TALE OF TWO HALVES

Risborough Rangers made the relatively short midweek trip to our Grass Roots Stadium for a Premier Division game. The encounter produced a classic game of two halves, with the visitors taking a commanding 3 goal lead in just over half hour and looking set for an easy victory. But our youngsters showed great resilience to score 2 goals in the second half and nearly snatch a point.

Our guests finished runners-up last season and would have been one of the favourites to go one better and lift the Premier Division trophy this time around but surprisingly they started slowly picking up just 1 point from their opening 3 league games. That was obviously a blip because they have since collected 10 points from their next 4 games and will be a force to be reckoned with.

Both teams started the game brightly with our Keeper Ollie Keil being forced to tip over the bar a shot after only 40 seconds. A few minutes later a mix up between a Risboro defender and keeper Sam Ashmead nearly led to a goal and from the corner Godlove Oppong fired in a shot which forced Ashmead into a superb save.

The visitors were clearly up for this game and the last thing we needed was to concede an early goal but that is what happened after only 7 minutes when Kieron Schmidt cracked home a stunning shot from outside the box. With their tails up Risboro produced a display of physicality and intensity which knocked us out of our stride and they doubled their lead in the 18th minute when they were awarded a penalty which Liam Enver-Marum coolly dispatched.

We were struggling to play our normal game and things got worse in the 32nd minute when Asher Yearwood scored from a breakaway. Now facing a three goal deficit It seemed like it was a case of game, set and match and we still had nearly an hour left to play. We did manage to clear our heads and prevent any further goals before the break and even managed to create a chance when the ball fell to Godlove Oppong in a good position on the edge of the area but he wacked his shot over the bar. HT Score 0-3.

Whatever Ryan Sturges and his team said during half time obviously worked because within 14 minutes of the restart we pulled a goal back when Ethan Goulding made a terrific run through midfield and then kept his cool to slot a low accurate shot into the corner of the net. We were still facing a mountain but 5 minutes later it was reduced to a mole hill when we were awarded a penalty when Eli Hearn was tripped from behind after some great interplay down our right with Tom Brazier. George Carbery kept his cool to convert the spot kick and turn the impossible into a distinct possibility.

Our opponents were clearly rattled and our supporters watched in agony when Godlove Oppong showed great skill to work himself some space down and left and then curl his shot just wide of the far post. Risboro were still dangerous on the break but we were defending much more effectively and keeper Ollie Keil wasnt overly stretched.

With 5 minutes left a quickly taken free kick sent Eli Hearn through on goal through the inside right channel but the keeper made a terrific save to keep his sides slender lead in tact. There was one final throw of the dice when we won free kick just outside Risboros penalty box but Tom Braziers effort went wide of the post and with it went our last hope of getting a point. Final Score 2-3.

A disappointing first half performance gave us too much ground to make up but we can be pleased that we didnt cave in and in the end we made our opponents work hard for their 3 points.

Some other positives included the welcome return of Lenny Armstrong and Harrison Cornick after a period out injured and we still have a number of other players to return to the side and hopefully that will happen soon.

Team: O Keil, E Hearn, A Sawyer, D Pobbe (Harrison Cornick 61), L Armstrong, F Hercules (T Brazier 54), A Mannion (H Mead 61) , G Carbery (Capt), O Butler, C Miller (E Goulding 38), G Oppong.

Scorers:
E Goulding (59), G Carbery Pen (64)

Crowd:
114

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