Men's 1st XI vs South Berkshire 1

Winchester Mens 1st XI opened their SC Premier Division season at home to a strong South Berkshire side. Following a positive pre season under new coach Tim and Lander, Winch were keen to take the game to a side who they failed to take a point from last season.

Things started brightly with Winchester dominating the early stages and taking the lead after a skillful run from Jonah Graham was finished off from close range by Ben Anthony. 

Both teams kept the ball well in their own halves but were finding chances hard to create through much of the first half. However Winchester looked much the stronge side on the counter attack and opened up South Berks again and after a smart turn and aerial from captain Sam Headey released Graham again who couldn't quite find the finish after rounding the keeper.

In the second quarter Winch finally found a second. A quick switch of play from right to left allowed Oscar Moores to pierce the offset Berks defence with a pin point pass which was met by Rob Craddock to double the hosts lead.

South Berks responded well to the set back and with minutes to go till half time won a string of corners which, despite some good saves from keeper Ben Proudlove, allowed them to eventually have the defesit.

Winch appeared sluggish for much of Q3, and despite a lot of good last ditch defending from Matt Kenyon and (MoM) Max Wedderburn, Berks converted another penalty corner to level things up going into the final quarter.

Despite the setback, Winch elected not to roll over as they had on several occasions last season.

Some tactical tweaks, excellent midfield play from W Vincent and Taz Chowdhury, and an extended pre seasons fitness levels, saw the team create ample opportunities to win the game. Several penalty corners were unconverted, back post tap ins weren't quite connected with and 1 v 1s with the keeper didn't quite fall Winch's way. 

With minutes to go, Winch thought they'd won the game. A penalty corner deflected off of the Berks runners shins falling back to Headey at the top of the D. He took the ball over the sticks of the oncoming defenders, rounded the keeper to his back hand and slammed home. Celebrations from the team and crowd were cut short however, as, despite the goal being awarded, the umpire at the other end controversially intervened as he deemed the initial shot to have been dangerous. 

Despite their bewilderment at the disallowed goal, this was a good performance from a Winchester side fielding 5 players under 20, and 6 debutants, and the result reflects a game where both sides had periods of dominance that they couldn't fully capitalize on.

The Mens 1s are away at Henley next weekend.