VWFC vs Banstead Athletic
01/08/2017 Virginia Water 0 - 2 Banstead Athletic
Pre-Season Friendly
Report by Ceri Jones
Virginia Water’s unbeaten run in pre-season came to an end at the hands of a strong, physical and organised Banstead Athletic side. In front of a good crowd at the Timbers, both sides used 18 players each to give much needed game time to many in both squads.
To be fair, VWFC at least deserved a draw, in a match that Banstead edged in the first half, but Waters dominated in the second. The first goal, when it came, was unfortunate on the home side, when a back pass took a vicious bobble as goalkeeper Matt Jones attempted to clear, to fall at the feet of Banstead’s winger to tap into an empty net.
Both keepers had a fairly quiet night, mostly dealing with set pieces and crosses, and occasional shots from distance, which they both dealt with comfortably.
The defences were on top (Marc Lansdowne, Adam Mills, Liam Hill, Michael Chambers and Max Samyint for VWFC), with the game not having too much control and quality, always hampered by the amount of changes both sides made – which is to be expected in pre-season.
Livewire Paul Burrows was Waters’ main threat with a number of efforts on goal, ably supported by Josh Guichard, Tom Curran, Jake Baker, Sam Devoil, Lorenzo Di Felice and Dan Whatford, the latter unlucky not to be awarded a penalty when brought down from behind as Waters pushed late on for an equaliser.
Liam Hill, Steve Williams, Richard Bond and Joe McBride in particular worked tirelessly in midfield, and despite their best endeavours and effort, Waters got caught with a counter attack goal in stoppage time. It was not really a fair reflection, but another good workout nevertheless and manager Ceri Jones and coach Richard Banks can take positives from the defeat.
Waters wish James Cameron (manager) and Banstead every success in the CCPL this season, and thank them all for joining the home side in the clubhouse following the match.