Flackwell leapfrog Rayners to go top
Combined Counties League: Solid win over Sumas takes Heath to the summit
Flackwell Heath 2, Wokingham & Emmbrook 0
Flackwell Heath defeated Wokingham & Emmbrook 2-0 on Tuesday night to leapfrog leaders Rayners Lane and move top of the Combined Counties Premier Division North.
The Heathens had been hoping to move to the summit on Saturday, but their home game against Wembley was postponed due to the weather, so groundstaff worked around the clock to ensure Tuesday’s match at Wilks Park was able to go ahead.
That hard work paid off for the club with the hosts running out 20 winners thanks to Wiktor Makowski’s first half strike and a late second from Jethro
Odumosu, however, the Heathens were far from at their best against a hard-working and resolute Wokingham side.
Performances, however, matter little at this stage of the season and the 2-0 win lifts the Heathens three points above Rayners Lane into top spot on 67 points.
Rayners saw their game against North Greenford United postponed due to a waterlogged pitch last night (Tuesday) and the two title challenges have played the same number of games (27).
Wokingham remain 19th in the table, just a point and a place above bottom club Hilltop.
Both have home fixtures at the weekend, with Flackwell hosting 16th placed Harefield United at Wilks Park and Rayners entertaining Virginia Water.
The win lifts the side three points clear of title rivals Rayners Lane at the top of the division ahead of another home game for the Heathens against Harefield United this Saturday.
Having lost to Rayners Lane at home at the end of January, the Heathens are now on a sevenmatch winning streak in all competitions. This was their third 2-0 win in a row as well after they defeated Egham Town and Rayners Lane by the same scoreline.
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Virginia Water 2, Burnham 4
Burnham moved back into the Combined Counties play-off spots after a convincing 4-2 win over Virginia Water at Stag Meadow.
Ben Murray’s side are also finding form at the right stage of the season with this being their third straight victory in the league.
The Blues took full control of this fixture after half-time, with Jaiden firing them in front and a brace from Anas Igozouln giving
them a comfortable cushion heading into the final 15 minutes. The hosts pulled a couple of goals back to set up an intriguing finale, but Ayoub Igozouln completed the job in the final minutes. The result lifts the Blues to fourth in the table and they now have a five-point buffer to North Greenford United in sixth, however, North Greenford do have a couple of games in hand on them.
Burnham face a trip to relegation threatened Wokingham & Emmbrook on Saturday before welcoming Holyport to the 1878 Stadium the following weekend.
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Holyport 1,
Wallingford & Crowmarsh 3
Birthday boy Leonardo Carvahlo-Pedro fired Holyport into a first half lead in their match against Wallingford & Crowmarsh on Tuesday, but the hosts couldn’t build on their advantage as they went down to a disappointing 3-1 defeat.
In recent weeks, manager Sam Lock has said Port are a match for anyone in the division – and results appear to have born that out – however, they were far from their
best at Summerleaze Park.
The result leaves them 13th in the table, now nine points off the play-off positions, which were a target for the team just a couple of weeks ago.
They do have matches in hand on most of the sides above them, however, three consecutive defeats to Egham Town, Rayners Lane and now Wallingford have damaged their slim play-off prospects.
Things looked to be taking a turn for the better when CavahloPedro fired home from distance in the 18th minute, but they were ahead for only seven minutes before Wallingford got back on terms and the visitors added a second on the stroke of half-time.
The home side continued to force chances, with Duarte Surpanu and Shawwal firing wide in the 60th and 79th minutes, while Hunt wasted another brilliant opportunity late on.
And the home side rued those missed opportunities as Wallingford made the game safe in the 94th minute.
Next up for Port is a trip to Wembley on Saturday (March 9).