This game will be remembered for the debut of 16 years and 8 days old Tashan Bradshaw Brown who was introduced to the fray late in the second half and with only eight minutes left scored a superb goal which had the Wingate bench and supporters in the stand standing to applaud a fantastic strike. A crunching tackle on Darren Spinks led to the Blues gaining a free kick which Jon Nichols curled round the wall but home keeper Richard Hayward easily made the save.

This all happened in the sixth minute it was not until the 23rd minute that any further action of note occurred when a quick break by the hosts ended with the ball finding Phil Turner whose right footed effort went over the bar with Ed Thompson rooted to the spot. This effort was the prelude to sustained home pressure and Richard Howard almost made Billy Amarteifio pay for missing his clearance by bearing down on Ed Thompson but Thompson was more than equal to the task and produced a good save and two minutes before the break disaster struck for the Blues as another mistimed clearance was picked up by DANIEL TALBOT, son of former Arsenal and Ipswich player Brian Talbot, the young Talbot twisted passed the defence and lobbed Thompson to send the hosts in with the half time advantage.

Wingate & Finchley picked up the pace in the second half and Dean Williams burst down the right flank and almost from the bye-line crossed the ball onto the cross bar then on 61 minutes another sloppy piece of defending saw the ball crossed to PHIL TURNER to double the hosts advantage. There was seemingly no way back for the Blues but seconds after Turner’s strike Danny Berg released Dean Williams who charged into the area and seemed to be fouled but no penalty was given, it looked like it wasn’t going to be the Blues day. On 64 minutes DEAN WILLIAMS reminded Wingate followers of his blistering pace as he latched onto a through ball showed the home centre half a clean pair of heels and waited for Hayward to commit himself before chipping the ball into the net for his first of the season and his 73rd senior goal.

Just after the goal Adam Lee introduced 16 year old Tashan Bradshaw –Brown to the action, Bradshaw-Brown has come through the Wingate & Finchley under 18 side and also Hadley Wood FC as well as being the fastest sprinter for his age group over 100 metres and he showed his pace early into his debut. In the 73rd minutes Ed Thompson produced a double save the first save denying Richard Howard with a low save to his left and then the second save a routine save but both were vitally important. With Potters Bar Town visibly slowing TASHAN BRADSHAW-BROWN received the ball from Daniel Stanton and advanced on Hayward superbly dummying Hayward before rifling his shot into the net with such force that the net almost bulged.

Tashan Bradshaw-Brown is certainly the youngest player to have played for Wingate & Finchley and is definitely the youngest goal scorer for the Club; he has a bright future and is an exciting prospect. Wingate had a glorious chance to seal the points when Bradshaw-Brown released Williams whose shot went over.

After the game Wingate & Finchley Coach Michael Stone spoke with me and said “Pleased that we showed the reaction we did. Definitely in the past when we have gone 1-0 down in a game we haven’t looked like we have the spirit or determination to fight back into the game. We thought we started to lose the game midway through the first half and were hoping to get in level and have a platform to build for the second half so conceding so close to the interval was a blow. In the second half a sloppy goal to go two down, we made a couple of decisions to go for it we saw our pace upfront was a threat we could pose. We had a penalty decision turned down and pleased with the boys who came on and affected the game. Dean’s first goal of the season - delighted with his good finish and Tashan whose come through the youth team at the Club, a terrific finish. I really thought we could have gone on and got the three points. Overall they can’t be disheartened with a point considering we were two down after an hour and am pleased with the reaction form the boys.” The Club are next in action on Sunday when they travel to Eton Manor who play at Tilbury FC in the FA Cup.

WINGATE & FINCHLEY: Ed Thompson 8; Jonathan Ellis 5 (Daniel Stanton 67 7); Jirka Houdek 7; Craig Ellis(Captain) 6; Billy Amarteifio 7; Guy Morris 8; Jon Nichols 7; Danny Berg 6; Dean Williams 8; Craig Scotcher 6; Darren Spinks 7 (Tashan Bradshaw-Brown 64 9). Subs not Used: Stephen Badu; Anthony Limbrick; Sarfraz Pivano.