Unlucky Monarchs edged out by Wycombe

Wycombe 5th 2-1 Maidenhead Monarchs

On a sunny November afternoon the Monarchs made the short trip to face league leaders Wycombe 5th XI at RGS High Wycombe.
The Monarchs quickly settled into their game and the central midfield trio of skipper Viren Walia, (long ago Colt!) James Bailey and the evergreen JC dominated the midfield.
Despite having most of the possession the Monarchs failed to put enough pressure on the Wycombe defence and gradually Wycombe began to show why they were unbeaten so far this season. Such a tight encounter between two close rivals almost inevitably became feisty at times with both umpires warning that cards would follow any dissent or appeals. The advice was not heeded and both teams lost players on temporary suspensions.
As the 1st half drew to a close Monarchs were awarded a penalty corner in the final minute and a well worked routine saw Gavin Slater stab the ball in on the far post.
In the second half Wycombe played much better, but rather like the Monarchs in the 1st half, failed to translate that into shots on goal.
However, midway through the half from a free hit just outside the Maidenhead “D” Rod missed a tackle on the Wycombe skipper who strode into the “D” and fired a hard shot just beyond the diving Andy Peacock. Much discussion between the umpires ensued concerning whether an infringement occurred before the shot, but they finally concluded that it was a goal.
Both teams pressed forward looking for a winner, with Rob G doing well on the right and winning a penalty corner, which unfortunately was not converted.
Play switched to the other end and in the last minute, during a goalmouth scramble, one of the Wycombe forwards jabbed the ball in with Randy feeling that he had been fouled first.
It was a disappointing end to a match where Monarchs should have taken at least a draw, or even all the points, but the performance did show that they are certainly able to compete with the better sides in the division this season.

Match Report: Rod Gauld
Man of the Match: James Bailey