Promtion hope gone..

With S & S needing to win to stay in the Promotion hunt this result against top of the table Wapping was disappointing in more ways than one.

Even before the match started S & S had to witness Bourne Deeping their main promotion rivals defeat East London in the game before theirs. To compound matters further the game did not start well as Wapping took a very early lead from a Penalty Corner. It did not take long for S & S to settle though and a very even game developed in the first half.

S & S had plenty of opportunities in the first half the two best falling firstly to Chris Fell, a very slight deflection enough to prevent him from scoring from close range and the second to Stuart Robson his shot being well stopped by the Wapping keeper. Just before half time Wapping collected a second, again from a Penalty Corner, Jamie Bellingham’s great stop on the line being picked off him for an easy finish. So 0-2 at half time not a fair reflection of the game, but Wapping took their chances and S & S didn’t.

The second half for the first 15 to 20 minutes was a bit of a stalemate, with Wapping having most of the possession, but with no cutting edge to their attack. From out of almost nowhere S & S pulled one back, Alyn Meredith finding Lewis Bridger free for a one on one with the keeper which he duly despatched.

The last 15 minutes were frenetic, but also frustrating as the game became more stop than start, the rub of the green probably not going S & S’s way, but Wapping took advantage to extend their lead by two. S & S pulled one back, Bridger’s cross being picked up by Fell who produced an excellent reverse stick finish from a narrow angle. There was though to be no final S & S and hurrah in the last few minutes, Wapping collected a fifth, with a well taken Penalty flick and a deflated S & S defence leaked a sixth in the last minute with what was a nice passing move.

6-2 was a flattering result for Wapping, but there was no doubt they deserved to win the game. Eight goals would normally denote an exciting and entertaining game, but this was not the case. If the game had been allowed to flow more, then this could have been a match to properly grace the Olympic stadium setting. With three games to go S & S will look to secure third place. On Saturday they entertain Cambridge City and on Sunday they travel to Harleston Magpies.