Easter Tour at Brean Sands.
Having travelled down to the West Country on Good Friday all the lads were settled in and keen to get the football under way. There were eight teams in the tournament so 2 groups of four were created with games lasting 25 minutes each way. The group winners would play each other in a final with the 2nd, 3rd and 4th placed teams playing each other in the final games. Fortunately the A and B sides were playing at different times in different groups with the B team kicking off at 15.00 on Saturday.
Wickham 0 – 2 Dorchester Town.
Playing against the wind in the first half, Wickham were under some pressure but seemed just able to cope. In the 15th minute Wickham broke down the right and a through ball to Ben saw him get past the first defender but the covering player just got there in time to concede the corner. The corner caused missive panic in the area and Harry seemed to have scored but eventually Dorchester cleared the ball. From another corner Jack had got up to the edge of the area but his shot just cleared the bar. With time running out Luke played Ben in but he seemed to scuff hit shot which drifted just wide of the far post. From the kick off Wickham attacked and as Luke got to the bye line he seemed to be brought down but a free kick was awarded to Dorchester. After 5 minutes some interplay between Luke and AO eventually saw Luke get the cross into AO who’s first time shot just went past the post. With 10 minutes gone an Ollie free kick did not make it into the box and Dorchester broke quickly out of defence. With only 2 defenders against three forwards there was only 1 outcome and Dorchester took the lead. With 13 minute gone Ben went on a run down the left, crossed the ball into the box and somehow three Wickham players failed to turn the ball into the next. AO was hurt during this scramble and was replace by Harry. This changed seemed to totally through Wickham and Dorchester now dominated. They duly added a second from a speculative shot which the wind brought round into the goal via the post, thus Wickham going down 2-0
Wickham 3 – 1 Bracknell Cavaliers.
The second game was a derby match against Bracknell Cavaliers. Straight from the start Wickham were on there game attacking at every opportunity and this was whilst playing against the wind. With 6 minutes gone Jordan battled for the ball forcing the ball forwards for Ollie. He turned and sent a through ball for Harry to split the two central defenders. As one got to him he played the ball into Max’s path for him to score. Two minutes later a clearance out of defence saw Harry chase a ball down into the corner. All the Bracknell defender could do was clear it for a throw. This was taken quickly to harry who tried to get his cross in but again it was partially cleared to Ollie, He went down the line got the cross in to Luke, who tried to back heal the ball in, but his shot was saved by the keeper, but Max was there to tap it in. With 15 minutes gone a Tom corner came to AO in the box who switched it to the back post where Harry was waiting to tap it in this time. With 18 minutes on the clock Ollie seemed to have added a 4th goal with a powerful shot from the edge of the area but for some reason this was rule out for off side which could only have been Harry who did not seem to be interfering with play. In the 2nd minute Aiden took a free kick which no one battled for. The ball was played straight back between Jack and Aiden for the winger to run onto. Ben made the initial save but despite Aiden getting back the forward recovered to stab the ball home. Despite now having the wind on their backs Wickham produced a less creative performance and despite the two goal lead it never really felt all that comfortable. However, despite Bracknell pressure Ben was never really tested and the lads picked up their first win of the competition.
Wickham 0 – 2 St. Johns.
The lads knew that a win in there first game on Sunday game would get them second place in the group, and unlikely 5-0 win would put them top but since St. Johns had already won both of their games 5-0 this was highly unlikely to happen. Playing with the wind all the pressure was from St. Johns. In the 3rd minute the ball went high into the air by the 6 yard box and for some reason Ben thought it was a back pass so he tried to kick it clear but the ball fell to a forward who duly scored. Finally in the 12th minute Wickham did break out as Ollie went down the right. His ball found Harry in the middle who duly put the ball into the back of the net but he was given off side. Wickham continued to hassle St. Johns never giving them much time on the ball as neither side could create a clear cut chance. In the 7th minute a Wickham free kick was again the lads undoing. The kick was saved but a quick counter attack saw the St. Johns forward fee on the left hand side to drill the ball past Ben from the edge of the box. In the 10th minute Ben was adjudged to have brought the St. Johns forward down but the penalty was smashed against the bar and eventually away to safety. The game remained tight but Wickham were unable to get back into the game. There therefore had a 20 minute break before playing in the 5th 6th place playoff game against Abergavenny.
| | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| St Johns Youth | 3 | 3 | - | 0 | 12 | 0 | 9 |
| Dorchester Town | 3 | 2 | - | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Wickham Wanderers B | 3 | 1 | - | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| Bracknell Cavaliers | 3 | 0 | - | 3 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
Wickham 2 – 1 Abergavenny Thursdays.
Abergavenny came out in this “place” match with a different approach to the game with the A team. They seemed far more physical and less willing to take a back seat. Abergavenny created the opening chance in the first minute which Ben saved well. In the 4th minute Ollie battled for the ball down the right hand line. He eventually got past everyone and once he it the bye line got a great cross into the back post where max rose unchallenged to head into the net. Wickham had some more pressure but in the 12th minute a quick Abergavenny break down the right opened up the Wickham defence. The shot came crashing off the bar back into a pool of players where an Abergavenny player seemed to handle the ball by play continued and Wickham eventually cleared. With 14 minutes gone Max raced clear and on reaching the edge of the box hit a powerful shot unfortunately straight at the keeper for him to make the save. Despite virtually all of the rest of the half being played in the opposition half Wickham could just not score that 2nd goal which would have killed the game off. The lads duly paid the price at the start of the second half when in the 3rd minute a ball in the box was partially cleared out to the left but this was fired straight back goal wards and in over the top of Ben for 1-1. In the 6th minute Ollie and a shot fro the apex of the box which was well saved by the keeper for a corner. In the 18th minute a now rare Abergavenny attack down their right dragged the Wickham defence all over the place. With two free forwards in the box Ben made a great interception save. With time rapidly running out Ollie took a free kick and swung it into the box. The keeper seemed to parry the ball and with Max & Tom following in Max duly put the ball away. There was very little time left but Wickham held on to secure 5th place.
Ben Grey
Aiden Weeks, Jack Wild, Jordan Shaw, Tom Farman
Alex Olford, Luke Evans, Ollie Norman, Max Nicholls
Harry Russell, Ben Cipolla.
Sub:- Stephen Enever.
