Match Report - Sumas 2 - 0 Holyport

Holyport and Wokingham both started the day level on points near the bottom of the table, the only difference being the 7 more games Wokingham have played. This was a feisty affair with both teams battling hard for 3 points, but it came down to an early penalty and a second-half counter-attack that decided this mid-season clash.

Wokingham started the game well pressing hard, which paid off early on when Linturn played a fantastic threaded ball to Bossman who drove down the left crossing a dangerous ball into the box, and after a scramble from both team’s players the ref blew the whistle and pointed to the penalty spot after a handball. After putting in the cross, Bossman took the penalty and finished into the top left, leaving the keeper rooted to the spot making it 1-0 in the 3rd minute.

The first half continued as a hard-fought battle with both teams sharing chances, Holyport’s Williams and Dimitrijevic had the best chance for their team in the first half in the 25th minute with a quick counter. Dimitrijevic found Williams on the edge of the box, but Woodward did well to save, and it was headed out for a corner. Wokingham had their own share of chances after the goal, with the best chance coming at the end of the first half as Jardim attempted a spectacular curling effort from distance, but it narrowly missed the top left corner in the 47th minute.
There was only one booking in the first half which went to Dimitrijevic after a nasty studs-up challenge in the centre of the field. The first half was an end-to-end contest, but Wokingham went into halftime up 1-0.

The second half saw the game get heated, to say the least. The defining moment came in the 65th minute when Wokingham capitalized from a Holyport corner, Badshah drove down the right-hand side, before laying the ball to Bossman who then squared to Mead who calmly put the ball top right, making it 2-0 Wokingham which seemed to be the nail in the coffin.

After the initial goal in the 66th minute, Holyport’s Williams put in a dangerous challenge and captain Etienne proceeded to kick the ball at the player who was down. The official for the day, Andrew Tootey, managed to get the game under control and showed cards to both Williams and Etienne, whilst also Wokingham’s Maunders went into the book who was having stern words with the ref in the aftermath of the challenge. The Holyport manager, Sam Locke, also went into the book today for being very vocal on the sideline which the ref deemed too much and showed the yellow card shortly after the first 3 bookings.

Both managers made substitutions in the second half, with Holyport making 4 changes throughout the half to try and come back into this game, but Wokingham did well to deal with any threats they tried to throw at them. Wokingham only made 3 changes throughout the half with Linturn, Bossman, and Woods coming off for Gethin-Barkway, Solomon, and Whittaker who all played a vital role in helping Wokingham secure the 3 points. Jardim had his own share of chances at the end of the second half in the 90th minute, with some quick pressing he managed to find himself through on goal, but the youngster Williams recovered the ball. Again, in the 94th minute he found himself with space inside the box but fired it just wide of the goal.

This game was end to end, not just in the first half but the entirety of the game and was a very entertaining watch. However, ultimately Wokingham’s quality and determination were the difference between the two sides today.

Wokingham’s manager Matt Cronan stated his lads were “defending like their lives depended on it” and even with the referee receiving extensive criticism from Holyport’s manager, Cronan added that the ref “had a good game today” which was a nice way to round off a hard-fought 3 points from the Wokingham team.

This leaves Wokingham 16th in the league table, 2 places above where they began before the fixture took place. The Sumas now look to their next fixture against Wallingford & Crowmarsh away which is due to be an electrifying fixture with the previous game ending 1-1 in the first league clash of the season. After Saturday’s class, performance the Wokingham team will go into their next fixture full of confidence.