Bracknell 1st XI 0 – 4 Sonning 1st XI

An away trip to Bracknell is almost always a tough fixture, with a team that usually starts pretty fast and a crowd that love to put the away side under pressure, so the focus this week was on getting the first 10-15 minutes right and being secure from the start. Skipper (and new father… Congratulations!) Paul Brown was able to call on the same squad that beat BA last week, and added Jonathan Sharp to bolster his midfield options.

The expected early onslaught from Bracknell never really happened, as Sonning pretty much dominated possession from the off, with the midfield of Mark Dobbie, Ollie Waddington and James Lockhart controlling the middle of the pitch, and the front three of Matt Poulton, Jonny Partenheimer and Adam Pusey seemingly creating chances from nearly every foray forward.

It didn’t take long for one of these chances to stick, when a series of free hits down the right wing led to an overload on the left that Sonning were able to exploit, with Waddington getting out from the corner well to allow a quick transfer, which was finished off with a slightly mistimed reverse shot from Partenheimer that proved pretty effective, looping over the keeper for 0-1.

As was to be expected, Bracknell came out of the traps a bit after going down a goal, but the back four of Sam Terry, Neil Pursell, Tom Sampson and Matt Sloper held firm, making sure that keeper Alasdair Allan wasn’t called on. Sampson in particular seems to be thriving in the free-role afforded to him by coach, Ali Raza; and it was his breakdown of play that led to Sonning’s second, as he shut down a Bracknell attack, then found Chris Hinton on the left of midfield. Hinton put Partenheimer in near the top of the circle and his strike was deflected in by Adam Pusey. Quite how much Pusey knew about it is debatable, but a combination of cricketing nous and self-preservation helped him finish the chance off. 0-2.

The third goal was quickly forthcoming, as Sonning continued to pressurize with excellent intensity. First they had penalty corner, flicked by Sharp but well saved; however from the resulting phase of play, they turned over possession high up the pitch and Partenheimer converted once again, off his reverse, leaving the keeper no chance. Half time came with the score at 0-3.

The second half followed a similar pattern, with Sonning largely dominating the pace of the game, and controlling possession. The young Bracknell forwards did however manage to get into the game a little bit more, with one of them drawing what Neil Pursell would later admit was a ‘slightly cynical’ challenge, that in turn led to a short corner. This resulted in Bracknell’s only shot on target in the game, with keeper Alasdair Allan actually making a decent save for once, keeping out a high drag flick with his stick.

This killed of Bracknell’s aspirations in the game and their small squad size showed in the latter exchanges. Sonning scored their final goal from a short corner towards the end, won by Jack Kelly, and converted coolly by Tom Sampson for his 3rd of the season. 0-4.

Sonning were guilty of squandering a few chances in the second half also, and on another day their poor finishing could cost them, but without dwelling too much on that, can be pleased with a clean sheet and a good away win. Next up, league leaders Banbury visit the Doombar Arena, for an early season top-of-the-table clash. 15:00 pushback, and supporters welcome! #COTN

Goalscorers: Jonny Partenheimer x 2, Adam Pusey, Tom Sampson
MOTM: James Lockhart