Division One
Winslow United 1 Kentish Town 1
Saturday, 10 March 2007
Town, still smarting from a 5-1 midweek league defeat at Brimsdown Rovers, disappointingly dropped two more valuable points in a scrappy encounter at the Recreation Ground on a difficult surface that was soft in some places and rock hard in others.
Town, who were without a number of key players including the prolific Lee Scott, Thomas Kanaris, Safraz Pivano and Daryl Malcolm, struggled from the word go to adapt to the conditions, indeed chances for both sides were few and far between for long periods during the first half an hour of the proceedings and it was not a pretty spectacle for the handful of spectators in attendance on a sunny Buckinghamshire afternoon.
The first real action did not come until the 40th minute when Town's Roberto Quattromini made a superb goal line clearance with the ball looking certain to enter the net. Dave Dawson was then unlucky not to give Town the lead when making a mazey run into the penalty area only to be thwarted at the last minute by a defender with the goal in his sights.
Town were beginning to instil some much needed urgency in their play and forced two corners as the interval approached, they then took the lead when Chris Zanre collected the ball on the left following some neat play by Thomas Looney and flicked the ball cleverly past the Winslow keeper into the far corner of the net.
Looney almost doubled the lead right on half time when running onto a precision through ball only for the keeper to beat him to the punch, a 2-0 lead at this point of the game would have been invaluable and Frank Zanre and Clement Temile's interval team talk did not make pleasant listening with tea cups flying in all directions.
Town started the second period lethargically with the home side camped in their half for the first ten minutes and their pressure paid off on the hour mark when a deep cross to the far post was converted by Wayne Lebuet with Town's defence statuesque and James Noonan helpless.
The goal failed to wake Town from their slumbers and Paul Williamson entered the fray for the injured Shaka Cole, Williamson at least instilled some urgency however the Winslow defence held firm on the few occasions they were troubled during the second period and their custodian Landsdown was largely twiddling his thumbs. Town may well have gone behind and only some frantic defending and good handling by Noonan prevented further embarrassment against a side struggling one off the bottom of the table.