F.C. Lions of Wycombe' strike double act, "JAW - John and Will" helped themselves to a brace each in this fixture, alongside strikes from Scott Sharples and Keegan Casey which saw the Lions run out 6-3 winners to avenge the 4-3 loss suffered against the same side back in September.
With last week being a "free week" in the fixture list, it meant the Lions had gone 14 days without playing a game since facing Old Oak on January 12th. There were wholesale rotational changes to the squad for the game, as Carter and Tilbury looked to utilise all players available, and into the starting XI came Scott West, Tilbury and Carter themselves, Luke Bond, Danny Stacey and there was also room for Dale Why - who hadn't featured in a Lions squad since a 0-3 loss to Chinnor Athletic Reserves on November 3rd. Why unfortunately produced a second "no show" of the season and now subsequently looks to have his days numbered at the club.
The team kept to their tried and tested 4-4-2 formation, with West slotting in at right back, Stacey filling the void on the left of midfield and JAW in attack.
In unhelpful conditions, the Lions kicked the game off playing from right to left. The away team started strongly though, and after a game of pingball in the middle, registered the first meaningful chance when forcing Tom Stevens down low to his left to superbly tip away a low fizzing effort, destined for the net. Moments after this fantastic save however, Stevens brought down a Prestwood player in the box to concede his second penalty in as many games, and despite going the right way, to his right, he was unable to keep Darren Smith's penalty out. 0-1
Despite falling behind with barely 5 minutes on the clock, the Lions kept their head up, but just couldn't find the final ball to work a decent chance, that was until Jake Sherwin wriggled past the attention of a defender and drove a low ball across the box which Carter hit first time, and blazed over from 15 yards with a sidefooted effort.
Minutes afterwards, his strike partner Tilbury, also picked up an incisive Sherwin through ball and done all the hard work to hold off the challenge of Prestwood defender, Wheatley, before rounding the keeper but failed to connect on the shot properly with the goal at his mercy. The conditions didn't help and a lot of the pace on the ball was taken away by the boggy surface but it remained a fabulous chance, ultimately wasted.
Will Carter thought he'd equalised when Scott Sharples threaded a beautiful ball through for him in the corner of the box, but his first time effort was expertly tipped around the post by Kidd, and the resulting corner lead to nothing.
The Lions back four looked at sixes and sevens for the opening half, and both West and Bond misread bounces which almost lead to further goals for the away team, and in the end it was once too many, as first Dan Stacey failed to do enough to stop the ball being pumped in from the Lions left channel and the ball bounced over the defence for the Prestwood striker to fire past Stevens to increase the away side's lead. 0-2
From the immediate Kick Off that followed Scott Sharples and Carter played successive one-two's forward until the former was felled on the edge of the box, just when he was lining up to shoot. Sharples placed the ball down in a central position, 20 yards from goal, and drove a powerful low shot under the wall and past the helpless Aidan Kidd in goal. It was his 3rd goal from free-kicks this season, and came at a timely interval, 5 minutes before half time to give the Lions a lifeline. 1-2
Just before the whistle went for the break, Jake Sherwin suffered what looked as though a serious knee injury when colliding with an opposing player, when both challenged for a 50/50 ball. Play was stopped while both players were helped off the field. After taking a minute or two to recover, Sherwin re-emerged onto the field of play to a resounding applause, whilst unfortunately the Prestwood player failed to return.
At half time Carter berated his defence, and the side regrouped and emerged early for the second half, with the once positional change - Casey moving to left wing to replace Dan Stacey who dropped in behind him.
Within 10 minutes of the restart, Carter had found the equaliser when Sherwin was released down the right channel by John Tilbury, before squaring the ball across the box for Carter, to take a touch, throwing the defender off balance and smashing home right footed. 2-2 game on.
Defender Simon Thomas came off the bench to replace Luke Bond, who had got some gametime under his belt on his return to the side and had tried hard.
To give the away side credit, they didn't give in despite throwing a 2 goal lead away and managed to carve out another opportunity, before another bouncing ball left Scott West in the opposition winger's rear view mirror as he struggled to keep pace with the attacker, and after cutting inside a challenge, fired hard past Stevens to regain the lead again. 2-3
With over half hour still to play, Carter brought off right back West, and replaced him with a striker in the shape of Alan Davies, subsequently changing the formation from 4-4-2, to 3-4-3 as the Lions hunted out victory with the rain pouring down, and the pitch degenerating into a worse and worse condition until eventually it resembled a mud pit.
It was Carter again however, who restored the Lions on parity, notching his second goal of the game, when making a smart run off the ball and latching onto a clever throw in from Keegan Casey before curling the ball round, first time, round the despairing full fingertip dive of keeper Kidd, and in off the far post from 18 yards, and an acute angle. 3-3
If one thing can be said about the Lions, it's their attitude when falling behind, they never know when their beaten and as soon as the scores were pegged back again, the boys in blue smelt blood.
With what was effectively now a 5 man strike force, the Lions chucked the kitchen sink at the Prestwood goal, and despite having to suffure the Linesman's flag every time an opportunity looked like it might develop into anything more than a chance, the Lions eventually took the lead for the first time in the game when Ed Fletcher, who incidentally had enjoyed a stand-out game at the heart of defence, rode several challenges before seeing his shot parried out, and the ever lurking John Tilbury was on hand to rattle a shot past the Kidd, via his near post from nigh on the byline. 4-3
With the lead now secured, and so little time remaining, Carter again shuffled the formation, deciding to revert back to a 4-4-2, to solidify the shape of the team and get the points. Having just got the goal, such is his versatility, John Tilbury was the man asked to drop into right back for the final minutes. Prestwood's heads had now dropped with the sucker punch just delivered on them and from the kick off, Carter immediately outmuscled Penfold's number 4 in the middle of the park and played the ball to Sharples, Sharples beat his man with a cute nutmeg before the ball was deflected into the path of Alan Davies, Davies helped the ball on into the path of Keegan Casey who took the ball in his stride and despite having the attentions of a defender on him, he lashed home the Lions 5th goal and his 4th of the season. 5-3
With the game now won, and the clock ticking down, the Lions were urged to continue and go for the jugular - and a 6th came seconds later, courtesy of "right-back" Tilbury, who seeing acres of space in front of him, had floated forward un-noticed to at the last minute, interrupt himself in another Lions attacking move, virtually taking the ball off the toes of a dilly-dallying Alan Davies before beating the keeper with all the time in the world. This goal takes Tilbury to one shy of double figures this season, and up to joint 7th in the League top goalscorers table. 6-3
On the whole, the Lions again showed fantastic character to claw themselves back into the game from being 2 down. It's this never die attitude that has gained so many points this season. However, the team would be a much stronger force if they stopped the mistakes which seem to give themselves a mountain to climb, time and time again recently. The Lions also showed fantastic versatility by not only,changing almost half their team and still getting a result, but to also adapt to different formations effortlessly throughout the game.
Man of the Match was Ed Fletcher, who was a colossus at the heart of defence. The conditions were fitting of Ed's character, who only seemed to get better and stronger, the worse and more difficult the pitch and conditions became. Will Carter's two goals, and all round battling performance meant he pushed Fletcher hard in the stakes, but it was felt that Fletcher just edged it, to claim his second MoM this season, despite on signing for the club in December.
