, Rashid Hamid’s free kick clipped the wall before being tipped over by United keeper Tom Bryant. With nineteen minutes on the clock Penn took the lead. Cutting in from the right, Tom Stables let Pritpal take over twenty five yards from goal. With no options ahead of him, the Penn forward’s decision to shoot paid off as it flew into the top left corner.

Looking for a response, a Barnard thunderbolt flew inches wide of the left post before Bryant pulled off a tremendous save to deny Stables who found himself onside.

Woodley were playing some nice stuff. Barnard’s through ball to Jewell set the wing back clear on the left; taking the pass in his stride, Jewell’s cross was cut out by keeper Pablo Latorre. The away side were dominating possession and it paid off just before the half hour when Pablo Fernandez followed up his saved shot to smash home the rebound after an excellent run showcasing great agility and balance.

After surviving a short spell of Penn pressure that saw the hosts go close from a couple of corners, United midfielder Harry Hawkins had two half chances. The first lacked power whilst the second went wide of the right post.

Nine minutes before the break Woodley went ahead through a great team goal. Working the ball from the left, the move ended with Fernandez rolling in Max Laschok in the right of the area. Showing good composure, Laxchok’s fake shot put Latorre and a defender on their backsides allowing the forward to put his side ahead despite the best efforts of a defender who tried to clear off the line.

More opportunities for United followed. Laschok had a low shot miss to the right whilst the same player was denied by Latorre after another nice team move.

The final chance went to the hosts and saw them level the scoreline through some skill by the lively Hamid. Freeing up some space on the edge of the box, the Penn man found the bottom left corner with a well placed shot.

HT Penn & Tylers Green 2-2 Woodley United

Woodley started the half really well, determined to regain the lead. Latorre again saved from Laschok, Fernandez fired just over after a defender blocked a Laschok effort before a quickly taken free kick ended with Latorre at full stretch diving to his left to keep out a Fernandez strike.

Ten minutes into the second period there was a short stoppage as both Bryant and Hamid received treatment after the United keeper rushed from his line to win the ball with a strong slide tackle.

The first chance after the injuries saw Penn go ahead for the second time when Joe Dulieu headed a left wing corner in from close range.

The goal was a blow to Woodley who had been on top. Showing resilience, they battled on. A Jewell ball into Toby Briggs saw the ball break to Fernandez who saw his placed shot blocked for a corner. The following set piece ended with an effort cleared off the line after a Luke Axton-Hall header was saved.

United made a change on sixty nine minutes when Briggs made way for Sam Wood. This saw a slight reshuffle with Hawkins moving out to right wing back, Wood joining Barnard in centre midfield and Thomas moving into a more advanced role alongside Laschok.

A further substitution was made with eleven minutes to go when Pele Hagger came on for Hawkins. As the match entered the final ten minutes Lascok headed over a right wing cross by Jewell.

Woodley made their final change with nine minutes left when Joe Sissons replaced Luke Axton-Hall at centre back.

Three minutes after the change the scores were level once again when Jewell curled an unstoppable shot into the top left corner from the right after his corner was cleared to him. That's two in two now for Jewell.

With the rain getting heavier the controversial incident occurred. After a foul on Thomas, Fernadez’ free kick was miss handled allowing Barnard to get what looked like the winner. With no flag up and the referee seeming to give the goal, the home players surrounded the official asking him to talk to the linesman. After the consultation the goal was disallowed as Barnard’s shot was deemed to have hit Laschok in an offside position. However, this seemed harsh as the forward was in the net when the ball crossed the line.

The decision rightly angered United and it was to get even worse as, in the first minute of added time, the home side gained all three points when Woodley lost possession in their box allowing a Penn player to tee up Pritpal who beat Bryant with a low shot into the right corner.

A game full of talking points ended with Jewell having a shot blocked before Thomas missed a difficult chance following a right wing set piece.

FT Penn & Tylers Green 4-3 Woodley United