Sholing 3 – 5 Swindon Supermarine 

Controversial Eight goal thriller with contentious decisions robbing Sholing of at least a point.

It was a windy and cold afternoon at the Mortgage Decisions Stadium and it stayed that way as the game went on. There was a smaller crowd than usual but still more than enough spectators, who had braved the cold, for the Boatmen, in their striking home strip, to put in a performance, on a pitch that had held up well against the frosty conditions. 

Swindon had the kick off and started quick, hoping to catch us by surprise but their initial progress was halted by the sharp Sholing midfield. We had our first sniffs at goal thanks to a looping ball from Blaise Riley-Snow to Romeo Akinola who was muscled off the ball, and then a solo run from Charlie Gunson which was blocked.

The Visitors got the opener after a free kick was parried by Pat Nash to which the Swindon forward got a foot to and found the net. The controversy that would plague the game then started as calls for a handball were made by the Home team after a solo effort from Riley-Snow but nothing was given. Miscommunication led to an away winger getting past the returning Byron Mason and running down the right wing and finding the striker who slotted into the right near post, doubling the visitors lead. 

Swindon continued to create chances for a third, pouncing on slow Sholing play and came very close , just heading over from another corner. We finally found the net after a pristine through ball from Brad Targett found Romeo Akinola who planted the ball into the inside right side netting. Brad almost dispossessed the keeper for a leveller soon after. He had another chance thanks to a goalmouth pass from Joe Rabbets who picked up a great ball from Jake Hesketh but the ball was slightly too quick for Targett. As momentum swung our way, we continued to use both wings effectively and only missed the equaliser due to some brave Swindon defending.

Against the run of play, the away side restored their advantage after their left winger was open and whose cross found another free player who drilled home from outside the box, leaving Nash with no chance to do anything. Hesketh had an attempt himself which outfoxed the opposing back line with its spin but it spun past the post as the first half whistle blew. HT 1-3

The away team began playing a bit dirty at the second half got underway, diving and appearing to go down under little no to pressure. Sholing didn’t let it get them down and they continued to press but ultimately the constant pushing up let Swindon hit on the break but Nash was able to put the striker off by coming out early. We got within one goal of the Away lead when Brad powerfully drilled in at close range off a wonderful goalmouth pass from Rabbets.

Again the away team tried to rapidly get their two goal lead back, attempting to skill their way through our midfield but the progress was halted thanks to pressure from Reece Wylie. The away team’s fourth arrived off another corner as after the ball had made it’s way through multiple bodies it found the feet of another open Swindon man who duly put the advantage back in tact for the second time. An almighty scuffle ensued after Brad came under pressure from two Swindon midfielders who were pulling his shirt and brought one of them down leading to a booking, much to the anger of the home crowd.

Sholing were caught napping twice more in their final third but did recover well to prevent Nash from having to coming off his line. Fabio, lacking options, saw his name in lights when he secured the third for the Boatmen, deciding to hit one from a fair distance away from goal but with a clear line of sight and managed to find the bottom right hand corner, giving us a shot at a point and perhaps all three. 

Unfortunately the hope was diminished as the linesman seemed to make a horrific mistake, failing to signal for offside even though the Swindon attacker looked to be at least a metre ahead of Rabbets, but despite the protests the play continued leaving the striker to round Nash and secure the three points for the trip back to Wiltshire. FT 3-5