Match Report : Reds Hungry for More
- tricky291
- Oct 15
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 16
It must be said that even the most ardent of Uxbridge supporters wouldn’t have expected to see their side sitting in the play-off positions come mid-October. But following this well-earned 3–1 victory over Hungerford Town, that’s exactly where The Reds find themselves, having made a solid start to life at Step 3.
The starting line-up was unchanged from Saturday’s victory over Basingstoke, and just like then, the hosts took an early lead. This time it came in the 7th minute, when Cole Brown burst into the box with a jinking run and was brought down, earning a penalty. Frank Keita stepped up confidently and fired past the keeper for his second goal in two games to make it 1–0. Hungerford were now on the back foot. Harry Rush, pulling the strings in midfield, pulled a shot just wide of the near post shortly after. Jo Lawal then made a nuisance of himself in the 13th minute after good build-up play from Brown, cutting across his marker but dragging his shot narrowly wide. Brown continued to threaten down the right, cutting inside but firing high and wide in the 22nd minute. A minute later, Hungerford fashioned their first chance when a deflected cross was put behind for a corner by Shala. However, with Uxbridge in control, they doubled their lead on 25 minutes when Hungerford keeper Luke Cairney opted to punch a corner clear with no conviction. The ball was fed back into the box and fell perfectly to Lawal, who slotted home to make it 2–0. Uxbridge kept the pressure on. Nnams Nwachuku had a low shot parried by Cairney’s feet, and then Rush played in a superb cross met by the head of Toby Nnadozie, but Cairney was equal to it at full stretch. As the half drew to a close, Hungerford had some half-chances, with both James Ollis and Kyle Tooze testing Shala with shots that the Uxbridge keeper dealt with comfortably. It was, however, The Reds who came closest to another goal just before the break, with Keita sending a shot just over the bar.
HT: 2–0
Hungerford made several changes at the break and came out with renewed energy and zip, but it was Uxbridge who continued to threaten. Nwachuku cut inside and curled a shot straight at Cairney in the 55th minute. Hungerford broke away in the 58th minute, but the cross from Jacob Bancroft was gathered at the near post at the second attempt by Shala. Keita thought he had notched Uxbridge’s third goal on 61 minutes, but it was correctly ruled out for offside. The Reds weren’t done, though. In the 72nd minute, George Moore broke away from the defence and into the box on the right-hand side, squaring it to Nwachuku, who made no mistake from six yards out to make it 3–0. Hungerford’s hopes of any kind of comeback faded further on 76 minutes when Zack Kotwica received a second yellow for a clumsy tackle, reducing them to ten men. The game then drifted towards its inevitable conclusion but sprang into life again in the 86th minute, as Nwachuku stole the ball from a defender and cut inside. Cairney did well to parry his shot, and Moore fired the rebound well wide. Two minutes later, substitute Harry Thorpe broke from midfield and crossed to Nwachuku, whose thunderous strike hit the underside of the bar. Moore’s header from the rebound went just over. In stoppage time, Hungerford were awarded a penalty after a cross into the box and a foul on Medford-Smith. Conor McDonagh stepped up and, despite Shala guessing correctly and getting a hand to the ball, he couldn’t keep it out. There was time for one final chance, as Moore beat his defender and fired a low shot that Cairney parried into the path of Thorpe. The Hungerford stopper got up superbly to block the follow-up, and Uxbridge had to settle for the 3–1 win.
The result will give The Reds a real confidence boost going into two away trips, starting with Havant & Waterlooville on Saturday.
FT 3-1
Att: 276
Uxbridge: Shala, Brown (Osu), Bocarro, Fearn, Bailey (Giamattei), Nnadozie (Prior-Tack), Lawal (Thorpe), Rush, Nwachuku, Moore, Keita (Hobbs)
MoTM: Harry Rush
