Wealdstone 1 Brackley Town 4
Wealdstone were again forced to play in a far from ideal situation with a mixed squad of first team and trialists due to unavailability and some early season knocks – and a scenario that Manager Gordon Bartlett has been the first person to admit he would have wanted to avoid at this stage of the summer’s preparations .
With strong opposition in the shape of Brackley Town who ply their trade in the National League North this was always going to be a tough work out and so it proved in the heat on Saturday.
Stones worked hard and effectively in the first half, creating some pressure and took the lead from a goal by Elliot Benyon following a decent strike by trialist Ramone Rose. But The Saints hit back with an equaliser just before the break from eventual hat-trick man James Armson.
The visitors took over the midfield in the second period and with multiple changes it was a struggle for Stones to find any sort of rhythm and they conceded three further goals with some inconsistent defending
This match is traditionally played for the Brian Collins Trophy and Town took the honours back to Northamptonshire.
Gordon Bartlett said: “ A 4-1 home defeat is hardly ideal preparation with only two weeks before we start competitive games. Credit to Brackley who looked bright and cohesive but we were the total opposite and looked flat and lack lustre! The Orient game and training has been impressive with fitness, energy levels and skill in abundance but that has not been evident in recent games. Working with a small squad did not help on Saturday when eight of our signed players were unavailable to start. No excuses but certainly no panic stations and the lads fully realise they need to be more competitive all round. The good news is that this has happened in pre-season and I remember losing 4-1 to Uxbridge three seasons ago and the whole place was doom and gloom including myself. Nine months later we won the league!”
Stones travel to Staines Town on Tuesday evening for another warm up game.
Wealdstone (all used) : Harry Doherty, Jack Smith, Cairon Brown, Wes Parker, Tom Cadmore , Josh Urquhart, Ramone Rose, Ricky Wellard, Elliot Benyon, Danny Green, Gregg Adonai, Sahr Kabba, Tom Hamblin, Jacob Cook, Jayden Thorburn, Scott McGleish
