Ath Suffer Defeat in Tough Test

Manager Mark Carter returned to the dugout to see his side travel to Newport Pagnell in their penultimate friendly before the start of a new season in Spartan South Midlands Division One. The task for ‘The Ath’ seemed slightly easier when an opening 30 minutes saw both sides unable to be split, with Neil King providing the anchor role in front of an impressive centre-back partnership of Dan Staley and Dan Hassell. With both sides growing more and more in to the game, they both looked to go in front, however with the light blues pushing forward it gave Newport Pagnell a chance to counter quickly and open the scoring, with a well worked move they took the lead. With Buckingham trailing by a goal and substitutions coming into play, they changed their approach with trying to rush a goal with more direct football which quickly fizzled out until half-time. After an impressive first half, Neil King and Nathan Hawkins were replaced due to easing Hawkins back into match fitness and King coming off for a slight injury to his back. Both were missed especially the latter with no real screener to go in front of the back four. Manager, Mark Carter said “after we made a few changes I think we lost our shape and our final ball let us down.” This continued to take place with Ath struggling to find a goal with their best chance coming from a loose back-pass from Newport Pagnell that was met by Jordan Tavener, who found new recruit Ririo Oshima who couldn't find a scoring opportunity or find a pass to Simon King. Things began to turn sour for them when they quickly conceded two goals which could have been prevented, one from a set piece where a short pass into the box meant a place to work a goal and increase Newport’s lead. The momentum of the game stayed with Newport Pagnell for the remainder of the game and went on to score two more to win the game 5-0. The result seemed harsh on ‘The Ath’ based on the first half performance but also harsh on the centre-backs and goalkeeper Lewis Dench who made a few important saves to keep the score as low as possible. Youngsters Samuel Olawale and Hakeem Abdulla impressed on senior debuts and will surely be used in the remainder of the season. The latter showing great technique and maturity in the centre of midfield. The stand-out performer was Dan Staley, who was organising the team and stopping attacks from start to finish. Mark Carter finished by adding “overall I was happy with our performance against a strong Newport side.” You can see why with promise and encouragement on display in the first half, going into their final friendly of pre-season.