Non-League and Academy football writer

In a big Thurlow Nunn League First Division South match, Newbury Forest faced Lymore Gardens at The Techsoc Stadium, on Saturday afternoon. Top of the league table, Newbury Forest started this game with 50 points after 24 league matches played. Lymore Gardens came into this game with 41 points after 20 league matches played, and they started Saturday’s game in fourth place in the league table. This step 6 match was won 2-1 by Lymore Gardens.

This game was started well and at a good pace, with Newbury Forest seeing a bit more of the ball in the oppositions final third. Lymore did go close to taking the lead quite early on in the game. Their goalkeeper, Tom Simon, would send a free-kick forwards from deep. The ball bounced just inside of the Newbury Forest penalty area, with Malik Donaldson getting to the ball ahead of their goalkeeper. Donaldson’s resulting low effort, after he had just taken the ball around Eddie Allan, was really well read and cleared away by Newbury Forest defender Andy Morris, to stop a certain goal.

Newbury Forest would soon start to create some good openings. Following some really good defending from Lymore defender Yinka Akinlabi, inside the Lymore penalty area, Newbury Forest would go close to taking the lead in this contest. The league’s top goalscorer this season, Eben Mbona would skilfully progress the ball to the left-hand side of the Lymore box, before seeing his low effort deflect just wide of Tom Simon’s near post, off Lymore player James Smith. A couple of minutes later, and impressive Newbury Forest player Bradley Ismaili would hit a powerful effort wide of Simon’s goal, from distance.

With Newbury Forest now looking the more likely side to score the opening goal of the game, the home side came very close to taking the lead, past the midway point of the first half. Following a cross to the left-hand side of the Lymore box, a Newbury Forest player would skilfully control the ball, before seeing his low effort beyond Tom Simon, be superbly cleared off the goal-line by James Smith. And then just before the end of the first half, Newbury Forest once again came so close to taking the lead. 

Eben Mbona would once again go on a skilful forward run, as he took the ball around a Lymore defender down the left flank, before entering the Lymore penalty area, where his low curling effort came off the bottom of Tom Simon’s left-hand post. The ball was then cleared away by Lymore, as Newbury Forest had gone so close to going into the break 1-0 up. The second half of this game got off to a great start for Lymore Gardens, who took the lead early on. Malik Donaldson would drive forwards with the ball really well, before then laying the ball off to Dylan Roberts, on the edge of the home team’s penalty area. Roberts would connect ever so well with the ball, as his powerful effort dipped over Eddie Allan and into his goal, after hitting the underside of his crossbar, 0-1.

Lymore’s lead didn’t last very long at all, however, as Newbury Forest quickly got an equalising goal, soon after play had resumed. A well delivered corner-kick to the back post of the Lymore goal, was met by Rio Mendes in a bit of space, and he powerfully headed the ball into the goal, 1-1. This was proving to be a really good and competitive contest, with it also proving difficult to predict who would get the next goal of the game. After Malik Donaldson had received the ball on the edge of the Newbury Forest penalty area, he would try to place the ball into the bottom right-hand corner of the goal, but his low effort would go just wide of the goal.

Malik Donaldson did manage to get on the scoresheet soon after going close to making it 2-1. And it was another special Lymore goal, as Donaldson brought the ball down, and from some 25 yards out he would turn with the ball before hitting a brilliant effort, which had both power and dip on it, as the ball went high into the goal, 1-2. Newbury Forest had to respond once more, and although they were playing their football well in Lymore’s final third, the visitors were standing strong in defence.

Eben Mbona’s good movement and runs off the ball for Newbury Forest, was really making the Lymore defence work hard. For one such move from the home side, Eben Mbona managed to get to the ball in behind the Lymore defence. Through on goal and inside of the Lymore penalty area, the Newbury Forest player would hit a low effort past the outrushing Tom Simon, with the ball going just wide of his left-hand post. Newbury Forest player Wesley Conceicao was sin-binned by the referee in second half stoppage time, in what was a boost for Lymore. And the away side came close to sealing the win during the final minutes of the game. As two substitutes, in Munnir Saad and Callum Fisher, combined in and around the home team’s box, with Callum Fisher’s resulting low effort (from the edge of the box), being well kept out by Eddie Allan.

This was a very important win for Lymore Gardens, who still have a number of games in hand over teams above them in the league table. Newbury Forest were the better team in the first half of this game, and they were unlucky I thought, not to have gone into the break ahead. However, Lymore Gardens, as they had shown for most of this game, had defended their goal really well, and throughout the second half they defended so well, against a very good Newbury Forest side. Two excellently taken goals from Lymore, as well as some great character shown, managed to get them the win, in this evenly balanced game between two top sides in this division.

For Newbury Forest, in regard to my player of the match award, I thought that Bradley Ismaili, Reon Reid, and Eben Mbona were all contenders. For Lymore, Ryo Brown (he filled in so well at central-defence, after Andre Graham, who had also done well, had to be substituted off for a teammate at half-time because of injury), James Smith, and Malik Donaldson were all player of the match contenders. And my player of the match award for this game goes to Malik Donaldson, who made a decisive impact on this game from out on the left flank. Having done really well to assist Dylan Roberts for his goal, Donaldson would then score an outstanding match winning goal during the second half, in which helped Lymore to get all three points.