Both teams needed to win this hotly contested mid-week evening match, Austen to improve on their guaranteed third place, and Wymondley to keep their hopes of winning the league alive. The importance of this match was illustrated by the attendance of the Fairlands Youth manager, whose team currently lie top. As is often the case in these closely matched games the match was decided by a controversial incident, in this case a second half penalty to Wymondley. Wymondley stretched their lead as Austen went looking for an equaliser, then Adague grabbed a goal for Austen to make for a nail biting finish.

Newport was preferred in goal for this match otherwise there was a familiar look to Austen with Wheeler-Coventry-Lobjoit-Andrews at the back, Thornton-Mason Soards-Courtney-Marshall in midfield and Adague-Thompson up front.

Austen started brightly with Thompson picking the ball up from defence and weaving the ball through the midfield and feeding Adague with the ball. Adague took the ball wide, run out of room and the chance was gone.

Wymondley showed their intent by forcing two corners within the first ten minutes but Austen nearly opened the scoring from a Courtney corner but Marshall got the ball stuck under his feet and failed to get a meaningful shot off. Wymondley broke but Wheeler was at hand to thwart the attack.

Wymondley came close from another corner and then again with some good interplay down the left with their shot going wide left

The tension was rising and Adague raised it further with a fine run down the right wing but he tried to walk the ball in and the chance came to nothing.

Austen’s best chance of the half fell to Adague on twenty-four minutes when a ball was hoofed from defence by Courtney, it bounced, Adague took a touch with his head, but it was a touch too much and the advancing keeper got to it first.

An alert Newport was beaten by a Wymondley shot four minutes later but it hit the side netting. Austen went close in the last minute of the first half through a Thompson shot that was well saved by the Wymondley keeper.

A minute after the re-start Wymondley were awarded a penalty when Lobjoit was deemed to have fouled, the Wymondley player went down in the heap, the ball out of play. There may have been contact, the ball may or not have been in play when the player went down, but in either case it was a harsh decision that brought about a heated touchline discussion. The resultant spot-kick was impressively tucked low and tight in the right corner given the pressure; Newport had no chance.

Courtney nearly equalised from the re-start sending the ball bouncing over the keeper’s head and he just got a hand to it to tip it over the bar. The penalty decision had spiced up an already tense match and Austen pressed hard for an equaliser, which nearly came on forty-one minutes, when Adague headed a Courtney corner but the shot was blocked by a Wymondley defender.

Wymondley went close on two more occasions but Wheeler cleared the danger and Newport made a fine save, with Thornton clearing up the loose ball.

Austen had a penalty claim waved away on forty-nine minutes for hand-ball and then Wymondley promptly attacked down the right wing beating Newport at his near post to make it 2-0.

Austen continued to press for an opening and Mason-Soards lofted a superb ball into the box but Ahmed and Adague tangled with each other and, when they did sort themselves out, the scuffed shot went wide left.

Ahmed had another chance on fifty-eight minutes after some good interplay with Courtney but his shot was straight at the Wymondley keeper and was saved well.

Austen set up a tense finale when Adague pulled one back for Austen with a minute of normal time left by smashing home a square ball from Ahmed.

Austen really took the game to Wymondley in injury time and the ball was nearly bundled into the box first by Ahmed, then Adague and finally Thornton. Austen forced a corner with the ball eventually falling to Courtney who took his time and line-up his shot, the crowd waited, hushed, expectantly, but the shot went wide right.

In the end Austen’s policy of blindly hoofing the ball up the field and not retaining possession gave way to Wymondley’s passing game; this led to the Austen defence making an error that changed the match. Last time these two sides met every chance Austen had seemed to end with a goal and they came away 5-1 winners. This time they did not have lady luck but deserved to come away with draw in a fairly even match in which the penalty made the difference. But it was a spirited performance and every player gave one hundred percent, so much so that Ken Marshall awarded everyone man-of-the match (does that include supporters?)

This result means that Austen finish third and the title will go to the last game of the season. Fairlands are two points ahead of Wymondley going into their final game with Austen so a win would clinch the title for them. A Fairland’s draw and a Wymondley win would lead to an extra match between the two since the title can not be won by goal difference

Roving reporter Jeff Thornton asked the watching Fairlands manager ‘Was it a pen?’, ‘No way was his reply’.