Old Wykehamist Football Club

Man of the Match, Jack Merriott, reports....

Momentum is a strange creature. As a Jun Man I was taught it was equal to mv2, a simple mathematical formula as staid and predictable as Pa Grog himself. But as I grow older, I see it as a mischievous presence distorting reality and upsetting events. We have done little wrong this season, unbeaten in a league we have topped for months. Yet the feeling before this game was that we were on a downward spiral, that something had been lost since the heady days of mid November when we could ship five and still win at a canter. The truth is that the vim and vigour of the side has been gently drained over the past three months not by the adverse results (although our exit from the cup was a cruel blow) but by the lethargy of cancellations brought about by a combination of inclement weather and incompetent opposition. Back in November, this was a squad honed by regular football that was playing to a consistently high standard. On Saturday, as we collected at Win Coll, the team looked jaded by the relentless disappointment of the recent cancellations. I know the seed of this new setback and it is momentum. Had we met this team in November on the back of six straight wins, something more akin to their September Tom Rae lead mauling would have been on the cards.

Circumstance could also be blamed as law revision and newborn babies deprived us of some regular starters. But the credit crunch also worked in our favour: New York will not now be spiriting away James Hogan, whose second half performance and well-taken goal augur well for what will now be the rest of the season. James McGowan, promoted to fill in at centre back after some fine performances for the 2’s, played alongside Jamie Rann in central defence.

Preparation could not be faulted. Whilst the opposition was finding its way from Kent, the OW’s braved the Arctic chill with a spot of skins v shirts keep ball and our sharpness in the opening passage of play testified to the value of this preparation. We dominated from the outset and our pressure was rewarded inside the first ten minutes as a Redhead cut back from the left was met by Stevens who opened up his body and guided a sweet strike from the edge of the box past the despairing dive of the teenage keeper. Tonbridge were quick to respond though and their trio of ball-playing midfielders began to dominate possession with the OW midfield increasingly outnumbered on the break. It was from a loose pass in midfield that the ball was played into the path of the Tonbridge captain who had enough gas to stay ahead of the OW defence and enough power on the shot to take it past despite Neale’s save. Winchester reasserted a measure of control before half time and Vernon would have been disappointed to blaze over with the goal at his mercy just before the break.

After a half time roasting from Dr Hodgins, Vernon and Sutton made way for Kiley and Hogan and the OW’s rejoined combat confident that with the slope now in their favour the game was there to be won. The start of the second half was much improved especially in midfield where the mistakes of the first half were rectified. Once again, our pressure bore dividends as a sumptuous Stevens corner was put away in fine style by Hogan. This was the moment we should have shut the game down, a goal up and in control of possession. Instead a break down the left straight from a punt from goal was centred and the opposition striker slipped the ball under Neale’s body. This galvanised Tonbridge and our captain had to be at his best as he pulled off a stunning reflex save pushing a shot round the post. This set the tone for the rest of the match as we had the lion’s share of possession while Tonbridge carved out the clearest opportunities, two of which brought more excellent work from Neale. Thus it was that both teams looked disappointed at full time, Winchester for having twice given away the lead to a team second from bottom in the division, and Tonbridge for spurning the opportunities to take a prize scalp and avenge their early season thrashing.

We have now drawn our last three home games and badly need a win but the packed schedule ahead of us can only work to our advantage in helping us arrest our winter of discontent.