Play-Off Semi-Final: Fleet Town 1 Uxbridge 2
DAVE Thomas is barely able to drink yet he was the one who had the bottle to take Uxbridge to within one win of Premier Division football at Fleet Town's muddy Calthorpe Field, writes Scott Newman.
The left-back, only just turned 19, stepped up to slide home a 92nd minute penalty to succeed where Mark Nicholls had failed in the opening moments of the second half.
That capped another excellent performance by the teenager while Lee Tunnell was the other headline act as he won both spot kicks and scored the other goal as the Reds came from behind to deservedly see off Fleet, who were reduced to 10 men for the final 10 minutes.
The opening half hour was notable only for the performance of referee Nigel Lugg who managed to book five players for very little reason, perhaps in the mistaken impression he was in charge of a netball match.
At the end of that Ben Wright glanced home a free kick to put the hosts ahead and he should have doubled it in similar fashion late in the half, while James Field was the other danger with his shoot on sight policy.
Nicholls rifled just wide following a Tunnell break but Uxbridge had to wait for the second half, playing down the slope, for their best moments.
Somme-like conditions call for men comfortable in the trenches - like Wayne Carter, Mark Dennison and Mark Weedon, not to mention Tunnellers - and with just 26 seconds gone Lee was second favourite for Nicholls' lofted pass but ended up being tugged back by Steve Hemmings to win the first penalty. Nicholls had to wait an age while the ref excavated the penalty spot and ultimately his effort was weak and too close to Paul Smith once he guessed right.
The turning point came on the hour when Uxbridge enjoyed a miraculous escape. Wells smothered Mark Anderson's shot, Wright's follow-up was blocked but when it came back to him he seemed to have the entire net to aim for yet Thomas came from nowhere to deflect the ball wide.
Two minutes later Uxbridge were level and in some style. Mark Boyce got to the byeline for the first time and pulled the ball back to the edge of the area where Kevin Warner thumped in a cracking volley with his weaker foot that deserved a goal in itself. Smith beat it out but only as far as the lurking Tunnell, deemed onside and he pounced like a cat on a cotton reel.
The tide had turned and Smith reached substitute Jon Dyer's header just before Tunnell, while Dyer got to a Nicholls pass down the line a millisecond before Hemmings, who received his second yellow and there-fore his marching orders.
The Reds looked like they would have to wait for extra time to make the advantage count until in the dying seconds Thomas clipped a ball up to Kevin Warner, who headed down to Tunnell. The striker mis-controlled but Mark Paterson panicked, stuck out a leg and Tunnell went down. Nicholls stepped aside and Thomas stepped up to send Uxbridge, who finished 10 points behind Fleet having lost both league clashes, into the play-off final. UXBRIDGE: Wells, Boyce, Thomas, Weedon, Dennison, Dickens, Carter, K Warner, Tunnell, Nicholls, D Warner (Dyer 64). Subs not used: Drake, Howe, Roach, Bullivant. Att: 205.
