Football Articles

Aylesbury Vale Dynamos FC 0 - 2 Winslow United FC

With no EFL league games being played Easter saturday attention turned toward non-league, where in the Spartan South Midlands Football League Premier division, Aylesbury Vale Dynamos hosted Winslow United. The game meant very little for both clubs, being mid-table, yet the prospect of a win on the final home game of the season for Dynamos was very much desirable by Paul Batchelor’s XI.

It was Dynamos who got the game started, and had an early opening chance when midfielder Owen Broughton was played in by Fabian Garcia, but the youngster was unable to get his shot away. This being a theme that would continue throughout the afternoon for Dynamos.

Winslow retook the reins of the game during the early parts, by choosing to overload the midfield, pushing on the full backs, allowing their CDM to drop in and play on the half turn. The press for Dynamos striker Max Sato, seemed very lackluster in the early exchanges, which really highlighted Dynamos lack of physical domination upfront. This was a point that was further exemplified when AVDFCs number 6, Romeo Ebondo, launched in a cannon of a throw only for it to be met by the head of a Winslow defender; everytime.

It didn’t take long for Winslow to take advantage of their domination, a beautifully lifted corner by Jake Stronge met the leaping Charlie Attwell to put Winslow ahead during the first 10 minutes. Attwell using his physical presence to rise high and head home, the skipper running away with jubilation and Dynamo players heads dropping early on. 

The first half saw Winslow have total domination of the ball, while Dynamos looked to use their youth to break quickly against the run of play. Unfortunately for Dynamos their passing lacked the accuracy they needed to make the most of those counter attacks.

15 Minutes into the game Winslow looked as if they were going to double their lead when Harry scott was played through 1 vs 1 with Kelan Plumbridge, however his shot was saved with cat like reflexes by the Dynamos keeper.

Dynamos could have gone level with a low driven free kick from Fabian Garcia, that did very little to disturb Alfie Munford in the Winslow goal.

Winslow were able to use their offside trap to great affect during the first half; when, at one point, three Dynamos attackers found themselves offside much to their dismay. 

Shortly after a shot from Tom Lawer that beat Plumbridge, was cleared off of the line by Romeo Ebondo.

The rest of the half saw Dynamos grow into the game and two balls find themselves over the fences to rub salt into Dynamo wounds. Something that can be noted about Dynamos potential lack of communication affecting their ability to play with confidence and fluidly.

HALF TIME - Winslow started the much stronger team, with AVDFC growing into the game late on in the half. A fairly dreary game so far with neither team showing any brilliance of note.

Winslow got the second half underway in the Saturday sunshine. Dynamos made two changes at half time with Aaron Onjingo & Exaucee Buanga replacing Max Sato and Owen Broughton.

Early on it was clear to see that any chance of a fight back from  Dynamos was going to come from the substitutes and winger Blaaze, whose offside attempt…”Blazed” over the bar.. The winger was controversially called offside, but after the subsequent shot for his sake,ill say it was the right call by the linesman.

Five Minutes later Harry Scott slotted home for the visitors, beating his man and cutely finishing into the bottom right corner of the net. Scott scoring on what was his first start since being out injured, the Striker had looked dangerous all game and did well to find the corners from just inside the penalty area,

The game died down for a while after WInslow’s second with neither team producing anything worth writing home about. However in the 78th minute Aaron Onjingo had an opportunity to half the deficit as he narrowly headed wide.

The game petered out from there until the 91st minute when Aaron was in again, with possibly the best chance of the game and, to the shock of everyone and himself, failed to convert. The diagnosis for that miss, likely a bobble, meaning he only has the groundsmen to be angry at for missing that opportunity. 

FULL TIME - AVDFC beaten by the Pink ‘Ploughmen’, Winslow United. That makes it two defeats in a row for Paul Batchelor’s side. The overall lack of end product from both teams was evident throughout the game, with Winslow fortunately being able to put away their chances when they came. 

The atmosphere inside the ground was very positive, likely assisted by the blue skies. Dynamos not having much to play for this season won't be too disappointed by the result yet some concern about the lack of shots on target will give Paul Batchelor and his staff something to think about

AVDFC XI:  Kelan Plumbridge, Seth Rowley, Terry Griffiths, Romeo Ebondo, Dylan Stevens, Bakary Daffeh, Fabian Garcia, Owen Briughton (45’ OFF), Abu Khan, Blaaze, Max Sato (45’ OFF). SUBS:Jordan Jenkins, Piercene Mcnamara, Aaron Onjingo (45’ ON), Exaucee Buanga (45’ ON)

WINSLOW UTD XI: Alfie Munford, Tom Lawer, Jack Rowe, Charlie Attwell (GOAL 8’), Jamie Andrews, Charlie Rowe, Flinn Filler (OFF), Kenzie Cross (OFF), Harry Scott (GOAL 63’), Simon King, Jake Stronge SUBS: Deshan Lewis-Burgess (ON), Nathan Amanning (ON), Ryan Freshwater 

Blues headed into this game after three consecutive league victories and a valiant effort against Premier league Fulham on Tuesday night. New signings Lyndon Dykes and Scott Wright make the matchday squad, on the bench. Late night deadline day signings Jay Stansfield and Tomoki Iwata watch on from the stands.

Once again Blues got off to a lightning start and piled heavy amounts of pressure onto the Wigan backline with their quick left to right football. Chris Davies has been very vocal about making the opposition do the work off the ball to give Blues an advantage in the second half, and that is what they did.

However, it was in the first half when Blues created the opening goal of the game; a clever through ball by Icelandic international Willum WIllumsson for Alfie May to run on to and slot home put Blues 1-0 up after 18 mins.

Birmingham continued to show their dominance in the game by channelling a lot of their play down the left hand side through Swedish winger Emil Hansson, creating a lot of chances by cutting inside his opposite fullback. Going into the break Blues had a comfortable lead and spirits were up around the ground.

Wigan came out the stronger team in the second half as Blues were finding it hard to be as successful as they were in the first. It took until the 66th minute for Wigan midfielder Thelo Aadgaard to strike the ball toward Blues net and, with a bit of misfortune from Bailey Peacock-Farrell, put Wigan back in the game at 1-1.

Blues were urged by the crowd to keep their heads up and the players came back at Wigan stronger than before. A couple substitutions and the introduction of Marc Leonard put them back in the driving seat, as they began knocking at the door.

Scot Wright was introduced late on in the second half and it was a dream debut for the Flying Scottsman, after some pinball in the box Christoph Klarer’s backheel pass found Wright who slammed the ball into the roof of the net making the score 2-1 to Birmingham.

The home fans were sent into bedlam as a result of the 91st minute winner. Blues were able to carry the victory over the line, making this three wins out of four League One games for Chris Davies’s Blues.

A dominant victory over a Wigan side known to turn up against the bigger teams showed that Blues look to be improving more and more with each game and will only get better with the new additions to the squad.

Starting XI: B.Peacock-Farrell, E.Laird, C.Klarer, K.Bielik, A.Cochrane, T.Gardner-Hickman, S.H. Paik, L.Harris, W.Willumsson, E.Hansson, A.May (18 mins)

Bench: R.Allsop, B.Davies, S.Wright (90+1 mins), L.Dykes, A.Yokoyama, M.Leonard, A.Sampsted

So one week left until the door closes on the summer transfer window and for all clubs what you're left with will have to do… at least until January. But let's take a look at some of the incomings from Chris Davies Blues and what is still needed to make this an all round successful window.

The early signings of Bailey Peacock and Ryan Allsop really helped to give Blues composure and the ability to play out from the back after last year's attempts were met with the ball at the feet of the opposing striker and no blue shirts to be found. Due to the amount of games Blues will play this season, as a result of the numerous cup competitions that they take part in, the need for two strong and capable goalkeepers was palpable. Having these two goalkeepers means the blues effectively have two number 1’s and both will get adequate game time, retrospective of performances, across the season. John Ruddy and Neil Etheridge also departed the club in the early stages, with John Ruddy departing to Newcastle to be their third choice and likely giving himself a much needed rest after the demand of the season previous and Etheridge heading off to Thai side Buriram United.

A player who needs no introduction and has already proved himself to be useful Alfie May was next through the door. The striker arrived from Charlton Athletic where he was top goalscorer the season before, and recently won PFA Player Of The Year for his terrific performances and high number of goals scored. An imposing name on the tearsheet who knows how to hit the back of the net and a signing on par with the young striker Jay Stansfield. Blues have definitely made improvements in this area, but another striker or two is needed to avoid placing all our goal scoring needs in one player. Rumours circulating of QPR striker Lynden Dykes and an expensive permanent signing of Jay Stansfield, if completed, would be the ideal final signings to close off the window.

Blues are effectively looking outside of England for signings, bringing in well scouted top players who are able to compete at this level. Swedish winger Emil Hansson comes in to add pace and an explosiveness not seen since the likes of Seb Larsson. The polarising figures of Austrian centre back Christoph Klarer and Thor Willum Willumsson added the physical presence you desperately need going into the third division. Klarer, another ball playing centre back, coming from German side Darmstadt comes with an impressive aerial duels winning percentage of 52% in the Bundesliga last season, which has already been shown off in his 3 appearances this season. Thor Willum Willumsson has gotten off to a lightning start, adding composure and stability to the Blues midfielder. Willumson has managed to pick up a goal, in an away game against Wycombe Wanderers, with a Dicanio esque volley.

Full backs next, and the improvements have benefited those already at Blues and have brought in some new creative players. Alex Cochrane was brought in from Scottish side Hearts and his ability to pick passes out up and down the line and defend the channels has already been noticed by the Blues faithful. Alfons Sampsted has come in and hasn’t had the daylight quite yet to show off his talent, but his arrival has kicked right-back Ethan Laird into gear. Lee Buchanan getting injured in pre-season has shown the need for more options at full-back and the players brought in are more than good enough to give the full-backs already there some decent competition.

Two loans and two permanent transfers round off this transfer breakdown, and these four players' impact have been energetic and excitable. Midfielder Marc Leonard has come in and been able to work alongside Paik to turn Blues double pivot into the best midfield duo the third tier has to offer. The excitable Ayumu Yokoyama has claimed an assist already this season against Wycombe to another bright spark of a signing Luke Harris who arrives, from fulham, after a successful loan spell at exeter last season. Taylor Gardner-Hickman arrived at blues at the back end of last week and picked up his first minutes in Royal Blue against Leyton Orient, he adds more talent and versatility to the squad. Last but certainly not least, defender Ben Davies joined the club on Sunday and will likely make his debut in the Carabao cup midweek fixture against Fulham, his signing rounds off the Blues Backline.

This transfer window has been an exciting one for Blues fans and will definitely not be the last action packed one under Kighthead ownership. A statement transfer window, which may still have some exciting players joining Chris Davies' team. The main focus for the next week in my opinion, should be to get in two strikers to level out our attacking options and ensure we don't suffer the same burnout from an inform striker like last season. Who do you think we should sign? And, have we got enough to get promoted?