Uxbridge Rayned In

Uxbridge 2

Dernell Wynter (45+1')

Kai Hobbs (70')

Rayners Lane 4

Frank Keita (9')

Deshane Dalling (43')

Marvin Sordell (49')

Elliott Buchanan (52')

With a number of key matches to come in the race for the playoffs, things didn't go to plan as Rayners Lane took all three points on Saturday, in a game where the Reds only came to life after the game was already lost. Lane came into the game in fine form, having won the Middlesex Senior Cup at Honeycroft only 3 days earlier by beating Hanwell Town, so Uxbridge would have known they were in for a tough match from the kickoff.

Uxbridge arguably saw the greater of the early possession but with just a couple of wayward shots the only things of note. Rayners Lane though took the lead with their first chance of note on 7 minutes after hesitation and a lost ball in midfield saw Frank Keita find space on the left hand side of the penalty area, and he rifled a fine shot past Legg into the far corner for his 24th league goal of the campaign. The home side could have done with a similar cutting edge as they struggled to make any inroads to the visitors defence Their best chance of he half came on 35 minutes when good interplay saw Josh Addae break into the box on the right hand side, but he was unable to keep his shot down and the ball went high and wide. The chance spurred on Uxbridge though and three minutes later, the ball fell to Andrio Brandao on the edge of the box, who hit a good shot, destined for the top corner but Endurance Johnson in the visitors goal pushed the ball away at full stretch to maintain the lead. The importance of the save was shown minutes later as the ball was again lost on the midfield and Deshane Dalling was played in to shoot low past Legg to double the advantage. Right on the half-time whistle though Uxbridge got a lifeline as a Casey Bocarro corner was headed back across goal by Kai Hobbs into the path of Dernell Wynter who made no mistake heading past Johnson, meaning it was game on in the second half.

HT 1-2

Any thoughts the goal would spur on Uxbridge were decimated within a six minute spell, despite the first chance of the half falling to Harry Rush who pulled a low shot inches past the post on 46 minutes. Rayners Lane grabbed a third when the well travelled Marvin Sordell latched onto a loose pass and he coolly slotted home, despite Legg getting a hand to the ball. It got worse for the home side three minutes later though as a deep cross was superbly volleyed home by Elliott Buchanan to leave the reds really staring down the barrel. It wasn't until just past the hour mark that Uxbridge started to make some inroads as substitute Ada Okorogheye came on to try and claw things back, his header from an Addae cross on 66 minutes forced Johnson into action. A second goal did arrive on 71 minutes - as a Rayners Lane player was down in the box, Uxbridge played on, and a ball to the back post was headed in by Kai Hobbs - leaving twenty minutes to try and salvage something from the game. With a number of the visitors team going down for injuries now, first Harry Rush had a shot blocked from a few yards out, the ball fell to Brandao whose shot went over. Uxbridge kept pushing though, and on 77 minutes Dan Fosu did superbly to out muscle a defender in the box, only for some desperate defending to deny him a clear shot. An unseemly incident on 85 minutes saw Massimo Giamattei leave the field after a clash of head and a forwards elbow, with the referee deeming there no incident to deal with. Ultimately Uxbridge had plenty of possession late on, and made a good shout of trying to get back in the game, but it wasn't to be and Rayners Lane held on to take the victory

A bad day at the office at a bad time for the Reds, who now make an awkward looking trip to Leatherhead on Tuesday evening - themselves closing in on a play off place - Uxbridge will need to dig deep to maintain their own hopes.

FT 2-4

Att 164

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