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AFC Sudbury 1-2 Wingate & Finchley Saturday 10th February 2007 | |||||||
  Above left: Stephen Badu on his way to setting up the first goal. Above right: Goalscoring hero Billy Amarteifio celebrates the win with Danny Berg and Joe O'Brien. Wingate & Finchley showed just how far they have grown as a team this season, coming from a goal behind to snatch a late victory with a gritty and hard-fought performance over promotion pushing AFC Sudbury. Due to the recent bout of extreme weather the pitch was very heavy - which made fluid passing football, the style played by both sides, difficult throughout the entirety of the game. However full credit must go to the Sudbury groundstaff for battling the elements and making the pitch safe for play. The game started tentatively as both sides tried their best to adapt to the pitch, but it was Sudbury who were first to realise that the team that worked hardest as a unit would end up winning the game. Their early endeavours were rewarded with a goal on 15 minutes. Luke Hammond crossed the ball from the right flank to Gareth Heath who had arrived late in the box and was unmarked – his calmly placed header leaving Ed Thompson with no chance. Chances were few and far between during the first half and both defences remained solid. The ever unpredictable Leon Osei was difficult to contain as he baffled the Sudbury right back with his footwork, and Sudbury had to resort to double-marking him to try and keep him in check. On the half hour mark, Ahmet Rifat went on a surging run from the centre-back position and played the ball square to Craig Ellis, but his low drive was pulled wide of the left post. Wingate & Finchley came close to equalising in the 40th minute when Joe O’Brien’s 25 yards free kick smashed against the crossbar. Whereas Sudbury had controlled the play in the first half, Wingate & Finchley came out rejuvenated after the half time team talk, and began to pressure immediately from the kick off. Nathan Munson was at his best in the home goal to smother an Ellis shot after the Wingate captain had worked hard to collect a loose rebound. After Gareth Heath had fired a good chance over the bar, Wingate & Finchley equalised from an unlikely source. Darren Assiamah, who had been moved from right-back to central midfield in a tactical re-shuffle, was on hand to turn in a low deflected cross after excellent work down the right wing from Stephen Badu. Wingate continued to mount the pressure in the second half, and Guy Helman did everything but score when he went on a jinking run and knocked the ball past the keeper, however Chris Howlett was on hand to clear the ball off the line. The game opened up a lot and kept up its fast pace. At the other end Andrew Claydon sent a rasping shot against the post – with Ed Thompson seemingly making a vital finger-tip deflection. There were many stoppages throughout the game, and deep into a lengthy injury time the visitors stole the points. A long free kick was lumped into the box by Rifat. Assiamah flicked the ball down to Billy Amarteifio who, at the second attempt, rolled the ball into the bottom right corner for the winning goal. Wingate & Finchley: Ed Thompson 8, Darren Assiamah 7, Guy Helman 7, Craig Ellis 8, Billy Amarteifio 8, Ahmet Rifat 8, Mark Gradosielski 6 (Stephen Badu 46 7), Joe O’Brien 7 (Danny Berg 85), Dean Williams 7, Hardy Pinto-Moreira 6 (Chris West 81), Leon Osei 7. Subs: Dan Stanton. |