RUGBY TOWN 2 BEACONSFIELD SYCOB 1

Beaconsfield SYCOB returned home from the long trip to Rugby Town without any points though even the most die hard Valley fan would have said they deserved at least one - for this was the best team performance of the season for The (reshuffled) Rams who never looked or played like a team in the bottom four and who, in the first half particularly, looked more like title contenders than their hosts did.

From the off The Rams harried and harassed Rugby and SYCOB keeper Brendan Hazlett had little to do - Ollie Jones, Kurtney Brooks and Jordan Ajanlekoko all gave Rugby little time on the ball whilst Kofi Lockhart-Adams and Romaine Walker were always a threat going forward. On ten minutes Kofi, after a great pass by Lee Togwell, had a one on one with Rugby No.1 Richard Morris but was caught in two minds and the chance slipped away. Two minutes later a snap shot by Jones  was brilliantly saved by Morris but he was powerless on 24 minutes when a Jones corner was headed home by (a much sharper looking) Aaron Berry to give The Rams a deserved lead. The rest of the half saw SYCOB continue to disrupt Rugby's tempo, much to the distress of the home support, and they enjoyed long periods of possession, each player comfortable on the ball.

The second half was only five minutes old when Kofi turned his defender and made a great run only to see his shot really well saved by Morris. However, Rugby are not third without reason and as SYCOB played a little deeper than in the first half Town began to get more into the game and were well orchestrated by Captain Alex Gudger. Seb Lake-Gaskin rattled The Rams bar on 55 minutes and a few minutes later Hazlett had to react quickly to keep out a sliced clearance as Rugby started to assert control.

The Valley finally made the break through on 78 minutes when a good cross from the right was headed back across goal to Lewis Rankin who controlled, spun and shot in an instant to put his side on level terms. Urged on by a raucous support Rugby continued to attack but SYCOB soaked it up well, never panicked and looked to play on the break via Kofi and Aaron but the Rugby pressure finally told in injury time when a half clearance was shot home by sub Fazel Koriya to send the home crowd wild and the home directors breathing a huge sigh of relief.

Defeat in the last minute was cruel on the hard working, well organised, evenly balanced team that now represents Beaconsfield SYCOB. Every player performed well and, but for a couple of good saves by Morris, they could have easily have earnt a victory. Play like  this every week and the victories will surely come.

Come On You Rams!

SYCOB Team:

1. Brendan Hazlett

2. Lee Togwell (Captain)

3. Romaine Walker

4. Guram Guramishvilli

5. Alex Murray

6. Kurtney Brooks

7. Jordan Ajanlekoko

8. Ollie Jones

9. Aaron Berry

10. Kofi Lockhart-Adams

11 Ashley Kelynack (Sub: Dean McDonnell)

Subs Not Used:

12. Jed De Souza

13. Sam Bunting

14. Zac Martin

16. Omari Patrick

Attendance: 231