Westbury 1 Marlborough 3
With promotion mathematically still a possibility, Marlborough looked to their game against Westbury as a must win fixture in order to apply pressure on those above them in the table.
It seems to have become an away fixture routine: Marlborough struggled at the beginning of the game and were guilty of basic errors all over the pitch. However they were soon able to dig their way into the game after several Westbury breakaways. Marlborough settled into their defensive press – preventing Westbury from playing with any fluidity.
The opening goal of the game was scored by Anil Sud after a quick pass from John Bromley just outside the D allowed Sud to travel in and score on his reverse stick.
It seemed as if the game was there for the taking and Marlborough swarmed forward eager for more goals and very narrowly missed out on several attempts. Westbury struck against the run of play following a Marlborough attacking breakdown and a dismayed Marlborough needed to regroup.
The situation had become gloomily reminiscent of the nightmare of the Firebrands game several weeks before.
At the beginning of the second half both teams were guilty of some errant passing and questionable decision making in various parts of the pitch, which led to something of a stalemate. However Marlborough once again retook the initiative when they converted from a short corner – Hamish Fyfe displaying calmness under pressure and accuracy with a pinpoint push between the Westbury goalkeeper’s legs.
Westbury piled forward in the hope of getting back into the game, but their hopes were dashed when Fyfe scored his second goal from an incredibly tight angle to give Marlborough a comfortable 3-1 lead.
Marlborough’s defence held strong with some timely passing and strong interceptions to close out the game. A 3-1 win and still some faint hope of making promotion…..perhaps.
The Marlborough News Online man of the match was Tom Palmer for many a timely tackle and excellent distribution throughout the game.
