05.01.08
Man of the match: Don Graves
After enjoying a well deserved break over the Christmas period, AFC Corinthians faced West Reading on a cold and wet afternoon at James Lane. Apart from the injured Jon Simmons and the absent John Quinton and Finbar Mulberry, the home side had a full squad to choose from.
The match started with Corinthians taking the initiative. The wet pitch did not make things easy but they were moving the ball around well and managing to spread play out to the flanks and were causing West Reading trouble as a result. The Whites should have taken the lead on the 10 minute mark when Jeff Charters played a great ball in behind the West Reading left full-back to Chris Long, but his control and finish let him down when he should have at least troubled the keeper.
West Reading countered and enjoyed a good period of possession but with the exception of a couple of corners and some good Corinthian defending by keeper Jamie Scott, Ben ‘Big Dogg’ Charters, Coach Kitten, Ian Beanymon and Don Graves, the away side did not threaten Corinthians too much in the first half.
However, Corinthians were struggling to adapt to West Reading’s experienced back four, who were forming a very high line of defence. Time and time again they caught Corinthians’ attackers Jon Smith, Dan Huggins and Drew Warnke in their offside trap. However, Smith did manage to get through on goal after a good pass from Long but the keeper closed the angle and saved well. Then about 10 minutes before half-time, Smith latched onto another through ball from Long and was clearly fouled in the process of shooting however the referee played on because Huggins was following up. Unfortunately for Corinthians the in-form striker managed to screw it wide from 5 yards out.
At half-time the Gaffer, Matt Charters, was happy with the overall play but asked his side to sharpen their first touch as well as to use different approaches in trying to break the resolute visitors down.
The second half started much like the first but became scrappier as the half wore on. Corinthians were getting in some good attacking positions but were either not making the right decisions at the right time or just could not find the finish required.
West Reading, however, were becoming more of a factor in this game. They were pressing forward and playing some good balls down the channels. In fact, they were actually a couple of last ditch tackles from Graves and Beanymon away from taking the lead.
But it was the home side who scored the decisive goal with about 20 minutes left. The ball was won in midfield and Joff Charters hit a first time through ball to Huggins, who had managed to stay onside. He then out-sprinted the defender and slapped an unstoppable shot high into the net at the keepers’ near post.
With the exception of a couple attacks including a header from a corner which was cleared off the line by Long, the visitors could not convert their possession into goals and the home side held on to take all three points.
While Corinthians know they have work to do and need to make regaining match fitness a priority, they can be happy that they came through this scrappy affair with another win. Next week the visitors are old foes Taplow United who are currently sitting 2nd in the table. This will be a very difficult match and could prove to be a pivotal one for how Corinthians’ season progresses.