Supermarine have not made a good start to the season, but they were certainly up for this local derby and, having taken the lead after only 2 minutes, they were always the better side and never looked like surrendering the points.
The home side gained an early corner and, when our defenders failed to clear Danny Hilder’s flag kick, skipper Dave Bampton was on hand to force the ball over the line and give them the lead, which we seldom threatened. A shot from Ian Herring, which flew over the bar, was our only real attempt as we gave the ball away far too easily and it needed a goal line clearance from Diak John just before the interval to prevent Supermarine from increasing their lead.
We were still under pressure after the interval, although Bradley Gray did shoot just past the post, whilst a good Paul Strudley save, with Luke Brewer completing the clearance to keep the home side at bay and, although Bobby Wilkinson brought on all three subs, Matty Horsell missed a great chance to make the game absolutely safe, shooting wide of an open goal with the Hungerford defence torn apart, and although Alan O’Brien did fire over the bar and Luke Hopper lobbed the ball tamely into the goalkeeper’s arms, the 90 minutes drifted away with Hungerford second best.