Victory at Whitton

SIL Premier Division: Whitton Utd FC 1-4 Henley Athletic FC

A crowd of 56 saw a hard-fought battle on a very difficult surface, that, until Whitton’s discipline let them down was close and competitive. Henley gave debuts to striker Hayden and the returning Francis, and with keeper Spurling unavailable, Lee pulled on the gloves. Whitton were on a run of victories, no doubt aided by their talented London contingent, whose play impressed throughout.

The 1^st chance went Henley’s way, a well struck freekick from Hayden forcing a full-length diving save early on, at the other end, Lee was called into action to tip round after 16 minutes.  Both teams continued to press, but defences held firm, with neither keeper called into action in the opening period. The game changed on 44 minutes when Whitton’s Badjana, their best player until that point, saw a straight red for what was adjudged to be a stamp on a prone Smythe, Whitton also saw two further yellows in the aftermath, as the half finished 0-0.

Whitton had a great start to the 2^nd half, a freekick from the edge of the area, neatly despatched into the bottom corner by Duka for 0-1 after 46 minutes. Their lead was short lived though as on 51 minutes a ball over the top from Tejano picked out Hayden, who showed his class and experience to beat 3 players and finish neatly to equalise 1-1. After 63 minutes it was 1-2, Hayden’s low strike hitting the inside of the post and bouncing back across the face of goal, Graham slid in at the back post, his touch looping up of the keeper’s legs to the onrushing Dende who headed home from close range. Once again Whitton’s lack of discipline cost them dearly, Wadey receiving a 2^nd yellow and his marching orders for comments to the officials before the restart.

Henley launched attack after attack, making the most of the advantage in numbers, but Whitton defended resolutely, holding a high line well. On 73 minutes Dozzell danced through, his shot well saved though, but in the 89^th minute Cates made it 1-3, Keita winning the ball back in midfield and playing him in, Cates showed great strength, fending off his marker and squeezing his shot in at the near post. Whitton kept pushing and Lee was forced to make a fine stop to keep them out, but it was Henley who added to their score, when Keita was clipped in the box after galloping through, the ever reliable White despatching the penalty with aplomb to make it 1-4 with the final kick of the game.

A much improved Henley performance, with both debutants giving a glimpse of what’s to come. The Ultra’s MOTM however went to Bell, for a simply faultless defensive showing. Subs, Dende and Cates are also worthy of a mention, both not only scoring, but causing issues for the Whitton defence throughout their time on the pitch.

Whitton Manager Damo, will, no doubt, be disappointed with the discipline issues, his side were well in the game, but were the architects of their own downfall. Their play, especially from the London based youngsters was excellent and they are certainly much improved from earlier in the season.

Praise also for referee Sheridan Biss, who did well handling what was an unnecessarily fractious match.

#UppaHens

The Hat