Wanderers 1st XI
1 point from 2 games is not a bad return on current form - the boys narrowly lost to Sporting 50 at home. A good individual goal gave the guests the lead and, as often happens, they scored again when Wanderers were chasing an equaliser. Praiseworthy performances from the majority of players though and much better commitment and graft than had been seen before. That carried over to the Shaftesbury Town game when, having gone behind again, we earned a deserved point thanks to Adam Lakhani's first goal for the club - driving in a loose ball from outside the box and into the top corner! What a way to get off the mark!
Wanderers 2nd XI
Just one game and it was away to top of the table Tooting Bec B. They may have won 4-0 but the scoreline doesn't reflect the endeavours of the lads playing. Toby West and Tim Bamigbade both put their bodies on the line, picking up injuries during a tough 90-minute battle. Lynden Thomson won man of the match for pulling the strings in the middle and, were it not for a lack of bodies, Wanderers might have made the game even tighter but when you only have 11 players, you just have to knuckle down and do your best.
Wanderers Casual XI
The Casuals - made up of 1st and 2nd XI players plus the odd guest appearance - played twice this month, for the first time. Up first was Effra Academicals; fielding a team without any recognised defenders is a gamble at the best of times, but Mark Wilson (with a dead leg), Adam Lakhani and Tom Willis started capably and Wanderers took the lead. Effra were organised and made headway with some smart passing and equalised before the break - they took the lead themselves just after it! Wanderers equalised and should have won it but, all things considered, a draw was a fair result. A week later, we took on Jean Te Le FC, who run under-7s to under-18s teams, at Burgess Park. A strong but experimental team saw Tom Willis score the opener, Louis Sinclair loft a beautiful long-range equaliser in the second half but the boys go down 4-2 to a pacy, well-drilled and much, much fitter team. A great night though with plenty to consider.
Wanderers 1st XI
Alyssa Schlecht signed off with a goal against Baldon Sports in a 1-4 defeat - we wish her the best in Canada. The ladies second game of the month was a disappointing 0-2 defeat to South East Parakeets but, as seems to be the narrative this season, they improved on a 0-5 defeat back in October.