Match Report by Chris Cummings.
Picture the scene: It’s 9:00 on a Tuesday night. You’re standing in the bar of Hendon FC at half-time, having just watched your side put four past their North London rivals. It’s the second time in four days you’ve watched your team score three goals or more before the break. Life is good.
And there’s no need for nerves on this Tuesday night. A 3-0 lead has proved a precarious one at times both for and against Wingate & Finchley lately: That famous win against Bowers last season; away at Whitehawk last season; at home to Folkestone this season.
But when Ogo Obi scored his second and third quickly after half time, the Blues’ fifth and sixth, any chance of an unlikely come back was well and truly put to bed. It was credit to Rifat’s men who were quicker, and stronger than their opponents all night. To a man.
They started the second half just as they ended the first, by winning the ball with robust challenges, and getting it forward to Newton, Georgiou, and Obi to wreak havoc in the large amounts of space that was left for them. And havoc it indeed was.
We won’t give you a blow by blow of all the goals - you can see them below - but safe to say that they showed off a range of threats for the Blues. There were two goals from set pieces, an area that has sometimes been a struggle for this side, but which has turned into a real strength in the last week. There was a headed finish from a lovely cross, two one-on-ones that were slotted home with aplomb, and an outside the box curler that nestled itself in the top corner from 18 yards out.
Oh yeah, there was also a missed penalty and a goal ruled out for offside.
I think the message is clear: this Wingate & Finchley side can harm any team on their day, and from any facet of play. It’s now 12 goals in the last three games, and the 28 scored this season in the league sits second only behind Dover.
So with a run of games coming up that will test the mental and physical resilience of the squad, Tuesday’s display can only send the team into that run in good spirits, and at the right end of the table, sitting in the playoff places in fourth, where they finished last season.
There are some especially tough games coming up in the league (not that any game in this league isn’t tough), but before that, there is a Saturday to rest without a game, as attention turns to the London Senior Cup, when Erith & Belvedere visit Summers Lane on Tuesday night. We’ll see you there.
Wingate & Finchley: Grainger; Cracknell (Webb 58’); Byron; Achuba (Iontton 58’); Frempah; Drakes-Thomas; Garrett-Douglas (Hernandez 76’); Tanimowo; Obi (Briscoe 69’); Georgiou (Lowe 78’); Newton
Unused subs: none
Attendance: 269
Photos courtesy of Martin Addison.
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