This Site:
Other WFC-related Sites:
Ryman League Division One South
SLOUGH TOWN (0) 1 (Hodge)
WORTHING (0) 1 (Hill)
Attendance 465
Over the course of a season, it is said that luck balances itself out. In that case we are about to beat Ashford Town 18-0, Lewes are about to be docked six points for playing illegible players and we’ll beat Brighton on Monday in the Senior Cup Final. After days of sunshine, we endured torrential rain, far worse than that experienced on Boxing Day, yet the game was finished purely because the league fixtures HAD to be finished by Saturday. A week earlier and it would have been abandoned at half time; such was the ferocity of the rainfall.
Of course there is no guarantee that the result would have been any different. It is to the credit of both sides and indeed, both sets of supporters that this game finished and there is no doubt that Slough are now a different side to the one we faced back in January. I like Slough, they’re a “proper” football club despite not having their own ground, they have a really good fan base who respect the traditions of the non-league game and have an interesting, if slightly chequered, history. However, I would have been happier if they’d secured the point they needed for promotion on Saturday rather than at the expense of us!
Looking on with interest were Lewes manager Steven King as well as some of his players. I spotted Jay Lovett, Danny Davis, Lee Newman, Dwaine Clarke (who ironically lives locally) and Paul Kennett but I’m sure there were more. A few fans had also made the journey to see whether they would be crowned champions without kicking a ball.
The omens were never good. We were down to the absolute bare bones. Ross Johnson, Glen Davies, James Virgo, Ben Carrington, Wesley Lopez and Clay Lamont were all out injured. Chris Dicker and Ashley Carr were unavailable. Shaun Grice and Darren Freeman were suspended. Andrew Beech and Nko Ekoku were unfit but included on the bench anyway, Nko flying back from Bulgaria just to do this such was his commitment to the cause. The team picked itself with Roy Pook making his first competitive start in a Worthing shirt. Crucially, Slough were without half of the most prolific strike force in the division – Tony Boot being absent through suspension.
Conditions were wet but not unplayable in the first half with Will Packham making a smart save in the opening minutes. Worthing were playing well and Mark Pulling went very close with a header midway through as the rain kept lashing down. As the referee blew for the break, we reflected on what was a highly entertaining 0-0 draw between two evenly matched sides. The thunder and lightening added to the atmosphere and the Rebels hardcore behind the goal took some comfort in the fact that although they were soaking wet, they’d rather be soaked at Stag Meadow than on one of the many planes taking off from Heathrow that were passing at five minute intervals!
During half time it rained. Correction, it absolutely p!ssed down like you would not believe. The pitch was clearly unplayable yet due to the close proximity of the end of the season, the referee delayed the second half kick off until it had stopped, rather than call it off. Despite the cessation of the rain, the surface was a joke – far worse than ours on Boxing Day in that cruel game at Woodside Road. Yet, in a really “British way”, everyone just got on with it with no complaints.
It is difficult to describe the “action” as it was a farce with players continually slipping over, balls stopping in puddles and spray flying everywhere. It must have been great to watch as a neutral observer as it combined the athleticism of football with the pure comedy of “It’s a Knockout”. Paul Brown (remember him?) replaced the injured Des Guile midway through the half. On 82 minutes, Slough took the lead as Hodge headed a ball in from close range to the obvious jubilation of the large “home” crowd behind the goal. The Slough ‘keeper, who had just had a massive row with one of his own defenders, was told to “give nothing away”. Two minutes later, Owen Hill blasted home an unstoppable shot into the top corner of his net from 25 yards – almost a carbon copy of his goal against Walton & Hersham to restore parity. Neither side could add to their single strike and it finished one apiece thus confirming Slough’s promotion and Lewes’ Championship.
You look back to moments in the season such as the four points dropped at bottom side Epsom & Ewell, the last minute equaliser at Banstead, the two late goals up at Staines, the game that never was on Boxing Day, Freeman’s penalty miss at Lewes on Easter Monday, not beating the nine men of Windsor or Walton, our horrendous luck with injuries and the fact that we will play 67 matches this season. But then you remember that the league table never lies.
We have made huge progress from last season. How many of the 46 players that have pulled on the red shirt have let us down over the season? None. Is Woodside Road a happier place now? Yes it is. What’s the team spirit like now? Obviously. How many new friends have us fans made this season both at home through our newer supporters and away? Loads. What are we all doing Monday? We’re in the Sussex Senior Cup Final!
And that’s a whole lot more interesting than a visit to the bottom of an industrial estate in West London isn’t it?
TEAM – Will Packham 9, Sean Edwards 7, Stewart Holmes 6, Des Guile 7 (sub Paul Brown 7), Andy Lutwyche 7, Mark Pulling 7 (sub Andrew Beech 6), Owen Hill 7, Paul Rogers 8, Sam Francis 7, Roy Pook 7, Mark Knee 7 SUB NOT USED Nko Ekoku
MY MAN OF THE MATCH – Will Packham, an outstanding display in the most testing of conditions for a goalkeeper.
7th Feb 2004