Windsor (1) 1, Guildford City (0) 1
by Barry Underwood
In difficult conditions City came away from Stag Meadow with a point, and truthfully nobody would have argued if they had claimed the full complement after a fine second half performance. The opening quarter of the match was played in heavy rain and throughout a strong wind blew down the length of the pitch. In the first period it was Windsor who had the wind advantage and their tactic of firing early balls forward saw them make some early inroads into the visitors defence. City went into the game missing the injured Jack Collins and Curtis George, and Andy Ottley who is absent due to work for three weeks. Despite their changes Guildford opened playing some good passing football, although they were initially struggling to get the ball forward fast enough. It was during this period that Windsor took the lead when a ball over the top found Barry Dunbar in acres of space and he coolly slotted past Liam Beach. The City bench who were in line were adamant that Dunbar ran from an offside position but the officials didn’t see it that way and the goal was given. After just 17 minutes Guildford were forced into a significant reshuffle when big centre-back Martin Dynan had to limp off to be replaced by Florin Ramizi. Bradley Pegg moved into the heart of defence, whilst Adam Nditi dropped to left back. Still Windsor moved the ball forward quickly and twice Liam Beach kept the visitor’s in the game with fine saves. Past the half-hour and noticeably City were gaining a toehold in the match and were causing problems offensively. After some inter-passing on the right a fine cross saw Brad Pegg’s header blocked at close range, and a little later Josh Everard’s spectacular overhead volley went wide. The same player came perilously close in first half stoppage time when Nditi’s cross found him free in the box but his attempted first time effort spiralled away harmlessly.
Within a minute of the restart Liam Beach again came to City’s rescue with a fine save at the near post. That however, in a half completely dominated by Guildford, was the nearest Windsor came to claiming a win. Almost immediately City responded when Matt Anton turned in the box and forced a diving save from Carl Dennison. A few minutes later Josh Everard’s 25 yard effort saw Dennison scrambling across to push the ball wide for a corner. It was no surprise when Guildford claimed the equaliser. From one of many forays forward Adam Nditi flashed the ball across the box and Matt Anton was on hand to turn the ball home from close range. Windsor won a free-kick in a threatening position after a foul which earned Tom Booth a yellow card. Momentarily concerned, the City defenders saw the ball curl harmlessly wide of the goal. For the remaining 20 minutes the visitor’s streamed forward in search of a winner. Josh Everard saw another long range effort paddled wide by Dennison and several times long range efforts were attempted when more composure might have brought more positive results. As the game reached its conclusion City themselves won a free-kick on the edge of the box. Interestingly it was Matt York who stepped up and his fine effort was brilliantly saved by Dennison. There was still time for Bradley Pegg to see a header parried by Dennison at close range but in the end both sides had to settle for a point a piece.
Team: Liam Beach, Tom Booth, Bradley Pegg, Matt York, Martin Dynan (Florin Ramizi 17), Harry Driver, Josh Everard, Darren Caesar, Matt Anton, Nathan Chambers (Sam Wright 85), Adam Nditi. Unused subs: Callum Sexton.
Referee: Michael Hayden
Attendance – 135
