Page 20 - Patchway Town v Bromley Heath United 040323

League Review

A day off for the leaders and of the challengers playing only Gala Wilton took the
opportunity to make any gains. At the bottom Hardwicke and Patchway Town
fought a six pointer and the bottom three are starting to come adrift. It was also
Les James league Cup semi-finals with Sharpness and Broadwell Amateurs making
it through to the final.
At Green Lane it was an important game for both Hardwicke and Patchway
Town and it was the hosts who took the points. Both teams battled away seeking
an early chance to take the lead. The first chance fell to Hardwicke after quarter of
an hour when James Humphries raced down the wing and crossed for Paul Carter
whose over-head kick flew wide. Five minutes on and James Humphries teased
Patchway again and crossed for Ben King to volley against the bar. Hardwicke took
the lead on twenty minutes when Fred Humphries slotted home from the penalty
spot. Patchway responded immediately with Brendan Detain finding the back of the
net only to be ruled out for offside. The second half began at a frantic pace but an
th
opportunity to score didn’t come until the 65 minute when Patchway’s Cam Adams
free kick from 25 yards was parried away by Hall. Five minutes later Patchway were
down to ten when Matt Baker was dismissed. A cross from the resultant free kick
from Ryan Webb was met by a powerful header from Nathan Barnett who made
the final score 2-0 to Hardwicke.
Two promotion candidates met at a very cold Hillside Gardens where Wick took
three points off Rockleaze Rangers. Rockleaze were in charge for most of the
first half with the first chance falling to Elgahmi on 13 minutes, but his back post
header was turned away by Ashton Trott. Mike Perham should have opened
Rockleaze’s account from the resulting corner, but he only managed to squeeze the
ball against the post with the goal gaping. On 41 minutes Fraser Butt rattled Wick’s
crossbar from distance but wasn’t to be denied four minutes later when a quite
marvellous free kick from 25 yards beat Trott at the bottom right-hand corner for
1-0. Wick came out of the blocks in the second half and never allowed Rockleaze
to get going again. A minute in and the prolific Joe Beardwell rose at the back post
to nod home Millard’s cross. Just 8 minutes later Liam Towler turned well in the box
and struck the ball past Jordan Dunning for a second and at this point it was all
one-way traffic. Rockleaze did have a one-on-one chance with a quarter of an hour
left but inexplicably Hall squared the ball rather than shooting from 8 yards. Wick
remained the most likely to score and Osbourne had a goal bound free kick well
saved by Dunning and Jack Creaney should have done better when open in the box
he scuffed his shot which fell nicely into Dunning’s hands. The game petered out
and Wick deservedly took the match 2-1 on the basis of their second half
performance.
Towards the top again and Gala Wilton needed the points to sustain their
challenge and came away with an excellent victory against the notoriously
difficult Ruardean Hill Rangers. It was only 4 minutes in when Martin Smith put
Gala ahead with a first time shot after Hill lost possession. A few minutes later Fin
Jones 25 hit yarder for Ruardean straight down Todd Holder’s throat. Hill did
equalise on thirteen minutes after a beautiful 1-2 between Kane Samson and Ollie
Mason saw Mason through to slip the ball under Holder. The game became a bit