Hobnob’s winning run came to an abrupt halt today as they crashed out 2-1 to AC Winnersh in the Berks & Bucks Cup.
The second meeting between these two sides in only two weeks proved to be a much duller affair than the previous encounter. A big crowd of (at one point) 20 did not have much entertainment as, on a boggy pitch, the ball spent more time in the air than on the ground. The pitch certainly didn’t help the home side’s natural playing style and AC Winnersh took full advantage of that fact. Terry and Cheng managed to keep a high line and Chapman was more than able to clean up the many long balls played over the top early on. It was when Winnersh got the ball down that the problems started for Hobnob. The ball was continually played through and Hobnob had Chapman to thank on a few occasions as he claimed the ball at the forward’s feet. Eventually the ball was played in from the right and was nodded in. No more than Winnersh deserved after a strong start.
Hobnob tried to strike back but after the plethora of chances from the weeks before, they just couldn’t find any decent possession in the opposition’s half. The half chances that were created were limited to set pieces as Winnersh’s defence proved tough to break down. They did however manage to get lucky toward the end of the first half after Paine was fouled on halfway. There were numbers committed forward but they weren’t needed. Terry pumped the ball in long and two defenders challenged in the air, succeeding only in looping the ball over a despairing keeper.
The second half continued in much the same way as the first had. With Hobnob camped in their own half, it was only a matter of time before the second arrived. That it took 20 minutes was down to some poor finishing from the away team. The goal itself wasn’t pretty as a pull back was bundled over the line. It took a while for Hobnob to regroup but they did so with the introduction of Dan Robertson and Dave Nunn and switching to 3-4-3 seeming to inject some urgency into the play. Hobnob started committing numbers forward and it took a great last ditch tackle to deny Plant a golden opportunity. From the resulting corner it fell to Cheng who smashed it goalwards, only to see the goalkeeper palm it over the bar. However, it all proved too little too late and at the final whistle it was Winnersh who progressed to the next round.
It was a sluggish performance from Hobnob who left it too late to really get going. There were a few crumbs of comfort as Man of the Match Chris Chapman put in a good performance and the work rate of the forwards was heartening. However the whole game fell a bit flat and there will have to be improvement going into next week’s league match against Prince of Wales.
