Match Report: Basingstoke Town 2 – 0 Leatherhead Saturday 25th February 2023

Isthmian South Central Division – Saturday 25th February 2023
Basingstoke Town 2 v 0 Leatherhead Attendance 753
Where: Winklebury Sports Complex, Winklebury Way, Basingstoke. RG23 8BF
Stoke Get Vital Win At Home To Leatherhead
Dan Brownlie’s line-up today: 1. Paul Strudley, 2. Markus Johnson-Schuster, 3. Callum Winchcombe, 4. Simon Dunn (Capt), 5. Billy Upton, 6. Scott Armsworth, 7. Bradley Wilson, 8. Ben Cook, 9. Paul Hodges, 10. James Clark, 11. George Reid,
On the bench: Brody Peart, Marcio Neves, Michael Atkinson, Nathan Smart & Sam Argent
Referee – Phillip Stayings

On a cold February afternoon, Stoke’s latest game for the title got underway, with Stoke attacking the railway end, and it’s Stoke who create the first chance on four minutes, as Bradley Wilson takes the ball down to the left-hand byline and clips the ball across to Ben Cook whose header from three yards out is straight at the keeper, who is able to block the ball away.

We then attack again and the ball finds Ben Cook, who sends George Reid away down the left, as he catches up with the ball he slides the ball across the face of the goal, where Paul Hodges is first to it, and he knocks the ball home from close range past the keeper into the net. GOAL! Basingstoke Town 1 – 0 Leatherhead (Hodges 9 mins)

The game now passes the midpoint of the half and apart from some long passes that run through to the keeper, we have done very little and we seem to have dropped ten yards deeper, which is allowing Leatherhead time and space to come forward, but they have done very little to put pressure on Paul Strudley in goal.

Leatherhead, continue to push forward and spend two minutes around our penalty area, as we struggle to clear the ball, as we don’t seem to have an outlet to get out of the half.

On the half hour a ball finds Wilson who cuts inside and as he breaks into the penalty area, he let’s go a shot that flies five yards wide of the far left-hand post.
Then with just two minutes before the break, Paul Hodges sends a through ball over the defence to Reid, who catches up with the ball hits a right foot shot that flies into the metal stanchion at the back of the goal.

Leatherhead then have a call for a penalty as one of their forwards goes down under a challenge in our penalty, but the referee waves it away.
The referee plays just under three minutes of added-time before blowing the halftime whistle.

Halftime – Basingstoke Town 1 v 0 Leatherhead
The second-half gets underway, and the game continues in similar fashion to the first with the visitors having more possession, but creating very little as we pass the hour-mark.

Ben Cook then sends a pass that Wilson runs onto and he breaks down the left then hits a shot that clips off the bar and away.
We make our first change on seventy minutes, with Michael Atkinson replacing James Clark.

The game restarts and the ball is again fed to Wilson who takes it down the same path down the left, and then a tackle brings him down just outside the box, and the referee surprises most of the crowd when he produces a red card for the Leatherhead No.4.

We break down the left and Wilson’s cross is wasted and there’s no-one to knock the ball home.
Michael Atkinson appears to have gone in the book (76 mins).

Stoke are starting to break against the ten men, as this time a neat pass sends Reid through in a one-on-one with the keeper, but the keeper wins as he is able to block Reid’s shot.
With then minutes remaining we make our second change with Brody Peart replacing George Reid.

Paul Strudley goes in the book for taking too long to take a goal-kick.

We then break once more down the left, this time through Callum Winchcombe who sends over a perfect cross to the far post where Peart is waiting and he makes no mistake in nodding it home. GOAL!! Basingstoke Town 2 – 0 Leatherhead (Peart 88 mins)

We make our third and final change with Marcio Neves replacing Bradley Wilson.

The game is over for Leatherhead and we are in added-time, but we have one more chance, as it’s Winchcombe who sends another cross over from the left, but Armsworth’s header flies over the bar.
The referee allows five minutes before blowing the final whistle.

Full-time Match Score: Basingstoke Town 2 v 0 Leatherhead
Hodges 9 mins, Peart 88 mins

Match Thought’s
Another win and the three points are the crucial thing, in a game that produced very little entertainment for the large crowd. Did the game change when Leatherhead were reduced to ten men. With Walton & Hersham winning again, the lead remains seven-points at the top.
Up Next:
We have seven days to rest before we are back upto Robert Parker Stadium, this time to face Ashford Town

Match Report by Martin French..