Town trounced by Wyberton

Despite being without the services of Stones, Jackson, Lowman and Rawdon, Town's manager Paul Johnson still had a strong squad at his disposal but a woeful last quarter of the game when Town capitulated weakly was unacceptable and Town's players need a positive response this coming Saturday.

A heavy pitch made it difficult for either team to get the ball down and play and there was little flow to the game but the home side settled quicker and when Town failed to clear a cross from the left, their striker bundled the ball in after Lewis Burchnall couldn't hold onto a low shot.

Town were struggling to get any meaningful possession but they gradually played their way back into the game with Ollie Johnson looking comfortable in midfield and Tony Edwards working hard down the right. Tom Sargeant fired straight at the keeper after cutting in from the left and minutes later the same player turned cleverly in the box but his attempted cross was too high.

Town were having to concentrate at the back against a lively Wyberton front line and they had a lucky escape when a Chris Johnson back header bounced off the crossbar with Burchnall beaten.

Ollie Johnson saw his free-kick comfortably saved and Steve Lovett fired wide after good approach play from Sargeant. Edwards was continuing to cause problems down the right and Carl Smith just failed to covert his near post cross as the half drew to a close.

A scrappy first half had seen the referee show a number of yellow cards and to Wyberton players and within five minutes of the restart they were reduced to ten men when an ill judged challenge on Sargeant led to a second yellow for their captain. The resulting free-kick from Ollie Johnson was headed wide by Steve Brown as Town looked to press home their numerical advantage and they dominated proceedings for the next fifteen minutes.

Michael Harness exchanged passes with Carl Smith before his speculative effort from thirty yards clipped the crossbar. Edwards and Sargeant then combined well to create a chance for Smith who did well to react quickly to the loose ball but a superb defensive block prevented a certain goal.

At this stage it seemed only a matter of time before Town equalised but manager Paul Johnson then changed to three at the back midway through the half and the home side immediately exploited the extra space in wide areas. With Steve Brown on a yellow card, he was replaced by Ryan Beaumont who went into midfield on the left with Callum Low, Chris Johnson and Andrew Shinn occupying the defensive positions but when a long goal kick caused confusion between Low and Johnson down the right, their player ran through unopposed before finishing comfortably.

This was a real blow as Town had barely settled into their changed system but they showed little desire to rectify matters in the final twenty minutes and Wyberton broke effectively to add a further three goals despite the best efforts of Burchnall in Town's goal. Jamie Lamming replaced Callum Low as Town looked to salvage something and they did have chances to reduce the arrears but their keeper was in fine form and after saving a shot from Smith, he reacted superbly to get up and deflect Harness's follow-up shot over the bar.

Town's application in the final twenty minutes was poor and although the likes of Andrew Shinn kept working hard throughout, too many players failed to produce the level of performance required. Manager Paul Johnson was the first to acknowledge that the decision to go to a 3-5-2 formation was a poor one and he was quick to apologise to the players but they must also accept responsibility for a really poor second half showing.

A much improved performance is needed this coming Saturday when a positive result at home to Nettleham will see Town progress through to the next stage of the Supplementary Cup. Kick off on The Wong is at 3pm.

Town side:
Lewis Burchnall, Callum Low(Jamie Lamming), Andrew Shinn, Steve Brown(Ryan Beaumont), Chris Johnson, Ollie Johnson, Tony Edwards, Steve Lovett, Michael Harness, Carl Smith, Tom Sargeant. Unused sub: Daniel Bodily