Match Report: Fun in The Sun
- Apr 26
- 3 min read
Quite often, end-of-season matches with little to play for can drift and become forgettable all too quickly. That certainly wasn't the case at a sun-drenched Honeycroft on Saturday, as Uxbridge and Poole Town played out a thrilling 3-3 draw. With Uxbridge having already secured a top-ten finish and Poole looking forward to a play-off semi-final on Wednesday, both teams deserve massive credit for producing such a high-quality encounter.
There were two changes to the Reds' starting line-up: Casey Bocarro stepped in at left-back and Ada Okorogheye got the nod at number nine, with Ciaran Martin and Frank Keita moving to the bench.
The match started with both sides showing real attacking intent. Early on, we saw some lovely link-up play between Okorogheye and George Moore, though Moore couldn't quite find a way past Adam Parkes in the Poole goal. A warning sign flashed on 12 minutes when the league's top scorer, Shaquille Gwengwe, broke away into space. It took a superb last-minute tackle from CJ Fearn to stop him from adding to his tally of 40 goals this season.
Unfortunately, the respite was brief. Just before the half-hour mark, a dangerous Uxbridge move broke down on the edge of the box and Poole broke away clinically. A couple of incisive passes saw Antonio Diaz fire a cross to the far post, which was tucked home by Gwengwe. Despite some shouts for offside, the goal stood, leaving Uxbridge trailing.
The response didn't take long to materialise. Within ten minutes, the increasingly influential Moore looped a clever ball over the defence to Josh Boorn. Reminiscent of his goal at Walton last week, Boorn timed his run perfectly and finished clinically past Parkes to make it 1-1. But before the fans could even finish cheering, Poole restored their lead. Only a minute later, a cross caused chaos in the Uxbridge box; Ryan Campbell's shot went in via the post with a final touch from the ever-dangerous Gwengwe. It could have been worse before the break, but Gabe Cuthbert was on hand to clear a goal-bound header from Harvey Slade off the line in the 44th minute.
HT 1-2
Uxbridge came out for the second half on the front foot and were level just five minutes after the restart. Jo Lawal did some great work to find space out wide near the corner of the penalty area and laid the ball into the path of the onrushing George Moore. His early shot didn't seem to have the pace to trouble Parkes, but it was perfectly weighted—it wouldn't have looked out of place on the green baize at the Crucible—and it trickled into the far post to level the scores.
You could feel the momentum shift. Uxbridge were suddenly creating chances at will. Fearn went close with a low shot, and the hard-working Boorn was denied by a brilliant save from Parkes, who parried a fizzing drive around the post on 55 minutes. Then, just before the hour mark, Moore took matters into his own hands with a goal of pure audacity. After appearing to lose control of the ball on the edge of the box, he won it back with a superbly timed tackle, scrambled to his feet, danced past a defender, and absolutely rifled the ball into the top corner. It was one of the best goals Honeycroft has seen in a long time, putting Uxbridge ahead 3-2.
The home side kept pushing for a fourth, with both Boorn and Moore forcing further saves, but they couldn't find the killer blow. That missed opportunity came back to haunt them in the 76th minute. Poole showed exactly why they are in the play-offs with a fine sweeping move finished off by substitute Henry Spalding, who produced a bit of magic—a superb curling shot from the corner of the box that gave Marco Underwood no chance.
Poole sensed a late winner, and Underwood had to be alert to tip a long-range shot over the bar in the 86th minute. There was one last heart-in-mouth moment in the 88th when Uxbridge lost possession on the edge of their own box, but luckily, the final shot whistled just wide, and the points were shared.
This result brings a superb first season at Step 3 to an end for Uxbridge, securing a fantastic 9th place finish. In a league full of "big clubs," the Reds have come a long way in a short space of time and can be rightly proud of their season’s work. It isn't quite over yet, though! We now look forward to the Middlesex Charity Cup Final against Broadfields United on May 7th at Bedfont Sports.
FT: 3-3 | Att: 424
Uxbridge: Underwood, Jones (Brown), Bocarro (Martin), Fearn, Cuthbert, Rush, Lawal (Keita), Perez-Duah (Nnadozie), Okorogheye (Okine-Peters), Moore, Boorn.
