Ascot United 2nd X1 Veterans v Wandsworth Borough Veterans

Football can sometimes be a really weird game. At times Ascot United’s V2s played well on 27 Feb. In the first thirty minutes in particular they pinged the ball about nicely, shifted opposition defenders around and really worked the keeper over. It was a tail of near misses, great saves and brilliant late clearances as Wandsworth moved heaven and earth to stay on level terms.

That, however, they did (even if only just). And yet by half-time the visitors were somehow three goals to the good. The first goal was an excellent free kick from 25 yards out. The second was an immaculate finish from a forward who hadn’t had a sniff before then. Ascot had the majority of the play, but Wandsworth seemed to score every time they went forward.

That pattern carried on into the second half. Andy Lunn did pull a goal back with a well-taken finish, but Wandsworth simply broke away and added two more of their own. It was very rapidly becoming one of those nights.

Lunn did add a second, opted to wheel out the googly, and, fair play, it worked a treat. The ball gripped, turned and ultimately spun past a keeper who looked (for the first time all evening) decidedly bewildered. Debutant John Swift made an impact and was decent value for his goal, but ultimately it was just not meant to be.

Take homes? Draw a line, move on, be a bit luckier……and mark the date of the return fixture (25 April). We need to travel and make good on the decidedly bizarre outcome this evening.

Squad. Eryk Nawala, Dan Hough, Karl Small, Ed Dubois, Darren Lewis, Jon Keough, Steve Dando (c), Raph Bar, Adam Abusweder, Dan Wing, Jon Bennett, James Niknejad, Islam Hussein, John Swift, Andy Lunn.

Goalscorers. Andy Lunn (2), John Swift