Division One (East)
Drayton Wanderers 0 Finchampstead 2
Saturday, 08 March 2003
Finchampstead may be four points clear of the chasing pack at the top of the Hellenic Football League Division One (East) table, but this 2-0 victory against bottom club Drayton Wanderers was far from convincing and much greater energy and quality of finishing must be induced into their play if they are to stand any chance of retaining their championship title.
Finch got off to a flying start from the very first whistle and an early goal looked a certainty and was not long coming. Having squandered an earlier chance, in the fifth minute a brilliantly executed move down the left flank ended with a superbly weighted cross from Darren Kettle to Danny Humphreys, whose cool but clinical finish gave Drayton keeper Alan Gary no chance. Finch continued to force their hosts to defend deep in their own half throughout the opening fifteen minutes play, and only the quagmire in the Drayton goalmouth prevented Darren Kettle from planting the ball into the back of the net in the fourteenth minute as he lost his footing just as he was about to strike when through in front of goal. The next five minutes saw Finch twice strike the woodwork, Andy Knapp rattling the crossbar in the fifteenth minute with a tremendous twenty-five yard effort after a poor clearance by the harassed Drayton defence had landed at his feet, and then Darren Kettle struck the post with a blistering effort from a similar distance that rebounded to safety with the keeper again well beaten.
The unlucky Darren Kettle again rattled the crossbar with a header from a corner in the twenty-first minute, but this time Finch cashed in, with the ball returning back off the bar into a packed six yard box, where Lee Goddard was first to react and stab it home through a melee of legs to put Finch 2-0 in front. Crazily Finch then never went on to grab more goals, but appeared to take their foot off the gas and let Drayton have more of the midfield play. Although the Finch defence always looked on top, and keeper Stuart Harris was seldom called into action, Drayton began to make one or two penetrating runs on goal, with James Morris going closest in the thirtieth minute, but firing straight into the welcoming arms of the Finch keeper from the edge of the penalty area. In the thirty-fifth minute another fast flowing Finch move down the right involving Andy Knapp, Danny McCarthy and Danny Humphreys ended with a good ball into the box that was met on the volley by Darren Kettle, but sailed inches wide of the right post. The final move of the half came from Drayton and was perhaps their best of the game, with the ball flowing from defence up to the left hand edge of the Finch penalty area before Kevin Prentice conceded a free-kick in a desperate lunging challenge. As Finch marshalled themselves, Drayton skipper Alfie Burden delivered his quickly taken free-kick in towards the penalty spot to the unmarked Alan Carter, whose header fortunately for the disorganised Finch defence, sailed high over the target.
Half Time: 0-2
Drayton continued the second half where they left off the first, and at the end of a good attacking move that saw the Finch players appealing for an offside decision, they rattled the woodwork, with the ball being cleared to safety by Jeremy Lynch whilst the dazed Finch players continued needlessly to appeal to the referee. However, heeding this warning, Finch moved play to the other end of the park, with Darren Kettle and Danny Humphreys both forcing Alan Gary to make quality saves as they fired long range efforts towards his goal. Finch?s fourth attempt to rattle off the woodwork, this time from Kim Burt in the fifty-fifth minute, rebounded perfectly for Danny Humphreys, but sadly his rushed shot flew straight at the keeper and another good chance went begging. As Finch continued to pile on the pressure without adding to their goal tally, five minutes later Danny Humphreys was guilty of a miss that made Ryan Giggs recent effort look difficult, sending the ball looping over the bar from three yards out with the empty goal at his mercy. The game then degenerated into a midfield stalemate, with very little in the way of entertainment provided by either side until two minutes from the end, when Finch put together another fine move down the right wing through Andy Knapp and Danny McCarthy that ended with a great delivery into substitute Bruce Rolls, whose perfectly directed header was finger-tipped over the crossbar by the aerial Alan Gary.
On Saturday, Finchampstead entertain neighbours Binfield in a top of the table local derby at Finchampstead Park (3.00pm), with the reserve team also at home in the league against Banbury United on the Finchampstead Leas ground (3.00pm)
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