Premier Division
Brackley Town 1 Didcot Town 0
Tuesday, 15 April 2003
Didcot slumped to a second successive league defeat after going down 1-0 to Brackley Town on Tuesday night. With the Silverstone motor racing circuit only a few miles away a high octane start might have been expected but in fact neither side could get out of second gear for long periods of a dour first half.
Didcot created the first noteworthy chance in the eleventh minute. Following a Darren McNamara free kick, the ball fell to Andy Cooper, who unleashed a powerful shot that was deflected away for a corner. Minutes later Didcot had a penalty appeal for handball turned down and shortly afterwards Jamie Heapy shot wide after Ian Concannon?s sliced effort fell into his path. Brackley had created little in the opening 20 minutes but they should have scored from their first chance. A long ball over the top caught the Didcot defence napping and striker Andrew Prescott was left with only keeper Keith McLoughlin to beat. However, he hesitated, and eventually blazed the ball over the crossbar. Andy Baird also shot straight at McLoughlin when well positioned but the half seemed to be petering out until there was a frenzy of activity in the final minute. A mazy run from Terry Morrisey was halted with an illegal body check and from the resulting free kick Cooper hammered a shot from 20 yards that Brackley keeper Alan Adams did well to gather. Play then transferred rapidly to the other end where Baird again found himself in the clear but a heavy touch gave McLoughlin the chance to block bravely, the Didcot goalkeeper taking a knock in the process.
Half Time 0-0
The 2nd half started with a Concannon cross finding Nigel Emsden in a shooting position, but Brackley defender Terry Muckelberg threw himself to block his goal-bound effort. At the other end Paul Eldridge attempted a spectacular 40-yard chip that just dropped over the crossbar but Brackley scored what proved to be the winning goal in the 55th minute. Didcot were seemingly reorganising after making two substitutions when a through-ball from midfield found Baird in the clear. He showed admirable composure in drawing McLoughlin before slotting the ball adeptly into the bottom corner. Thereafter Brackley were content to play on the counter-attack and defend deeply. This tactic allowed Didcot to dominate possession for the remainder of the match but resolute defending with the occasional scrambled clearance kept the visitors at bay. Concannon headed over from six yards, Heapy had a goal disallowed after an earlier foul on the keeper and Adams had to smother the ball on the goal-line from Lee Newport following another McNamara free kick, but clear cut chances were at a premium. Indeed, Brackley could have scored a second near the end but Eldridge just clipped his shot the wrong side of the post.
This was the third 1-0 score line between the two sides this season, but Didcot may feel disappointed they did not get anything out of the game. They remain fifth in the table with Brackley two places and four points behind them.
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