The final game of March saw AFC Whyteleafe welcome Frenches Athletic to Church Road. The away game earlier in the season was an eventful and feisty affair that saw three linesman and two referees used, three disallowed goals, a last-minute penalty, six goals and more cards than Clintons! This time, a record crowd of 421 were treated to a great game, where the football did the talking. The first half was a very even affair, with both keepers pulling off some great saves.
The second half saw the Leafe begin to turn the screw, with the Frenches’ keeper pulling off save after save, before he was finally beaten by that man Mars Marciniak’s trademark trickery in the box, evading three tackles to stick it in the bottom corner in the 70th minute. The remaining 20 minutes saw more chances for the Leafe and more saves from the Frenches’ keeper before, in the 90th minute, the ball found Tedros, who slotted it home for a 2-0 win. The Whyteleafe Pizza & Grill Man of the Match was awarded to Mars Marciniak, with a special mention to the Frenches’ goalkeeper Casey (‘take a’) Bow, for another memorable performance against us.
For our first game in April, we were due to visit Sporting 50. However, they had trouble getting a team together, so the three points were automatically awarded to us.
Next up, the most important game in AFC Whyteleafe's short life: a visit from second placed Wimbledon Casuals for our final home game of the season. Everything appeared to be in our favour: a gloriously sunny day and an incredible crowd of 515! Unfortunately, Wimbledon hadn't read the script. The tense first half saw greater possession from the visitors, although the chances were pretty even.
The second half saw the Leafe come out looking like their usual selves, and dominating possession until the 70th minute, when (credit to them) Wimbledon found a new lease of life. Chances still fell to both teams, but a draw looked likely until Wimbledon was finally able to take advantage of one of them, hitting us on the break in the 84th minute to make it 1-0. There was some last minute pressure from us, but Wimbledon hung on and were the deserved winners.
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(Photo credit: Steve Behr)
