South Berks Men’s 1st team made the journey to Oxford Brookes University for their rescheduled fixture from January. Despite an ever-growing injury list and a squad comprising half under-18s, Berks faced the formidable challenge of taking on third-placed Oxford.
The match commenced with a high-octane pace, and in the second minute, Berks seized the lead from a deflected shot by skipper Ollie Bruce following a short corner.
Oxford responded aggressively, piling the pressure on Berks’ goal. Despite Berks holding out for ten minutes, the inevitable equalizer came from a short corner, bringing the score to 1-1.
Fifteen minutes later, Oxford gained the lead again, this time from a short corner that went straight through stand-in Keeper Roy Staples, resulting in a 2-1 lead at halftime.
The second half proved challenging for Berkshire, with Oxford scoring two more goals in the initial seven minutes, both from short corners, extending their lead to 4-1.
Berks managed to resist for another 15 minutes, but Oxford dominated, swiftly pushing the score to 5-1 and then 6-1.
Under darkening skies, Oxford added two more goals, securing an 8-1 victory. This defeat kept Berks second-bottom in the league, with a daunting fixture against league leaders Reading approaching on Saturday, further complicating Berkshire’s battle against relegation.
In another fixture, the Men’s third team faced a rearranged match away at Witney. With Witney in second and Berkshire in third, it was a crucial top-of-the-table clash.
Berkshire took the lead with Des Sanders breaking into the D to fire low into the Witney net. Despite Witney drawing level just before half-time from a short corner, Oliver Field’s goal from the tightest of angles and a second strike from Sanders secured a hard-fought 3-1 victory. Berkshire leapfrogged Witney, claiming second place.
Meanwhile, the Men’s sixth team had a rearranged match against Marlow at Cantley Park. Despite initially trailing 0-2, South Berks staged a comeback with goals from Rick Lee, AJ, Oliver Hewitt, and Steve Porter, ultimately winning 4-3 and maintaining their position at the top of the league.
Switching to the Ladies 1st team, they faced league leaders Reading in a rescheduled match. Unfortunately, Berks suffered their second consecutive defeat, with a final score of 4-1. Sarah Kelly scored Berks’ lone goal, leaving Berkshire in third place as they gear up for a clash against second-placed Winchester on Saturday.
A combined Ladies team from the 3rd, 4th, and 5th teams traveled to Bath for a quarter-final cup match, but despite their efforts, they went down 3-0.
Concluding the updates, the Ladies third team played a Monday night match at Birch Hill against Windsor. Despite Ellie Pollitt’s goal, it wasn’t enough for Berks as Windsor secured a 2-1 win, taking the points.
