Sam Strikes To Earn Diddy The Points

Once again it wasn’t a game for the purists as both sides struggled to deal with the windy conditions, particularly early-on. The home side’s rhythm certainly wasn’t helped when Matthew Biddle hobbled out of the action with a knee injury; he was replaced by Toby Newell. But it was Newell who came closest to breaking the deadlock with two chances but neither tested Craig Griffiths in the Didcot goal.

What looked like the pivotal moment of the game came five minutes before the break. Didcot’s Mark Janes was shown a straight red card for an off the ball incident involving Sam Tucker, who was cautioned.

But despite being down to ten men, it was Didcot who dominated the second half. They went close when James Foster tipped Morgan Williams free kick over the bar. The visitors also thought they had earned a penalty when Mark James handled in the box; but referee John Scott waived away the protests.

With Didcot continuing to press forward they deservedly took the lead with 17 minutes remaining. Elliott Osborne-Ricketts won the ball before sending Sam Elkins clear. He then showed great composure before flicking the ball over Foster and heading into an empty net.

Abingdon looked to level late-on but a superbly marshalled Diddy defence held out for a second League victory in the space of 3 days.