2s v Economicals

Wandsworth Borough 2s 0-6 Economicals
Man of the Match - Sam Moevani
Match report by Tom Belger

The 2s came into this fixture after a week off following the postponement of their crucial relegation six pointer against Clapham last week.

In their last outing, the Boro had been let down by some suspect officiating, so were hoping to avoid being on the wrong end of any dodgy decisions this weekend as they faced high flying Economicals looking for a return to the top of the table.

As seems to be the case this season, the 2s welcomed a host of new arrivals to their squad with Lavens and Bodur coming down from the 1s, while Shepherd and Myers were making their first Boro starts. The 2s also welcomed the returning Age who was coming back from a nasty injury which he picked up in an early season game for the 1s.

As anticipated, title challengers Economicals came out of the blocks fast, and created a couple of early chances, but some strong defending by Moevani and McNally prevented an early opener. Economicals had thought they had scored after 10 minutes when a header seemed destined for the back of the net, but Belger crucially got a fingertip on the header to ensure it was forced wide.

Sadly for Belger his happiness was short lived as a Economicals forward steamed through and after rounding him, decided to kick the hapless Boro keeper's arm to deceive the ref into giving Economicals an early penalty. Another suckerpunch to a side struggling to get the rub of the green this season.

Despite some creative gardening from McNally to try and put the penalty taker off, Economicals slotted the penalty to put them ahead.

This rocked Boro and Economicals smelt blood. After a series of attacks eventually one of their attackers found space on the edge of the box and curled an effort into the bottom left corner to double the lead.

After regrouping, the 2s started to get a foothold on the game. The midfield three of Faure, Glover and Lavens started to grow into the game, and were beginning to create chances for Cozens-Smith, Age and Bodur. A nice flowing move saw a great overlapping run by Moevani, but sadly no one could quite reach the cross to half the deficit.

In a way it was Economicals who were glad to hear the half time whistle. Boro added Newman and Watson into the game, and started the second half where they left off, and created some half chances which sadly weren't able to find the back of the net.

What will frustrate the 2s is the Economicals third goal, where against the run of play, they were caught out by a quickly taken free kick which found an attacker on the edge of the box, and following two wicked deflections, it looped over Belger to make it 3-0. Poor concentration, but once again the luck doesn't seem to be with the 2s at the moment.

Boro kept pushing with Newman and Bodur creating problems for the Economicals defence. Sadly the latter wasn't able to find the back of the net, which might have caused some worries for the away side.

As Boro pushed for a goal, the defence may have been watching a bit too much Ange-ball as their high line didn't put off the Economicals forwards, and eventually resulted in three more goals for the away side.

A lot for the 2s to learn from this week, but they need to regroup as they face a crucial away trip to Worcester College next week, where three points is a must. Hopefully lady luck might finally shine on them this season.