Old Bordenian 3rd XI – 4

Old Williamsonian 3^rd XI - 3

If there is an easy way and a hard way, you can trust the OB 3rds to find the hard way. Against the bottom side struggling to score goals, OBs allowed them goals and very nearly gave them the points. That said, if OW's continue to put out this significantly changed and stronger side than earlier in the season, they should have no trouble getting off the bottom of the table.
With another player having gone up to the 2nd's, OB 3rds were weaker than normal although the replacement right back, Heaney, filled the empty boots more than adequately. The early play was pretty much OBs' but a quick raid from OWs ended in a fairly harsh penalty corner award which led to another corner and a well struck shot from Routledge ended up in the corner of the goal. The pre-game chat had been about character and it seemed to have got home when a rapid interplay of passes, starting with Hailwood at the back, saw the ball transferred too quickly for the Medway team's defence to deal with. The final pass from Moore meant that Steve Dale just needed to steer the ball into the far corner for the equaliser. Almost from the push back, OWs lost possession and another staccato of passes gave Moore, with a cunningly disguised shot, the second goal. A very soft goal right an half-time allowed OWs to turn round all square.
In the second half, the Maroons had chances to score but did not take them. OWs scored another soft goal after the ball was not cleared properly. The Bordenian defence was properly tested onlyfour times and three of those ended up with the ball in the goal. Then, all of a sudden, the 'Bourne unit remembered the easy way again and scored twice inside two minutes. The first saw Moore claim a cheeky tap in after Ruane's shot was only partially blocked and the second was a typical Steve Dale shot to eventually secure the points. Right on the final whistle, Baker made a vital save to keep OWs out. In many ways OWs could feel unlucky especially given the short corner count but the 9 players OBs had who are 22 or under, and six of those are 18 or less, showed great spirit against a much more experienced side who were not quite as cohesive.