Another game in hand to clear; this time a win would take the boys back top. The opponents are Abbey Meads who are in the bottom half for the table but the lads have never beaten them at home, which is a surprising fact.
William was again captain and decided to kick up the slope. Wickham attacked from the start with Marcus having a long range shot which seemed destined for the top corner but the keeper saved it. In the 6th minute Olly hit a couple of great crosses from the left, the second one finding Charlie but again the keeper made the save. A minute later a goal kick was won by William who played it up to Albie who slipped Charlie between the centre backs to open the scoring. The 9th minute saw an Abbey Meads attack stopped by Ben who switched the ball to Duncan on the right. His pass found Albie who got past his man and drilled the ball into the top right corner. A minute later the ball was won by Marcus who tried to play Albie in. He seemed to have lost the ball but won it back before tucking a left foot drive just inside the post. In the 15th minute a throw in saw Charlie battling for the ball by the corner flag. He played it back to Olly who fed the ball into Albie. As he advanced into the area he was brought down by two defenders but duly stuck the resulting penalty away to complete his hat trick. In the 17th minute Marcus played a lovely “channel” ball for Duncan to run onto. He got to the by line then cut back inside the defender hitting the ball to the back post where it drifted into the back of the net for 5-0. With 5 goals in ten minutes things had to calm down a little. With 20 minutes gone both wingers were replace with Iggy coming on the left hand side and Max on the right. Iggy then had two runs down the left getting in good crosses to no avail but in the 23rd minute he pulled the ball back to Albie who saw hit shot cleared off the line but only as far as Jesse who drilled it into the roof of the net. In the 25th minute Albie intercepted a goal kick and after taking a touch curled the ball into the far corner to give a half time score line of 7-0.
At the start of the second half Jack came off with the rest of the back four shifting across a slot with Olly dropping in at left back. In the first minute a throw in cause problems in the Abbey Meads area as they conceded a corner. From this the ball went all the way across the area to be cleared giving the visitors a break down their right. The ball was knocked over Ben to a sticker in the clear but James came out made the parry for Ben to run round and clear the ball to safety. Abbey Meads were now a different side matching everything Wickham through at them. However, in the 9th minute Iggy went on a run down the right cutting into the box and getting his shot away which the keeper blocked but Iggy put the rebound in. This was the start of another goal blitz. Albie was now replace by Fraser and it was Fraser who knocked the ball inside to Charlie, who despite being force left, was able to hook a left footed shot across the keeper and in. Two minute later again an attack down the right saw Iggy battle his way past two defenders and hit a shot across the keeper into the far corner. Play was now constantly down the right as a ball was played back to William who sent Charlie clear. He was about to shoot when he was pulled down. Charlie was persuaded to take the penalty and duly completed his hat trick. Another long throw caused problems in the Abbey Meads defence as both Charlie and Jesse attacked the ball. It was cleared out to Fraser on the edge of the box and he drilled it into the net. Finally, in the 21st minute the ball was worked to the left flank with Duncan tucking it inside to Fraser who got past his man before curling the ball inside the far post. With 6 goals in 12 minutes the stuffing had been completely knocked out of Abbey Meads and chances were still being created. In the 25th minute a corner was played into the box and after an almighty scramble Jack, who had come on for William. forced the ball over the line for his first goal of the season. The final goal was scored in the 27th minute as a long clearance from James was flick on by Marcus for both Charlie and Fraser to chase, Charlie getting there first to score. Abbey Meads did hit the crossbar in the 30th minute direct from a free kick but this was their only real chance of the game.
Following a fantastic first half display scoring 4 goals and continuing the good work in the second half Albie won The Player of the Day Award plus the opposition coaches award as well.
James Davies
Jack Bolton, William Herrington, Bert Cherrill, Ben Finch
Duncan Lorrain, Marcus Guest, Jesse Bowers, Olly Sopp
Albie Oakman, Charlie de Fraine.
Subs:- Iggy Ilott, Fraser Roberts, Max Nicholls.
