Back to League action this weekend and the visit of Stratton Juniors. These are always hard games and they have just come off the back of a good draw against Bassett, so would be a real threat today. Marcus Guest was making his debut but Jesse seemed to be carrying and injury.
Wickham seemed to have everything under control in the initial stages, as the majority of the play was in the Stratton half. Despite the pressure no clear cut chances were created. In the 6th minute a long clearance put the Wickham defence under pressure and the ball was put out for a corner. This initial one was put out for another corner, but the second was an out-swinger which was volleyed goal bound but Olly headed it off the line. This seemed to spur Stratton on and if anything they now became the dominant force. Wickham were playing with very little width and as they tried to play down the middle the balls were easily dealt with by the Stratton central two. James was force to come rushing off his line and clear on a number of occasions but in the 17th minute Stratton attacked down their left. With 6 Wickham defenders back and only one forward in the box there seemed little damage but the cross was pulled back to the edge of the area where a midfield play arrived unmarked to crash the ball into the roof of the net. Neither side created much more in the half, so Wickham found themselves 1-0 down at half time.
The lads came out much stronger in the second half with Albie pushed out on the right and Callum, on for Jesse, on the left. In the 6th minute Olly hit a ball into the box for Charlie but the defender just got there with his head first. The ball seemed to be going in but it cannoned back off the post straight into the keeper arms. After 10 minutes Albie had drifted across to the left and received the ball from Callum. As he cut inside he hit a dipping shot which just dipped too much and the keeper was able to gather at full stretch. A quick Wickham attack down the right after 15 minutes saw Jack feed Albie. As he got away from his man he cut into the box but his cross shot just missed the far post and Callum could not quite reach it to tuck it away. In the 18th minute a rare Stratton break saw them get past Jack and then William as well, as he came across to cover. The cross then came into the box on the 6 yard line and unfortunately under pressure Olly put it in. The next minute saw an Albie corner go to the back post which Marcus just headed over. An Albie free kick was then well saved by the keeper which was quickly followed by another free kick from Bert, which hit Albie on the back as he seemed certain to get through the defenders. This was to prove costly as in the 22nd minute a high ball was back headed by Bert sending the forward through 1 on 1 with James and it was duly slammed into the net. The next minute saw a similar incident but this time James made the initial save. However, the ball came out to another forward who slammed the ball towards the goal. Fortunately William had got back onto the line, stopping it in his midriff before clearing it. The 26th minute saw a Wickham corner hit the post and then a second well saved by the keeper. James made another good save coming to the edge of his area before the final corner of the game was crashed against the Stratton bar by Bert. Wickham had gone down to a 3-0 defeat on a day when nothing seemed to bounce for them; however nothing must be taken away from Stratton who deserved their victory.
Player of the Day Trophy was given to James who was off his line quickly during most of the game making some vital saves near the edge of his area.
