Swindon 3rds 3 – 2 West Wilts C

Swindon began their league campaign against Wilts Wilts C. The team knew this wasn’t going to be anything like the West Wilts D and E team we are more used to and coming off the back of an 8 – 0 defeat in the friendly last week; but the team were keen to get going, and when it was revealed West Wilts only had 10 men, there was an element of optimism amongst the team.

The game got underway and despite being a man down, the West Wilts team moved the ball well and defended well when Swindon were trying to string a few passes together of their own. The First goal came roughly half way through the first half by... somebody.

West Wilts replied soon after though through a short corner. The ball was pushed out with pace to the top of the D followed by a very solid strike just inside. Keeper Tom Kerslake logged and got a decent amount of stick to the ball but the power in the shot was just too much.

Swindon then began to turn the screw slightly and the team were able to advance into the opposition half more often. Eventually, a miracle goal occurred! A ball was put in from the left side of the D, Alex Hynes was advancing along the right baseline. The ball popped up to Alex’s surprise but he still managed to react quick enough to jump; receive the ball at chest height with his stick across his body and then smashed home on the near post side, hitting the roof of the net and then the side netting. A diagram is available on request.

Right before the half time whistle, Swindon were reminded of the prowess the West Wilts team have. They strung together a few nice passes down the right hand side, cutting the Swindon back line to shreds and leaving a one on one. Tom Kerslake advanced but the attacker was quick to react and released a quick shot as he was going down to cover the bottom of the goal.

The second half saw Swindon turn the screw some more and dominate the second half. Passes were quick and accurate, there was movement off of the ball and there was confidence within the team. But to the opposition’s credit, they remained determined to keep the ball away from their D. Their efforts were not enough as eventually the games winning goal was put home by... somebody else.

An excellent display of skill in the end earned us our first three points of the season. Not to be too complacent though as we were kept at bay for a while by a 10 man team. Next stop, Marlborough, a team with a lot of skill and a lot of strength but a team we need to beat to survive in this league!

Please fill in the gaps if you scored!