The second consecutive final saw the lads travel up to Harwell to take on East Hendred. Their pitch was a massive one, even bigger than Wroughton, and some 15 yards wider than “The Triangle”, but it looked a great surface so there could be no excuses for bad passes.
Hendred kicked off and immediately went on the attack. A clumsy tackle from Bert gave the home side a free kick some 25 yards out but the shot was easily dealt with by James. Hendred never left the Wickham half for the first 4 minutes however a great diagonal ball from Olly sent Charlie racing through the middle. He got away from his marked and as he reached the edge of the box got his shot away but the keeper made a great save as his parry ensured the ball just cleared the bar. Wickham now dominated the next four minutes and this spell of pressure ended with an Albie cross just evading Callum at the back post. In the 10th minute the Wickham defence was dragged all over the place as a cross from the right came all the way to the back post but the forward blasted his shot high and wide of the goal. The 12th minute saw Jack take a stud to the ankle and Wickham played for almost 2 minutes before they were able to get Jordan on as a sub. On 15 minutes Karl gave away another silly free kick from Bert’s goal kick but this 30 yard effort went well wide. Wickham were being forced to play on the back foot but so far the Hendred chances had been few and far between and the ones which got through were dealt with by James. After 20 minutes Duncan wriggled free in the Hendred box and there seemed to have been a handball (which the Hendred manager agreed with) but the ref played on. A minute late Duncan got down the bye line evading a couple of challenges but his cross was cleared for a corner at the near post. Another corner was played shot into Bert who gave it back to Albie but his shot was well save at the near post. The half ended as it started with pressure from Hendred but the score line remained goalless.
The first 10 minutes of the second half saw Wickham get the ball down and starting to play better football and possibly had the better of the play in this period. After 10 minutes Jack made a great interception on the edge of the box to stop a Hendred attack. The Wickham midfield was now starting to struggle to get up and down the pitch with Jesse seeming to be carrying a knock. With 15 minutes gone Wickham had a free kick some 35 yards out on the right. Albie stepped up and hit the ball to the far right of the goal. As defenders and attacks all rushed in everyone missed it and the ball ended up in the net. The next 5 minutes were all Hendred pressure but no real chance was created. However, with 20 minute gone a corner came out to the edge of the Wickham box and was crashed back against the underside of the bar with the ball coming down some 2 feet in play for William to gratefully head clear. A minute later Wickham had another free kick from about the same distance out but this time on the left. Albie hit it against the wind to the edge of the box where Bert rose but was adjudged to be off side. Another Hendred corner was cleared to Ollie who tucked the ball inside to Jesse. He hit a lovely through ball for Charlie but again he was adjudged to be off side. With a minute of the game remaining, Hendred had the ball in the right hand corner. Olly came in to knock the ball off the forward for a goal kick but surprisingly a corner was awarded. The corner was cleared back out towards the corner. Three Hendred players worked the ball to the apex of the box and as Ollie attempted to close the player down a shot came in which James might possibly have got finger tips to but it dipped in under the bar for 1-1 with 30 seconds left; thus extra time.
In the second minute a Hendred forward broke clear but Olly got there to hold him up. When William arrived in support he crashed into the back of the player and was fortunate to get away with only conceding a corner instead of a penalty. After 6 minute of play William hit a long clearance for Charlie to run onto, unfortunately he was given offside which seemed very strange as he was in is own half when the ball had been played. With a minute remaining Karl seemed to have been fouled but play continued down the Hendred right. With little cover the player elected to shot for the far post instead of crossing to unmarked team mates so the score still remained 0-0. Hendred were still the dominate force in the second period and after a minute had another free kick 22 yards out. This was struck round the wall and seemingly into the bottom corner of the net but James made a great save pushing the ball for a corner. Half way through a Wickham corner was flicked into the side netting by Charlie as both sides searched for the winner. Hendred thought they had scored it but Duncan who had got back to help the defence out was pushing in the back before the Hendred player tucked the ball away. However a minute later and the goal came. Unfortunately Jack sliced a clearance from the middle out to the left wing. The wing had plenty of space and after getting to the apex of the box hit the ball across the 6 yard box where another player had got in round the back of Olly and slide the ball past a desperately diving James. Wickham had one more chance as Albie broke away but the defender stayed close by and forced the shot wide.
The treble had now gone and the type of game was summed up by the parent’s player of the day votes as these all went to the back 5 players except for 1 vote for Duncan. With two players receiving the same votes it was eventually award to Jack who did have a very solid game at the back.
James Davies
Jack Bolton, William Herrington, Bert Cherrill, Olly Sopp
Albie Oakman, Jesse Bowers, Karl Adman, Duncan Lorrain
Charlie de Fraine, Callum Johnson
Subs:- Jordan Shaw, Aiden Weeks, Tom Farman, Ollie Norman, Max Nicholls.
