Bracknell Town came into this opening ‘Pitching In’ Isthmian League South Central Division One league fixture off the back of 2-0 victory over a dogged Badshot Lea side in the FA Cup Preliminary Round thanks to second-half goals from Mickel Platt and Perry Coles. This sets up an away tie with Ashford United down in Kent who similarly saw off their fellow South East Division rivals Whitehawk 2-0.
Chipstead also made it into the First Qualifying Round round of the Emirates FA Cup with a comfortable 3-0 victory which saw South East Division One Ramsgate knocked out of the competition at the first time of asking. The Chips will now host Deal Town in their bid to progress further.
This afternoon’s fixture is a reverse of the opening fixture between these two teams which saw Chipstead blunt the Robins attack to take a 2-0 victory, so Bobby Wilkinson will be looking for a more positive start to this season from his players.
Oliver Pain was called into early action when he had to save a Seb Bowerman strike from outside the box, whilst Jack Beadle and Spencer Cripps worked to give the former a chance to send a shot across the face of the Robins goal.
The game lost its’ fluidity for long periods in this half, but Shamar Moore and Joe Grant won set pieces although they didn’t come to anything before Mickel Platt sent an inviting ball across the area which just evaded Perry Coles.
Beadle managed to outpace Jack Dean, and cross the ball into the box, but the Bracknell defence cleared it.
Joe Grant pressed the defenders to create space for Coles, but Pain was alive to his attempt to curl the ball into the far side of the net. Dan Bayliss also had a header deflected over.
At the other end Tom Collins had the ball at his feel for free kick, but he over hit the kick and it sailed straight out of play.
With the half coming to it was Bowerman’s turn to hassle the defence, and the ball broke to Max Herbert who sent a fizzing shot straight past Pain into the net for the first goal of the Robins league season!
Moments later it could have been two if Pain had not saved Louis Soares’s close range shot with his feet.
Half time: Bracknell Town 1-0 Chipstead
Initially the Chips exerted the pressure picking up free kicks to put Bracknell on the back foot. One of these allowed Collins to deliver a ball into the box from the right, and although it was cleared it still fell to Beadle. His attempt to find a teammate was unsuccessful though, and the ball was cleared again.
Grant and Coles worked together to square the ball to Soares, but his shot was blocked. A ball over the top saw Coles through on goal, but under pressure, his shot went into the side netting.
Collins looked to have broken through the Robins defensive line, but Roberto Nditi saw the danger and got back to give Mark Scott a simple backpass to deal with. Beadle found himself in down the left, but flashed his shot across the face of the net.
That seemed to galvanise The Robins as a relentless period of pressure saw every player in team really look to press for that second goal.
Scott Rees floated in a free kick which was deflected over from Bayliss’s header. Grant danced his way into the box, before finding Soares watched his shot zip across the face of the goal.
Again Collins looked to have broken through Bracknell’s defence, but the critical pass was blocked.
Caden Genovesi found Bayliss at the far post, but his shot was blocked. Herbert broke into the box, but his shot went into the side netting.
However the second goal came on the 83rd minute when a player was fouled on the edge of the area Soares sent a bullet free-kick past Pain.
Having scored that goal it started to get a bit jittery as Beadle, Collins and Sam Bell looked to break into the area, but without actually getting any shots away.
Pain made one more miraculous point plank save from Soares as Shaq Ishmael was brought on to run down the defenders tired legs, but it remained 2-0 when the referee blew the final whistle.
Full time: Bracknell Town 2-0 Chipstead
I know that if Luca had been there he would have said that Seb Bowerman was the Man of the Match this week, but in my opinion it was a real team effort and no one individual stood out from any other.
So it’s down to Kent this Tuesday evening in an attempt to progress further in the FA Cup.
Bracknell Town: Mark Scott, Jack Dean, Caden Genovesi, Roberto Nditi, Dan Bayliss, Scott Rees, Max Herbert (Capt), Joe Grant (Shaquille Ishmael 81 mins), Shamar Moore (Perry Coles 18 mins), Mickel Platt (Louis Soares 37 mins) & Sebastian Bowerman. Unused Subs: George Knight & Anton Rodgers.
Chipstead: Pain, David, Miller-Neave, Boulter, Graves, McAllister (Miller), Cripps, Grant, Collins, Nkoma (Bell) & Beadle. Unused Subs: Figuieredo Correia & Wilkinson.
