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PICTURE: Eton Wick manager Colin Jacobs is delighted that his team was able to produce a 'great team performance' to win 8-2 at Braywood Beavers in Division One on Saturday.
Eton Wick manager Colin Jacobs hopes that his team can push on up the table in East Berkshire League Division One after a ‘great team performance’ saw them win 8-2 at Braywood Beavers on Saturday.
The Wick had gone pointless in the opening weeks of the season as Jacobs remoulded the team and, coupled with some bad luck on the pitch, Eton was rooted at the bottom of the table ahead of the trip to Braywood.
But, inspired by Alexis Lyle’s four goals haul and two penalties saves from keeper Jake Plant, the Wick routed their opposition to claim a first win and move off the bottom of the pile.
The victory also included a brace from Loren Dennis and one from Josh James, and Mark Payne-Welsh opened his tally for the season too.
A delighted Jacobs said: “We’re really pleased with the result, it’s a great result for us considering our season so far. We’ve come up against some tough opposition in recent weeks and we’re merging in a lot of new players, so it’s difficult to try to get some traction.
“Sometimes you’re playing some really good football but actually coming away with quite poor results, so this was a flip side. We played some good football. It looked a little bit scrappy at times but I’m really pleased to win.
“I don’t think it flattered us on the day, we had plenty of possession throughout the game. Braywood probably didn’t look like the team that they were last season, when we struggled to beat them and in fact they beat us a couple of times. So it looks like they might be struggling, pretty much like we have been been for the first part of this season.”
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Looking back on the game, Jacobs commented: “The first goal came from a Jordan Collibee corner and a great header from Josh, a returning defender of ours, to put us ahead.
“A few minutes later Lauren and Alexis combined to make it two. Alexis actually scored four goals during the game, so he had a fantastic day. But, you have put praise on the players around him who really showed what they’re all about and supplied Alexis with some of his goals.
“It was a great overall team performance but we did have our troubles though. Braywood had a couple of penalties, the first one produced a fantastic double save from Jake. A few minutes later they had a second penalty which Jake also saved, but unfortunately we conceded from the follow up.
“We headed into half-time 4-2 ahead, so overall I was quite pleased. I just tried to get the boys to settle down a little bit in the second half, try to control the game a little bit more, keep hold of the ball and stop giving it away cheaply, and also stop giving away cheap free-kicks.
“We worked hard for each other and the boys did what I asked them to do in the second half. Braywood did not really pose much of a threat in the second half apart from a couple of long range efforts, which didn’t really bother us.
“Overall we’re really pleased with the result. It was a great performance from the team, from the goalkeeper who made a couple of really great saves to the attack with Alexis scoring four goals and Lauren scoring a couple.”
PHOTO: The current Division One table with Eton Wick in ninth position ahead of some key home matches against both AFC Reading and Braywood Beavers.
The win has moved Eton Wick off the bottom of the table and up to ninth position in Division One ahead of key games at home to AFC reading this Saturday (2pm) and then Braywood Beavers on 5 November, two teams that has also struggled for points in the early part of the season.
Jacob commented: “I’m hoping for some more positive results and more points on the board to try to move us up the table and put us in good stead for the rest of the season.”
To enter the East Berkshire Football League ahead of the 2023/24 season, or for further information about the league, or an entry form for the upcoming season, please email the team at contactebfl@gmail.com
