Match Report: Reds leave Hungerford Starving for Points

Hungerford Town 0-4 Uxbridge

With four wins from their last five matches, Uxbridge have hit a rich vein of form at precisely the right moment. This professional win at Hungerford helped to further allay any fears about dropping towards the relegation places after a lean period during January and February. Manager Danny Edwards showed faith in the squad that defeated Havant, naming an unchanged starting eleven. The only movement was on the bench, where Josh Boorn and new Oxford United loanee Jack Lee stepped in for Billy Montague and the injured Ada Okorogheye.

The opening quarter of an hour offered little for the 369 fans in attendance to cheer about. Both sides struggled to find their rhythm, and the midfield was a congested "no-go zone" with neither goalkeeper tested in the early exchanges. However, the deadlock was shattered in the 18th minute through a moment of individual persistence. Jo Lawal was hauled down just outside the area, and George Moore stepped up to the dead ball, curling a low effort that took a subtle yet decisive nick off a defender to nestle into the bottom corner, leaving Luke Cairney stranded in the Hungerford goal.

The home side briefly threatened to respond in the 22nd minute when a midfield turnover allowed for a snapshot from Kyle Tooze that whistled just past Marco Underwood’s outstretched hand and the far post. It was to be a rare scare for the visitors, however, as just three minutes later, Moore doubled his tally. A quick throw-in on the right found Lawal, who expertly fed Moore; he cut inside his marker and dispatched a clinical, low shot beyond the reach of Cairney to make it 2-0—much to the delight of the travelling Red Army.

Hungerford showed flashes of defiance, most notably in the 35th minute when Ramarni Medford-Smith unleashed a thunderous first-time volley that looked destined for the top corner, only to fly inches wide with Underwood stranded. But any hopes of a comeback were extinguished just before the interval. In the 44th minute, Liam Prior-Tack delivered a pinpoint outswinging corner that found CJ Fearn in acres of space in the box. His emphatic header left Cairney no chance and sent Uxbridge into the tunnel with a commanding three-goal cushion.

HT 3-0

The second half saw Hungerford attempt to bridge the gap, with Jake Leahy firing high and wide after a promising break immediately after the restart. However, Uxbridge quickly regained control. George Moore nearly secured his hat-trick with another trademark free-kick that required a spectacular fingertip save to be turned around the post.

Uxbridge remained well in control as the half wore on. Just after the hour mark, a neat lay-off from Ciaran Martin on the edge of the box set up Lawal for a curling effort that went agonisingly wide of the far post, as Prior-Tack was just unable to get close enough to it. The introduction of former Red favourite Andrio Brandao for the hosts in the 68th minute failed to shift the momentum.

As the clock ticked down, Uxbridge turned the screw. Lawal was denied by a point-blank save from Cairney after brilliant service from Cole Brown, before substitute Jack Lee showed good strength to hold off the defence, only to see his low shot well blocked by Cairney again. It seemed the fourth goal would elude the Reds, but in the 88th minute, George Moore—seeking his hat-trick—twisted and turned inside the box before unleashing a low drive. Cairney could only parry the ball with his feet, and debutant Lee was the fastest to react, smashing the rebound home to put the gloss on a dominant performance.

The win moves Uxbridge up to 10th place in the league, playing with plenty of confidence as they look to finish as high as possible in their first season at Step 3. Next up, Evesham are the visitors to Honeycroft on Saturday, 14 March.

FT 4-0

Att: 369

Uxbridge: Underwood, Brown, Martin (Bocarro), Fearn, Jones, Nnadozie (Rush), Lawal (Boorn), Perez-Duah, Okine-Peters (Lee), Moore, Prior-Tack (Keita)