Match Report: Magpies Swoop in to steal a Point
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Having come back from two goals down to win at Gloucester a week previously, the boot was very much on the other foot this week, as Uxbridge succumbed to a three-goal fightback from Wimborne Town on Saturday. Danny Edwards kept faith with the same team as seven days earlier, and this paid dividends early on as Uxbridge started with intent. Only five minutes were on the clock when Jeremiah Okine-Peters saw a goal-bound effort blocked by Rodwell in the visitors' goal; Jack Lee was alert to the rebound but couldn't keep his shot down. Wimborne responded with a close-range effort that whistled wide from Rafa Ramos in the 14th minute, but the momentum remained with the hosts.
The deadlock was broken in spectacular fashion in the 21st minute. Okine-Peters worked space brilliantly on the left-hand side of the penalty area before laying the ball off to Troy Perez-Duah. From a position of little apparent danger, Perez-Duah unleashed a first-time swerving, dipping strike that left Rodwell stranded as it nestled in the back of the net. Wimborne nearly levelled four minutes later when a cross from the right found an unmarked Will Fletcher, but the header flashed wide with Marco Underwood scrambling. Uxbridge continued to threaten, with Harry Rush playing in Okine-Peters, only for the keeper to deny him with a brave block. Shortly after, Underwood was called into action at the other end, turning a low strike from Ramos around the post to preserve the lead.
However, it was the hosts who went further ahead on 41 minutes when a low cross from Okine-Peters found Jack Lee, whose shot was blocked by the hand of a Wimborne defender, leaving the referee with no choice but to point to the spot. Perez-Duah stepped up and coolly sent the keeper the wrong way to double the advantage. It seemed as though the half would drift to a conclusion, but Wimborne were gifted a lifeline in stoppage time when Fletcher was pulled back in the box as he burst through the Reds' defence. Max Bustamante stepped up, but his spot-kick lacked any real power and Underwood comfortably made the save to preserve the host's two goal advantage at the break.
HT 2-0
The second half began in explosive fashion. In the 48th minute, Jo Lawal showed superb tenacity to break into the box and pressure Rodwell. He got to the line and pulled the ball back towards goal; although the initial save was made, the ball fell kindly for Lee to fire home from a narrow angle to make it 3-0 and surely wrap up the points. However, the three-goal cushion lasted barely sixty seconds. A corner was not dealt with by the Uxbridge defence, allowing Wimborne to pull one back immediately as Billy Walker was able to head home. Two minutes later, another cross from the right caused chaos, and the visitors bundled home a second via Ramos with a cool finish to make it 3-2 and completely shift the atmosphere at Honeycroft.
The game became a stretched, end-to-end affair, with Wimborne making full use of their crossing ability and their front two causing plenty of issues for the Reds' backline. Uxbridge, though, still continued to create chances. In the 66th minute, a corner from Rush found Lee at the back post, but his header drifted wide. The home side thought they had a fourth soon after when a high ball into the box was bundled home; however, the goal was ruled out for a foul on the keeper - although he was seemingly impeded by his own defender. Wimborne continued to push, dragging a shot across the face of goal before finally finding the equaliser in the 73rd minute. A free-kick was knocked down in the box by Walker and the ball was bundled home in a crowd of players for 3-3, and the comeback was complete. Uxbridge pushed for a late winner, and substitute Liam Prior-Tack did superbly to create space in the box; he saw his cross-shot nearly loop into the far corner in the 89th minute, but it drifted agonisingly wide. There was still time for Wimborne to nearly take all three points as Ramos got on the end of a knockdown in the box in stoppage time but couldn’t make decent contact. In the end, both sides had to settle for a point. Uxbridge will be disappointed not to be able to hold on, but their unbeaten run now stretches to six games—a run that will be severely tested as they travel to Gosport on Good Friday.
FT 3-3
Att: 456
Uxbridge: Underwood, Brown, Martin, Fearn, Jones, Nnadozie (Prior-Tack), Lawal (Bocarro), Perez-Duah (Boorn), Okine-Peters (Keita), Lee (Moore), Rush
