FOLLOWING THE SALTMEN

It is often said that the sign of a good team is their ability to win while not playing at their best. If that is the case, then it’s good news for the Saltmen.

That might sound like a strange thing to write when you’ve just watched your team win away from home and score 5 goals in the process. But today, Spa rarely hit top gear. The first half was fairly evenly matched. Droitwich took a very early lead from a Perry Moss finish after being put through on goal by Alex Dugmore but that was the one real highlight of their first half performance. A mix of misplaced passes and conceding possession too easily made Spa a shadow of the side which beat Holbeach last week. It came as little surprise when Wantage equalised on the half hour with a cracking strike from Wheeler which gave Dom Rogerson in the Droitwich goal no chance. It was no more than the home side deserved after a concerted spell of pressure around the Spa box. Halftime score 1-1.

I’m not sure what Andy Crowther says at half time but it certainly did the trick, as it has a number of times this season. Second half Spa looked like a very different beast. Rather than launching hopeful long balls forward the ball spent much more time on the green stuff, which is where the Saltmen excel. With the Fred’s still posing problems for the Spa back line, the deadlock was broken on 66 minutes when Josh Hurdman was put clear. The young hitman made no mistake, clinically beating Tom Rees in the Freds’ goal to make it 1-2 to the visitors. Five minutes later Perry Moss doubled his tally with a neatly taken volley. Two minutes later it was 4 for Spa and a second for Josh Hurdman whose free kick found its way through a crowded Wantage penalty area and directly into the goal. On 85 minutes Droitwich made absolutely certain of the outcome when Josh completed his hat trick beating Rees at his near post.

Surely at 1-5 it was game over. Not a bit of it! Two absolute screamers from the hosts’ Fountain and Crook gave the final scoreline of Wantage Town 3-5 Droitwich Spa.

Travelling with the team leaves a decent opportunity to refresh the parts while the players get changed. We left Wantage just before 6pm as the sun set over the stands. Next stop was Sainsbury’s on the Swindon bypass which must qualify for the prize of “most disgusting gents toilet ever!” Instead of getting Stephen Fry to voice their TV ads, they would be better served giving him a mop and a bottle of Flash to clean the bogs. Clearly nobody else has – for a long time. Mr Sauntson described it most accurately but I won’t be going down that route today.

Overall, another great day out with a great bunch of people to a good football club with a rich history. It is difficult to determine how many Spa supporters made the trip today but I would imagine it was at least 50.

I am still left wondering how Wantage are in the bottom half of the table but suspect that may change. Meanwhile, the Saltmen remain top of the table and us looking forward to Tuesday’s trip to Stratford.

Cheers

Steve