Reds all at sea as Boatmen cruise to victory

Uxbridge’s unbeaten start to their league campaign came to a shuddering halt on a cold clear night in Hampshire as Sholing ran out comfortable 3-0 on Tuesday. Uxbridge brought in forward Frank Keita for his first start, after making his debut from the bench at Tiverton on Saturday.

But it was more about defence as the home side started in lively fashion, putting The Reds under pressure from the start. It was no surprise when Sholing opened the scoring in the 10th minute. A strong run from their right back resulted in a foul on the edge of the box, the resulting free-kick went to the back post where Brad Target was on hand to rifle home a shot which got a deflection on its way past Shala in the Uxbridge goal. Sholing continued to threaten, with Shala forced into action again in the 13th minute, parrying away a free header at the back post. The Reds were struggling to get going at all, with the front three of Nams Nwachuku, Keita and Jo Lawal not able to make much of an impression on the home side's well marshalled defence. There was a nervy moment in the 18th minute when a Sholing striker went down in the box, but the referee waved away appeals for a penalty. Sholing came close to a second goal in the 25th minute when Jake Hesketh's curling shot struck the crossbar and went over. The visitors slowly began to see more of the ball as the half wore on, a promising run by Lawal down the right was cut short in the 27th minute when the ball was judged to have gone out of play just before his cross was tapped in by Keita. Moments later, a cross from Casey Bocarro was knocked down to Liam Prior-Tack, who volleyed just over the bar. Prior-Tack had two more close calls before the break, putting another shot over from a Cole Brown cross in the 38th minute, and a minute later he received a short corner on the edge of the box only to fire over the goal, stand & bar and onto the adjacent cricket pitch, for what would have been a well struck six.

HT 0-1

The second half began with the visitors pushing for an equaliser. In the 47th minute, a ball played into Lawal saw him round Craig King on the Sholing goal, but the keeper managed a vital touch to put him off, and the chance was cleared. Prior Tack was again denied in the 48th minute, cutting inside a defender on the left but once more shooting over the bar. His frustrating evening in front of goal continued in the 53rd minute with a header over from a Nwachuku cross. Sholing's defence held firm, and they continued to look dangerous on the break. In the 66th minute, a half-hearted penalty appeal for handball was waved away. The home side were denied by two superb saves from Shala in the 68th and 69th minutes, first from a long-range shot and then from a snapshot from the edge of the box. However, the pressure paid off for Sholing when a break in the 72nd minute l down the right by Joe Rabbetts was crossed in and Michael Folivi slid in to give them a 2-0 lead. Sholing capped off their impressive performance in the 87th minute when Jake McCarthy broke clear and fed Folivi, who smashed the ball into the far corner to make it 3-0. The final whistle blew shortly after, confirming Sholing's deserved win, leaving Uxbridge to lick their wounds.

Next up for the Reds is the trip to Stanway Rovers in the FA Trophy on Saturday 4th October.

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Uxbridge: Shala, Brown, Bocarro (Giamattei) Fearn, Tanner, Nnadozie (Wynter), Lawal (Osu), Rush, Nwachuku, Keita, Prior-Tack (Thorpe)