The old adage goes that goals win you games, but defence wins you titles.
This is actually not true, at least for the Premier League, but nevertheless it’s important for this edition of Wingate & Finchley to show that they are effective at both ends of the pitch. And while the Blues have scored the second most goals in the league, thanks to putting 6 past Hendon, and three goal performances against Folkestone, Canvey, Dulwich, and Dartford, they entered Saturday’s game against Whitehawk having conceded more than their opponents, who sat just one spot off the bottom of the table. It was important, then, to show the league what those who watch the club each week already know - that our defence can extinguish the threat of teams that we face. You might (justifiably) argue that there has been some bad luck back there thus far, but now results are starting to match the performance.
The three centre halves were imperious as usual. Toby Byron, marauding forward when given the opportunity, was a rock, winning crucial tackles and aerial duels alike. Ben Frempah, the middle of the three, won every header he could, in both boxes, as usual. And Captain Billy Cracknell marshalled things expertly from the right edge, slowing down Whitehawk attackers determined to break quickly.
Rhamar Garrett-Douglas and Loic Hernandez showed they could get down the wing quickly, and that they could track back to win the ball when possession had been lost. Matty Achuba and Ryan Lowe in front of them snuffed out what they could, and fought hard against a battle Whitehawk midfield.
All that meant that Charlie Grainger in goal didn’t actually have that much to do. His most impressive moment came when he pushed a low free kick from 25 yards away from goal, and then got out very quickly to smother the Hawks attacker who following up quickly. It was a fantastic stop, and meant that the hosts were largely restricted to efforts from outside the area for the rest of the game.
The solid defence laid the foundations for the front line to go to work. And indeed it was industrious work off the ball that directly made the first goal after half time. Zack Newton chased hard when the ball was played back to Josh Strizovic in the Whitehawk net, and he pounced when the keeper tried to go round him. He won the ball, and marched forward two yards to place it into the empty net.
It was soon 2-0 from a corner. Ben Frempah went backwards to keep a lost cause alive by nodding it back into the area. From there, the Whitehawk defence was unable to clear it, and it ended up at the feet of Ogo Obi close to the goal, on a tight angle. He fired the ball into the roof of the net with venom to take his goal tally to 16 this season, which is quite the effort considering it’s November.
From there, the Blues sat on the game well, using the difficult playing surface to limit chances for their opponents. And while Whitehawk hit the post from outside the area, they didn’t manage to create too much else.
The result keeps the Blues in third on a day when all the sides around them won. And it means it’s seven wins from the previous eight in the league. It sets up Tuesday’s home tie against Chatham really nicely, who are a top side, despite their slightly below par performances in the league so far. We need all your support, so head on down to the Lane to back the Blues!
Wingate & Finchley: Grainger; Cracknell; Byron; Achuba (Webb 90’); Frempah; Lowe; Garrett-Douglas (Roberts 90+1); Newton (Briscoe 74’); Obi; Georgiou (Drakes-Thomas 68’); Hernandez (Kissi 85’)
Photos courtesy of Martin Addison
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