Wickham Wanderers 3 - 0 AFC Newbury Colts

Wickham Wanderers secured their first win of the season when they defeated near neighbours A.F.C. Newbury Colts in the Berks. & Bucks. Cup.

The first-half was a keenly contested affair, in which the visitors had a greater share of the possession, but they could not convert any of the chances that fell to them, largely due to a resolute defensive performance from the Wickham back four. Many of Newbury’s attacking efforts were thwarted by Ged Sage who had an outstanding match in the centre of defence, and deservedly won the Man-of-the-Match award.

Newbury continued to press, but shortly before the break, Wickham took the lead when Ryan Shepherd fired home after Jamie Crook had battled to win the ball in midfield.

The home team were visibly lifted by the goal, and after the break, they battled hard to win every loose ball, and successfully dominated the second-half of the match to secure a deserved victory.

Ryan Shepherd doubled the lead for Wickham half-way through the second-half after Jonathan Kempster had controlled a corner on the edge of the box and slipped the ball to Shepherd who finished from close-range

Shepherd completed a superb hat-trick shortly before the end when he fired home a free-kick from outside the penalty area, which eluded Newbury’s defensive wall and nestled in the corner of the net.

(Report submitted  by James Morris)