The Wings scored three at home once again and moved back to the top of National league South with a win over Hungerford Town this afternoon. The heavy morning rain may have put off a couple of hundred from making the match but the 404 present saw another solid home performance.
Hungerford came to make a game of it and, especially in the first-half, they looked potential value for a point. Welling got off to a relatively slow start and aside from a fine header from Audel which was acrobatically tipped over, we had to be content with Welling keeping the visitors in check during the opening twenty minutes. After that the Wings warmed to the occasion and with L'Ghoul finding his feet down the left and Kiernan probing inside right, the chance for the opener wasn't long in coming. As I came through the turnstiles, the Welling side was being announced and as Goldberg was named at number ten the bloke in front of me leant back and said "I see the Chairman's wife has picked the team again." I always find this criticism of Goldberg a cheap shot and unfair, so was pleased to see him turn superbly and make a yard of space for himself which allowed him to beat the Hungerford keeper with a low hard shot to the corner from the edge of the box. Hungerford continued to plug away and they got their reward in the 46th minute when their full back, Matt Jones, was allowed easy access into the box and drove in an equaliser that Wilks could do nothing about.
Kicking down the slope towards the Park View Road, I was confident Welling would boss the second-half and they did. L'Ghoul was seeing much more of the ball and finding he was able to travel across the Hungerford back-line with impunity. Paterson was trying desperately to get on the end of anything in the box but was being very well marshalled by Marvel Ekpiteta. Goldberg was also doing a lot of running but Welling were a bit short of an aerial threat. Cue the removal of Paterson and introduction of the loftier Mills. L'Ghoul drew another foul 25 yards out and from the resulting free-kick a deep cross eventually found Mills high at the back post and as his thumping header back across the goal flew to the back post the only thought was whether or not it would creep in. As it was it didn't matter because flying in feet-first was Player-of-the-Month for November, the horizontal L'Ghoul who forced it home.
Hungerford were beaten and from then it was only a case of could Welling increase their advantage. Gavin McCullum, on as a sub, managed to make enough of a nuisance of himself at the back-post for another cross that the covering defender was forced to chest it back across goal and Mills reacted quickest to steer in the third from close range. Mills and Kiernan combined superbly at full speed after that and were unfortunate that Kiernan was blocked before he could add to the goal tally.
The three points push Welling back to the top-of-the-table on goal difference from Woking after Billericay lost 3-2 at home to Oxford City. Meanwhile, Charlton's post-1947 F A Cup curse continued with a disappointing 0-2 home defeat to Doncaster Rovers. It probably didn't help that Lee Bowyer's focus is the league and he decided to put out a second string. It really is a struggle going to see Charlton in any cup competition but particularly the the F A Cup - hardly anything to shout about for 70 years - and the club doesn't seem interested in them.
Hungerford came to make a game of it and, especially in the first-half, they looked potential value for a point. Welling got off to a relatively slow start and aside from a fine header from Audel which was acrobatically tipped over, we had to be content with Welling keeping the visitors in check during the opening twenty minutes. After that the Wings warmed to the occasion and with L'Ghoul finding his feet down the left and Kiernan probing inside right, the chance for the opener wasn't long in coming. As I came through the turnstiles, the Welling side was being announced and as Goldberg was named at number ten the bloke in front of me leant back and said "I see the Chairman's wife has picked the team again." I always find this criticism of Goldberg a cheap shot and unfair, so was pleased to see him turn superbly and make a yard of space for himself which allowed him to beat the Hungerford keeper with a low hard shot to the corner from the edge of the box. Hungerford continued to plug away and they got their reward in the 46th minute when their full back, Matt Jones, was allowed easy access into the box and drove in an equaliser that Wilks could do nothing about.
Kicking down the slope towards the Park View Road, I was confident Welling would boss the second-half and they did. L'Ghoul was seeing much more of the ball and finding he was able to travel across the Hungerford back-line with impunity. Paterson was trying desperately to get on the end of anything in the box but was being very well marshalled by Marvel Ekpiteta. Goldberg was also doing a lot of running but Welling were a bit short of an aerial threat. Cue the removal of Paterson and introduction of the loftier Mills. L'Ghoul drew another foul 25 yards out and from the resulting free-kick a deep cross eventually found Mills high at the back post and as his thumping header back across the goal flew to the back post the only thought was whether or not it would creep in. As it was it didn't matter because flying in feet-first was Player-of-the-Month for November, the horizontal L'Ghoul who forced it home.
Hungerford were beaten and from then it was only a case of could Welling increase their advantage. Gavin McCullum, on as a sub, managed to make enough of a nuisance of himself at the back-post for another cross that the covering defender was forced to chest it back across goal and Mills reacted quickest to steer in the third from close range. Mills and Kiernan combined superbly at full speed after that and were unfortunate that Kiernan was blocked before he could add to the goal tally.
The three points push Welling back to the top-of-the-table on goal difference from Woking after Billericay lost 3-2 at home to Oxford City. Meanwhile, Charlton's post-1947 F A Cup curse continued with a disappointing 0-2 home defeat to Doncaster Rovers. It probably didn't help that Lee Bowyer's focus is the league and he decided to put out a second string. It really is a struggle going to see Charlton in any cup competition but particularly the the F A Cup - hardly anything to shout about for 70 years - and the club doesn't seem interested in them.
I will hold my hands up and admit I was one of those who thought his season was starting to dwindle. However, i was pleased to have to eat my words if a very good performance.
ReplyDeleteHe is good with the ball at his feet, that's why I think he would work well sitting behind the front two (forwards).