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PICTURE: Baylis United celebrate one of their three goals in the 3-2 win against 10-man Eton Wick in the Division One Showcase Match at Burnham Football Club on Friday night. PHOTO: Gary House.
Baylis United manager Haseeb Ishaq is buzzing after watching his side earn three points with a 3-2 win against Eton Wick in the latest Showcase Match on Friday night.
Ishaq, who is also the Club chairman, admits that Baylis were not at their best under the lights at Burnham Football Club but, the January/February Team of the Month had enough to beat 10-man Eton.
The goals came from Kamran Khan, Nomaan Mohammed and a Bilal Mahmood penalty. Both Jamie Aslett and substitute Dean James were on target for the Wick but, their chances were not helped when Alexis Lyle was shown a straight red card.
Ishap said: “I thought the match went well and the experience was fantastic. For grassroots Clubs to get that experience is absolutely brilliant and we can’t wait for it to happen again whenever it might be for us.
“Overall as an experience, it’s fantastic. To get that pitch, the dressing rooms and obviously spectators watching as well, it was fantastic. The atmosphere was brilliant from both sets of fans and the football on the pitch was good to watch.
“We weren’t at our best. In fact it was up there as one of our worst performances, especially with how well we’re doing over the past few weeks.
“I think the occasion got to the boys and with everybody watching the pressure showed.
“I felt we deserved the three points overall but Eton were good. It was a little bit of a midfield battle. Eton edged it a little bit but we had more quality up front.
“The was two penalties and a red card in the game so it was exciting to watch from the sidelines. It was very tense and quite a physical game.
“I felt we didn’t show the quality that we’ve got, especially on the ball. We should’ve shown a lot more of the football we like to play.
“But, I’m buzzing to get the three points and atmosphere under the lights, it was fantastic. It was a great night, we got the three points, so job done.
“We’re very lucky that the EBFL do this for the teams.”
The win means Baylis have leapfrogged Eton Wick into fifth position in the Division One table and now just three points behind third-placed Chalvey Sports A.
The defeat ends The Wick’s three match unbeaten run in the division but manager, Colin Jacobs, believes his team deserved at least a draw, and that Lyle was incorrectly shown a red card.
He commented: “Baylis had a couple of opportunities early on in the first half but, after that, Eton Wick dominated.
“We took the lead after about 20 minutes with a spot kick and, after that, continued in the same way until five minutes before half-time. Baylis took a quick corner, which we didn’t really expect, and they scored.
PICTURE: Eton Wick are reduced to 10-men as Alexis Lyle is shown a straight red card. PHOTO: Gary House.
“A few minutes later, we lost our centre back and one of our central midfielders to hamstring injuries, and then conceded again just before half-time.
“We went in behind which was really disappointing considering the amount of possession and opportunities we had in the first half.
“We started the second half quite slow and were caught with a counter attack where our striker was adjudged to have committed a foul inside the area. We don’t believe it was a foul but Baylis were awarded a spot-kick to make it 3-1.
“Our player was sent off which was really disappointing because, given the situation that arose at the time, that’s not what the rules state.”
Jacobs continued: “We had 40 minutes to try and get back into the match. We changed formation, used all our available substitutions and threw everything at them.
“We created lots of opportunities but came off at the end of the match really disappointed that we didn’t manage to get at least a draw, if not a win. We thoroughly deserved it over the course of the evening.
“Baylis had some opportunities and played some good football when in possession but, we limited them and had 70-75 per-cent of possession.
We’re just really disappointed not to have come away with the win. We scored with about 15-20 minutes still to play and threw everything at them but, unfortunately came away with a disappointing loss on the evening.
“I’m still really proud of the boys and thoroughly enjoyed the evening. I’m just disappointed to come away with nothing.”
To enter the East Berkshire Football League ahead of the 2022/23 season, or for further information about the league, or an entry form for the upcoming season, please email the team at contactebfl@gmail.com
