Bracknell 0-0 Magpies SLPS Sat 19/10/24 Match Report added

Graham's Match Report -

Bracknell Town 0 Wimborne Town 0 - Southern League Premier South - 19 Oct 2024

When a match report begins with the phrase: "You couldn't fault the players for effort", you can read in to it that it wasn't a great spectacle. So let me begin my report on Wimborne's first-ever visit to the ground Bracknell share with Sandhurst Town, and their new generation 3G pitch: you couldn't fault the players for effort.

In the bright autumn sunshine defences came out on top as the midfields cancelled each other out. Clear cut chances were a rarity in a game which won't linger long in the memory.

Manager Tim Sills made two changes from Tuesday's win over Tiverton: goalkeeper Alex Rutter, on loan from Salisbury, made his debut, and Lewis Beale returned wide on the left.

Wimborne started brightly. In the first minute Jez Bedford played Will Fletcher through to win a corner; Josh Carmichael's delivery was flicked wide by Harry Morgan at the near post. Two minutes later, Matt Neale's free-kick from wide on the left was cleared. At the other end, Wimborne's defence blocked Bracknell's first free-kick; cleared a couple of corners; and saw Knight fire wide from the edge of the area - the closest the Robins would come to testing Alex Rutter in the first-half.

Both teams strung together neat and tidy passes in the congested midfield area, but the quality of the final ball was lacking, and together with good anticipation by defences, prevented attempts on goal. On 20 minutes there was a nasty-sounding collision on the edge of the area between Beale and goalkeeper Eacott as the speedy winger chased a through ball; fortunately both were able to continue after lengthy treatment. In Wimborne's next attack, the keeper beat Fletcher in a foot race, before Neale burst to the left by-line but his cross was cleared. Carmichael used his strength in midfield to firstly win the ball, then draw a foul; and Adam Biss won a tackle before setting up Bedford for a cross.

On thirty-five minutes, Eacott had to make the only save of the half. Neale's free-kick from wide on the left was met by the head of Sam Roberts who couldn't get enough power on it to worry the keeper - one bounce and the ball was an easy catch. A couple more free-kicks, and a second corner were cleared by the home defence. At the other end Roberts and Harvey Wright were commanding in the air, and were well-positioned to block and intercept. It was a half of much perspiration, but little inspiration. Things could only get better for the spectators.

And for the first five minutes after the re-start they did. Morgan had a shot blocked from Neale's pass; and Rutter made a super tip-over when Bracknell's free-kick was half-cleared before being returned with interest from inside the "D". Once again there was plenty of effort and hard running: Bedford controlled a cross at full-stretch only for Fletcher's shot to be blocked; Biss sprinted back to clear a Bracknell counter-attack. For a short while Bracknell had the better of the possession but were unable to test Rutter again: a central 30-yard free-kick went well over the bar; a run to the by-line was cleared by Wright; Ashton curled wide from the edge of the box; and substitute Dotse tricked his way to the by-line before going for glory from a very acute angle.

Wimborne did fashion a couple of half-chances: on 73 minutes Carmichael's free-kick from wide on the left was headed back across goal by Sam Jackson for Wright to test the keeper on the turn; and on 88 minutes Cam Munn audaciously tried his luck from 35 yards only to see the tall keeper use his long arms to good effect with a sprawling save. It wasn't a half of flowing football, and the regular introduction of substitutes disrupted play further.

For Bracknell, who bagged a play-off spot last season, it was a fifth draw from their six home league matches which extended their unbeaten run to nine games. For Wimborne this was a very good point on the road. It was a fourth clean sheet in the last five league games. And it builds on the "draw" (before penalties) at league leaders Gloucester in the Trophy, and Tuesday's win over Tiverton. The Magpies remain tenth in the table.

Wimborne: Rutter, Biss, Roberts, Wright, Jackson, Carmichael (Scorey 90+3), Neale (Munn 71), Morgan, Bedford, Beale (Ryan 71), Fletcher (Baker 64)

Attendance: 588

Match stats:

Magpies/Robins

Goal attempts on target 3/1
Goal attempts off target 2/7
Goal attempts blocked 2/5
Corners 4/4
Fouls conceded 17/15
Offside 2/3
Cards 2Y/1Y

Yogi we don't need a 20 goalscorer the squad is good everybody will get goals in our team don't worry

Well it was a rather tedious match but the end justified the means as they say. We are sat in a very comfortable position and our defence looked very solid yesterday. Centre back pairing very good. To respond to the 20 goal comment we already have a 20 goal a season striker. Harry baker scored 10 last season I think in the first 15 matches so fits the bill. He just needs to rediscover his mojo. Has seemed out of sorts for a while now IMO. Bracknell btw, what a disorganised club. Nice people but things not working like their card machine in the bar. Their clubhouse so tiny and so packed after the game that none of us fans who travelled by coach could stick it and trundled back to the team bus early. Even tavistock wasn't that bad, well maybe it was lol😂