Following the Stockbridge game I headed home to put my weary feet up for a couple of hours. Andy had opted for a beer festival so I parked the car near his house and wandered around to the ground.
As the only later kick off in the area I had expected a decent crowd and the ground was much busier than normal. There were also a number of Winchester supporters and players watching from the sideline. The offical crowd figure for this top of the table clash was given as 172, doubling the attendance from the previous Monday evening match here against Lymington Town.
I was surprised to see that Bemerton were playing in their orange away kit instead of the usual black and white shirts - perhaps they had decided that it was easier to pick out players under floodlights wearing this kit. Winchester were in their change kit of all white.
Bemerton kicked off and went straight down to the far end with the Winchester keeper having to tip out a shot. From the resulting long throw-in Mankin rose above his marker and headed the ball into the top corner to give Bemerton an early lead.
Winchester soon settled down and had a couple of half chances. Bemerton were lucky after 25 minutes as a Winchester shot deflected through a crowd of players but ended up in the arms of their keeper. The visitors were managing a lot of possession but were finding it difficult to break through the Bemerton back line.
Bemerton had two good chances in quick succession on the half hour. Rowe found space in the midfield and ran through to take a shot that the keeper saved. Slade then had an excellent run down the left wing, taking the ball round two Winchester defenders before crossing it for Jones who had taken up an excellent position in the area. When the ball arrived he mishit his shot and it flew harmlessly wide.
Joe Sanger was leading the line well but received a booking in the 40th minute for a needless high footed challenge that hit the Winchester player instead of the ball.
In the final minute of the half there was a bit of controversy as the referee blew his whistle while the ball was in mid-air from a Winchester shot. The ball ended up way over the bar but it would have been an interesting discussion had the shot been on target!
The turning point in the game came four minutes into the second half. Sanger chased down a long high ball and in the absence of any defensive cover, the Winchester keeper came sprinting out of his area. Sanger decided to try and kick the ball over the keeper but ended up putting his boot into the keeper's chest. He collapsed to the ground and the physio was quickly on to make sure he was ok. After a few minutes he had recovered enough to be stretched off the pitch. Sanger received a second yellow card and was sent off.
Winchester made the most of the extra man advantage. In the 55th minute their captain came up from defence for a corner and aimed a great header into the bottom corner for the equaliser.
The game was now flowing from end to end as Bemerton reshaped their team and encouraged their right back to play further up the pitch. He was twice involved in some good pass and move play but the chances created weren't taken.
Winchester should have taken the lead in the 65th minute when a player cut through the Bemerton defence for a one-on-one with the keeper. His decision to hit the ball at the keeper was poor as it turned a good scoring opportunity into a straightforward save.
Bemerton were creaking at the back and only some last ditch blocking tackles were keeping the ball away from goal. Bemerton managed to get the ball forward but the final ball was lacking when they got into good positions. Fisher had a header on target from a corner but his effort was straight at the keeper.
There was a comical moment in the 83rd minute when the Winchester number 8 running across the area took the ball off the toes of the Winchester number 7 who was lining up a rocket shot.
Two minutes later and the laughter from the locals was replaced by cheers from the visiting supporters. Winchester broke down the left and when the ball was crossed a defender attempted to clear it, only to slice the clearance at pace towards the bottom corner. The goalkeeper had no chance to react before the ball hit the back of the net to give Winchester a 2.1 lead.
Bemerton tried to get back on level terms and Slade was unfortunate to see his shot on the turn whistle past the crossbar as the game moved into injury time. Despite their best efforts, it was Winchester who took the three points and 1st place in the table.
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