Division One (East)
Finchampstead 3 Prestwood 3
Saturday, 28 September 2002
Woeful finishing and an unusually shaky defence proved to be Finchampstead?s downfall as visitors Prestwood extended their recent excellent run of results to claim a share of the points from a 3-3 draw in their Hellenic Football League Division One (East) match sponsored by Shikara Wazwaan at Finchampstead Park on Saturday. To be fair, it was Finchampstead that played the more fluent passing football, but they failed to convert their promising build-up play into goals, whereas Prestwood constructed few real scoring chances, but was quick to capitalise on Finch defensive errors with two sensationally finished goals.
For the first ten minutes it was all Finch as they attacked the Prestwood goal with venom and only poor finishing and one or two strokes of luck by the visitors kept the score sheet clean. In the second minute an important defensive header by Jon Tilbury robbed a pinpoint Danny McCarthy cross off the head of Kim Burt in front of goal, with Danny Humphreys just failing to connect with the resulting corner delivered by Danny Russell, with the goal at his mercy. Having weathered the early storm, Prestwood eventually got out of their own half and ten minutes of end to end play followed, but with neither side able to find a quality shot to trouble the goalkeeper, although a good chance at both ends went begging. Davyd Bowden was unlucky not to put Finch ahead in the eighteenth minute with a blistering acute-angled effort that beat keeper Richard Pontin and flew across the goal line, with no Finch player present to tap the ball over the line. Then, in the twentieth minute at the other end, Matt Cox was quick to pounce on a mix-up in the Finch defence, but sent the ball over the crossbar from ten yards out.
Although moving the ball forward well out from defence, there was little movement from the Finch midfield in support of their two front players, and this allowed Prestwood to defend comfortably in numbers and clear any threatened danger. With Prestwood?s Craig Henney causing all sorts of trouble in his speedy runs down the left midway through the half, his efforts were rewarded in the twenty-sixth minute when he cashed in on a defensive blunder to fire his side 1-0 ahead. Five minutes later they should have again capitalised on confusion in the Finch rearguard as Steve Walter was allowed to move unchallenged onto a loose ball on the edge of the penalty area, but he first time effort flew wide of the target, much to the Finch players and supporters relief.
Finch woke up and turned the tide in the closing ten minutes of the half, pinning Prestwood deep in their own half for long periods, with Danny Humphreys doing the hard work but missing a sitter with just the keeper to beat in thirty-eighth minute as he scuffed his shot wide of the target from six yards out. However this pressure paid off with an equaliser in the forty-first minute, Danny Russell sending a powerful header into the back of the net from a corner after an earlier effort had been cleared off the line by Kevin Riley. Against the run of play it was Prestwood that had the final say of the half in the forty-fourth minute, skipper Craig Eden being given the freedom of the park to juggle and tee-up a cross field pass before sending a dipping volley over Finch keeper Stuart Harris from twenty-five yards out to give the visitors the lead.
Half time: 1 - 2
Six minutes into the second half, Richard Pontin made a brilliant diving save to push a well-struck Kim Burt effort around his left post after good play by Danny Humphreys and Davyd Bowden on the edge of the Prestwood penalty area. Five minutes later another excellent Finch move down the right by Kim Burt and Danny McCarthy ended with a perfectly weighted ball into the path of Davyd Bowden, who just failed to find the target with a hastily taken shot whilst under pressure from defender Andy Whittaker. The introduction of Justin McClurg added more punch to the Finch attack and they looked far more dangerous. Jeremy Lynch saw a fine header cleared off the line in the sixty-third minute as the pressure on the Prestwood goal was maintained. It was not long before they were back on level terms, Danny Humphreys skilfully chipping a Justin McClurg cross over the line in the sixty-fifth minute, but being denied a goal by the referee, had to score again seconds later, this time making sure that he would not be denied by thumping the ball into the back of the net to make it 2-2.
From then on the attacking play was more or less controlled by Finch, with substitute Martin Turner blazing inches wide with the keeper beaten in the sixty-ninth minute and then being denied by the woodwork minutes later. However, once again indecisive midfield play in the eighty-second minute then gifted Prestwood the lead for the third time in the afternoon, Richard Maybe collecting a free ball deep in the Finch half before running on to drill hard and low into the bottom right corner. Staring defeat in the face, Finch battled hard in the closing stages and equalised through Danny Humphreys eighty-seventh minute when he headed home a superb Jamie Clarke cross at the far post. This set up a frantic finale, but with Prestwood packing their penalty area, they failed to grab a late winner, and two valuable points disappeared thanks to a poor team performance on the day.
On Tuesday (Oct 8th) play Harrow Hill in the first round of the Hellenic Floodlit Cup at Hartley Wintney FC, kick-off 7.45pm.
Finchampstead: Harris, Clarke, Goddard, Prentice, Lynch, Russell, Burt, McCarthy, Humphreys, Bowden, James McClurg.
Subs used: Charlton, Justin McClurg, Turner.
Prestwood: Pontin, Jon Tilbury, Whitaker, Riley, Eshelby, James Tilbury, Eden, Letham, Walter, Henny, Cox.
Subs used: Bickerton, Hawkes, Mabey.
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