Saturday 6th March 2010

Men's 1st XI

Aylesbury Men's 1st XI: 4 - Rover Oxford 2nd XI: 2

Aylesbury 1st team travelled to Oxford Brookes University to face Rover Oxford 2nds in a crucial match. Both teams were hoping to secure the vital points needed to move them out of the relegation zone. The game was an intense battle from the start, Rover putting on the pressure with a couple of early breaks. Aylesbury, missing the stalwart Simon Pridgeon in defence held back the tide and unleashed a flurry of attacks on the Rover defence. Jim Usherwood and JP Stevens dominated the midfield and with a clever through ball set Mark Hignall loose in the Rover D. Hignall deceived the goalkeeper with a quick shift of pace, passing the ball through to Austin Greenlee for an easy tap in at the far post.

Rover continued to fight back, but were undone by Niall Carter's rallying of the Aylesbury defence. A breakdown in the Rover Attack and a quick pass to Kevin Bond and Aylesbury were on the break. One, two, three defenders undone by Bond's stick skills and a narrow miss at the far post saving Rover from another goal.

Even when reduced to ten men following an unfortunate yellow card, Aylesbury kept up the pressure. Rover could not use the extra man advantage as Mark Hignall continued to chase and pressure despite his strike partner being off the pitch. His perseverance paid off with two further Aylesbury goals, the Rover defence failing to clear rebounds and instead the composed Hignall fired them into the net.

Kevin Bond made it four early in the second half, making up for his earlier narrow miss with a confident and well timed strike. Rover Oxford were down but not finished, with two moments of individual skill bringing them back to 4-2, a well executed short corner strike and a shot that left keeper Dave Skinner nodding in appreciation.

Aylesbury were unshaken by the fightback, continually pushing for further goals right to the final whistle. The victory moves the Aylesbury 1st team solidly into 9th Position in Middx, Berks, Bucks & Oxon - Regional 2, only one point seperating them from nearest rivals Mill Hill.

Men's 2nd XI

Aylesbury Men's 2nd XI: 3 - Sonning 3rd XI: 3

Looking to get back to winning ways, Aylesbury 2nds started the game brightly but against the run of play Sonning opened the scoring. Aylesbury continued to press and hit back through the club's top goalscorer, Jake Hodgins, finishing a lovely move involving Mark Bowes and Ed Gurney. However, Sonning struck again ten minutes later and continued to put pressure on Aylesbury's midfield and defence. Just before half time Geoff Pritchard equalised for Aylesbury with a fine individual effort.

Aylesbury continued to pile on the pressure in the second half and went 3-2 in the lead through Hodgins who fired the ball into the roof of the net after having his initial shot parried by the Sonning keeper. Sonning pressed forward , however, and with only five minutes remaining Sonning equalised, after a melee and defensive mix up in the Aylesbury area. In the end 3-3 was a fair result with neither side really firing on all cylinders. Aylesbury now lie 4th in the league after 3 consecutive draws and probably need to win their 4 remaining games to ensure promotion.

Men's 5th XI

Aylesbury Men's 5th XI: 0 - Milton Keynes Samurai XI: 10

Once again Aylesbury's 5ths found themselves at the mercy of a very strong side playing several divisions below their ability, unfortunately no compassion was forthcoming. Despite a determination to compete with the hosts throughout the game Aylesbury were not equipped to contain Milton Keynes' superior talents. Chris McIntyre's resolve in attack did produce some of Aylesbury's brighter moments and debutant Dan Innes showed a confidence that belied his inexperience. Hopefully upcoming matches against teams of similar abilities will see Aylesbury's doggedness better rewarded.