Sydenhams Wessex League

V T FC 0 Winchester City 1

When manager Steve Tate was being prepared for the task of managing City back last October at Lymington & New Milton, his directive given was quite easy. Win the Sydenhams Wessex League. Twenty-six league games later; Tate has achieved that directive, not having lost a league game along the way.

Tate actually kept the same side that had comprehensively beaten Gosport Borough seven days earlier to score the single goal victory that assured City the championship, with the only other side that could have caught City being Thatcham Town who themselves were losing by the only goal of the game at Poole Town, City look like they will finished the season with a healthy points difference as champions.

It was a difficult hard bumpy surface at VT, which both sides took time to adapt too. It was a professional City performance maybe not stylish but the home side were restricted only to long range efforts with David Hook not given a shot on goal to save, though he was put under pressure by a few inswinging VT corners.

The opening chance did not arrive until twenty-seven minutes such was the tentative opening. Liam Greens corner was only partially cleared arriving back with Greens who again floated a cross into the box from which skipper Mark Jones did not connect properly and the effort went wide.

Five minutes later it was Mark Jones again leading the way this time a header from a Green free kick that was hooked away by Mark Diaper. A minute further on and City were ahead. It broke from the City defence with Stewart Lang being fortunate to get the ball clear of the City half, falling just right for Lloyd Webber to delicately clip the ball over the advancing VT defence allowing Ian Mancey to slide the ball low past VT goalkeeper Scott O’Rourke for his thirty fifth goal of the season.

Mancey was having an excellent afternoon, his touch by far surpassing the quality of most of the football on show. Four minutes before the interval a lofted cross by Green saw one such Mancey deft piece of footwork create an opening for a cheeky back heel but it did not have enough power to deceive O’Rourke.

With the news that Thatcham were a goal behind at Poole at the interval filtering around the ground it appeared a little edgy for the second period as City edged towards their second Wessex League title in three seasons, their third league title ion four seasons. On forty-nine minutes the strength of Mancey created an opening but the feet of O’Rourke saved his effort. Three minutes later and Jamie Musselwhites cross was headed wide by Mancey.

Christer Warren latched on to a through ball from Matthew Bicknell on fifty-four minutes; he kept his footing following a challenge and from an acute angle brought a fine save from O’Rourke. Four minutes later and Warren was involved again, this time his quickly taken free kick into Shaun Dykes feet, allowed Dyke the time and space to fire a shot just wide of the target.

Following a VT corner on sixty-eight minutes City quickly spring from defence into attack. An excellent move saw Greens pass find Warren. Warren slid the ball inch perfect through for Webber but the midfielder screwed his effort horribly wide of the target from inside the area.

A minute later Webbers pass into Musselwhite saw the strikers’ neat control create an opening but O’Rourke was equal to the attempt. Mancey looked as though he had an excellent opening soon afterwards but missed his shot completely which brought a jovial chant of ‘Are you Lloydie in disguise’ by the City band of supporters.

With eleven minutes remaining City appeared to have won the game when netting a second goal. A Warren corner saw Mancey turn the ball home at the near post but the effort was disallowed fore an infringement. Speedy VT substitute Shane Flookes raced clear of the City defence with only three minutes to go but only managed to shoot across the face of goal whilst in stoppage time another inswinging Diaper corner was cleared away by the City defence. As the final whistle blew the champagne corks popped for City as they deservedly celebrated their championship success and their long awaited promotion to step four of the pyramid level.

VT FC : O’Rourke, Curtis, Diaper, Gibbens, Foster, Turner, Spinney, Byrne, James (Flookes 65), Brewster, McLean (Virgin 74) Unused subs Gray, Ward, Chapman

Winchester : Hook, Mat Jones, Bicknell (Smith 76), Mark Jones, Lang (Davies 88), Webber, Dyke, Warren, Mancey (Mealey 85) Musselwhite, Green Unused subs Wakefield and Zawadski