Premier Division
Abingdon United 1 Pegasus Juniors 1
Saturday, 19 April 2003
The late arrival of Abingdon United goalkeeper Carl Wilkins in the Pegasus penalty area four minutes from time was sufficient distraction to break the concentration of the visiting defence as the home side salvaged a point from a game that was slipping away from them.
The visitors were first to create a goal scoring opportunity when Darren Jones and Laurence Helme combined on the left for the latter to cross the ball to the near post, Wilkins managed to get a hand to deflect the ball clear however, the advancing Terry Green was unable to adjust sufficiently to direct his header on target. Soon afterwards Peter Wallace was unfortunate to see his header deflected for a corner kick from an Ian Rodgerson free kick. This seemed to inspire the home side who made this into a more even contest for the remainder of the half with some strong tackles one of which resulted in Rodgerson being replaced at the interval.
Half Time: 0-0
After a quiet opening to the second period the visitors gained control for a period of dominance, in the 62nd minute a diagonal ball from Adriano Girolami was returned by the home defence, this time he threaded a pass to Jones playing with renewed confidence; the striker calmly slotted the ball past Wilkins with some aplomb for a deserved lead. Gavin Stone gained possession on the left he made ground to the bye line he pulled the ball back but this was cleared by the home defence. For the final quarter of the game the home team laid siege to the visiting goal without seriously testing Matt Taylor except for a snap shot by Wayne Harbert that was deflected volley ball style over the cross bar. The visitors were managing to deal with the tide of yellow until Wilkins appeared for the important corner kick converted by Andy Marriott. Pegasus were unfortunate not regain the lead in the final minute when some desperate defending by Wilkins and his colleagues somehow prevented goal bound shots from Stone and Wallace.
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