Swindon P.S.F.A. vs Chiltern & S. Bucks P.S.F.A. 15-10-11 Berkshire League

Swindon slipped to their second Berkshire League defeat. The homester’s defence of McGinn, Kutassy, and Merchant led by indomitable Brown were called into action by two early forays from the visitors. Swindon responded with a strong run by Philips down the left but his cross evaded Tyson and Lawrence before being cleared. Chiltern opened the scoring after eleven minutes when some hesitant defending allowed Holmes to pounce on a loose ball and steer it inside the post. The visitor’s lead lasted barely six minutes however. A fine move begun by Merchant and continued by Philips ended with Tyson drawing two defenders before finding Broadbank who drilled his shot beyond the reach of the diving Newbert. This seemed to galvanise Swindon who began to play with more conviction and pressed hard for a second goal. Tyson saw his shot hit the post before Lawrence’s header from Cremin’s well-struck free-kick drifted wide. Having weathered this pressure Chiltern almost re-took the lead as the first period came to a close. Baldwin made another surging run from midfield to supply Bacheta but George in the Swindon goal turned the shot around for a corner. Chiltern began the second period in similar fashion but Leach twice made important clearances to halt a promising Chiltern move and Potter’s tenacity at left back thwarted Chiltern’s ambitions.  The visitors re-took the lead ten minutes after the break. A quickly taken throw-in caught out Swindon’s defence and Kitchener broke down the right to cross to the unmarked Fahmy who volleyed home from close range. Swindon fought back moving the ball around with some delightful passing but were unable to create any significant shooting chances as the visitors closed down their opponents. Skinner and White worked hard to unlock Chiltern’s defence with the latter carving his way through on two occasions. Swindon felt they should have been awarded a penalty when Broadbank was felled but their appeal was dismissed. Despite this Swindon forced Chiltern to defend deep in their own half and won a free kick late on. Another well-delivered ball was flicked on to Tyson but his effort was ruled out for off-side. The visitors held on to secure the three points and record their first ever away league win over Swindon.