Match Report: Uxbridge Left Feeling Blue
- tricky291
- Nov 16
- 4 min read
Uxbridge entered this home fixture against Yate Town having dropped only four points from seven games at home all season. In contrast, Yate had secured only four away points from their eight league games, though those points came in their last two matches. This was the first of four consecutive home games for the Reds across league and cup competitions.
Uxbridge made two changes from the previous week's starting line-up: Liam Prior-Tack replaced the injured George Moore, and new signing Marvin Sordell came in for Ada Okorogheye, who dropped to the bench. Other squad changes included new signing Daniel Hector replacing Mughal, and the return of Andrio Brandao and Fope Deru from loan. Casey Bocarro remained sidelined due to illness. The match kicked off at 15:03 as part of the National League 3UP campaign, which aims to secure three promotion spots from the National League to League Two.
Uxbridge started uncharacteristically slowly, and the visitors created the first chance in the 2nd minute. A long throw resulted in a poor header from Sordell, and the subsequent shot was well-blocked by an Uxbridge defender. Yate were forced into an early substitution in the 8th minute when Matt Britton replaced the injured Omar Taylor-Clarke. This didn't disrupt the Bluebells, who continued to look the more likely side to score. Uxbridge’s first chance came in the 17th minute when good work from Frank Keita led to a cross that was flicked on by Nwachuku to Prior-Tack, whose header went over the crossbar. Yate went close three minutes later from a well-worked corner, met by a brave diving header from Harry Rush that was destined for the corner.
Midway through the half, Uxbridge swapped the positions of Sordell and Nwachuku, moving the latter to the right side of the front three. The change almost paid immediate dividends when a Cole Brown ball over the top found Sordell running through, but a Yate centre-half made a crucial tackle for a corner. The resulting inswinging corner by Giamattei was headed over by Stepney. In the 28th minute, The Reds took the lead. A quality pass from Keita found Nwachuku 20 yards out, and his first-time shot on the half-volley with his right boot was in as soon as it left his foot—a goal worth the entrance fee alone! Ten minutes later, Laurie Shala—making his last appearance for Uxbridge before being recalled by parent club Wycombe Wanderers—was called into action, coming out to block a one-on-one, resulting in another Yate Town corner. Following a minimum of four minutes of added time, the first half ended. The general consensus was that Uxbridge was fortunate to be leading against a Yate Town side that played far better than their 5th-from-bottom position suggested.
HT 1-0
The second half began at 16:10. Just 39 seconds in, Yate's penalty appeals from a long throw were waved away by referee Gareth Burton. Uxbridge nearly doubled their lead in the 49th minute when an exquisite Harry Rush shot from outside the area struck the crossbar, leaving Aaron Sainsbury in the Yate Town goal helpless. Massimo Giamattei received a yellow card in the 59th minute. On the hour mark, Uxbridge made their first changes: Prior-Tack and Sordell were replaced by Okorogheye and debutant Daniel Hector. Moments later, the Yate Town assistant manager, Paul Tovey, received a red card for disagreeing with a decision. Yate’s second change in the 67th minute proved crucial: Rex Mannings replaced Tomlinson. Uxbridge, still ahead, nearly secured the second goal a minute later when Okorogheye crossed for Hector, but his goal-bound effort was well-blocked. Yate made their third substitution in the 70th minute, with 39-year-old former Millwall and Wycombe player Chris Zebroski making way for Marlon Jackson. Ada Okorogheye received a yellow card a minute later for dissent. By the 76th minute, Uxbridge had registered only two shots on target, the latest being a weak Harry Rush shot straight at Sainsbury.
In the 81st minute, Yate equalised. A Rex Mannings corner was flicked on by an unmarked James Ollis to an equally unmarked substitute, Marlon Jackson, who made no mistake. With the clock hitting 90 minutes, a draw seemed likely, but the visitors had other ideas. Another long throw was launched into the box, and Jack Hooper—making his Yate debut on loan from Bristol City—had a free header to send the visiting fans into raptures. There was still another goal to come, and it went to the visitors: Rex Mannings found space and his shot from the edge of the area found the bottom corner.Yate Town deserved their three points. Based on this showing, they are unlikely to remain in the bottom half of the table for long.
For Uxbridge, today's game highlighted a recurring issue: 11 goals conceded from the 81st minute onwards in 16 league games (26 total conceded), and 9 points dropped from winning positions in the same late period. This season, the team also lost an FA Cup tie from a winning position late in normal time due to a set piece. If the Reds can iron out these lapses in concentration and defend set pieces better, they can still have a prosperous season. While frustrating, they still sit 3rd in the league, and this was only their second league defeat.
There are positives, as Uxbridge could have gone two goals up multiple times.
Up next for the Reds is the last tie of the Middlesex Senior Cup quarter-finals this Tuesday, November 18th (19:45 K.O.) against North Greenford United. The other three semi-finalists are Broadfields United, Hanwell Town, and Southall. The next league game is on Saturday, November 22nd, against Farnham Town.
Keep the Faith!
FT 1-3
Att: 339
Uxbridge: Shala: Brown (81 Hobbs), Giamattei, Stepney, Tanner: Nnadozie, Rush (c), Prior-Tack (59 Hector); Sordell (59 Okorogheye), Nwachuku, Keita Subs not used: Deru and Brandao
Yate Town: Sainsbury, Larvin, James (C) (96 White), Tomlinson (67 Mannings), Taylor-Clarke (8 Britton), Ollis, Zebroski (71 Jackson), Jenkins, Bennett, Hooper, Evans. Sub not used: Taylor
with thanks to David Mallam for today's match report
