Last Minute Defeat to the Wanderers

And so it was the Bison’s suffered another kick in the teeth last minute defeat, this time at the hands of Wokingham Wanderers in the league cup. What made this even harder to take was the fact that the Bisons had twice come from behind. As has been the case in most games we started slowly with the early exchanges scrappy and the football played more in the air than on the ground. However, the first half chance fell to Duncan but he was unable to get enough power into his shot. There then followed a nice passage of one touch football, which ended with a good effort from Dylan. At the other end Wokingham were denied an opportunity by way of a great block by Jack. Owen had the beating of the right full back and after an excellent piece of individual play where he cut in from the left his right foot shot went just over the bar.

As has been the case in several games, the Bisons went behind to a soft goal. With shouts that the ball was out of play on the right side of the goal line the players hesitated, allowing the Wokingham winger to pull the ball back to the unchallenged oncoming midfielder who gave Harry no chance with a well-placed shot into the top left corner. If ever there was a case of play to the whistle this was it.

Despite this set back the Bisons do what they always do, which is not to drop their heads but get on with the game in search of an equaliser. This nearly came soon after with a good interchange between Dylan and Duncan but the final effort from Duncan was just too high. It really was one way traffic and a long ball from Harry found Owen in space and his pace took him beyond the defence but his shot, like Duncan’s, cleared the bar. Dylan then had another chance, but he couldn't beat the Wokingham keeper.

As is typical in games where a team fails to capitalise on their chances when on top, a goal at the other end is always on the cards. A good through ball saw the Wokingham striker place the ball into the corner of the net, only to be flagged offside by Tom, who was running the line. In the next phase of the game the Bisons had chance after chance with first a great effort from Owen and then a corner from Ben ended up with the ball rolling tantalising across the goal and inches past the post. Duncan then shot narrowly wide after a great piece of one touch football down the right. At the other end a second goal was thwarted, first by Jack with a great tackle, then a fantastic block by Ravi and then a save with his feet from Harry. The Bison’s efforts were rewarded with the last kick of the first half as the opposition defence were unable to clear the ball and when it fell to Dylan he struck it sweetly on the volley into the back of the net. On the balance of play this was thoroughly deserved and 1-1 at half time was a fair reflection.

In the second half the Bisons appeared to have the edge over a Wokingham side that was struggling to recreate their first half performance. It was therefore a shock to go 2-1 down. A through ball from the right put in the winger on the left and his shot across goal was well placed into the far corner. Unlike the first half, few chances were being created by either side but when the ball fell to Kyifer following a tremendous run by Joe down the left side everybody thought ‘goal'. Unfortunately, Kyifer’s shot like most of the Bison efforts in the first half didn’t trouble the ‘keeper when well placed.

With Wokingham playing a back 5 against the Bison’s 4-4-1-1 formation the Bison’s lone striker needed support and so a change to 4-4-2 was made. With Owen now playing alongside Jay, the scores were levelled when the ball was played into Jay who in turn slipped the ball through to Owen on the right and he joyfully thumped the ball into the back of the net. With Joe seeing more of the ball on the left side the Bison's nearly took the lead with Jay forcing a save from the keeper from distance. Then some good work by Kiran on the right side saw his low pass across goal nearly turned in by Jay although the flag subsequently went up for offside.

With penalties looming and only a few minutes remaining the Bison’s found themselves under pressure and a ball over the top nearly found the onrushing striker but for an excellent piece of covering by Jamie at the far post. Unfortunately, from the resulting corner the inevitable happened as the ball wasn’t cleared and the rest as they say is history. Although the result was hard to take there were again so many positives and had chances been taken at key moments, particularly in the first half, the result would have been different. The resilience, determination, work ethic and general attitude when going a goal behind is exemplary and will hold this team in good stead for the league matches ahead.

For all the photos from this fixture, please visit https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=bracknellbisonsfc&set=a.200537645587567.