Marlow’s Men’s 2’s picked up a well-deserved point against fierce local rivals Wycombe – on Saturday. The first half was an entertaining affair with lots of goalmouth action at either end, however nothing found the goal until shortly before half-time. Matt Ashton found himself positioned on the left post and was met with a shoulder-height ball from Oli Wakeman’s shot from the top of the D, which Matt then stunningly deflected in past the keeper. Marlow went into half-time with a deserved 1-0 lead and a large amount of willpower, despite coach Sam Ward’s imminent departure for his own game in Cannock! Nevertheless, Aman Sood did a great job in keeping the players motivated and driven against their local rivals.
Right from the push back in the second half, Marlow pushed on from their impressive performance in the first half but found themselves pegged back, with Wycombe successfully despatching a short corner. Marlow then had to resist a sustained period of Wycombe possession, with the latter in the ascendancy following their goal. Yet Marlow soon took advantage of a swift counter-attack and found Rob Gerritts at the top of the D with just the keeper to beat. He held the ball up and waited for the perfect moment to nonchalantly place the ball past the keeper to make it 2-1. However, it wasn’t long before Marlow found themselves pulled back to 2-2 following a well-worked routine from Wycombe.

The latter stages of the game were especially enthralling as players began to tire and gaps started to open across the pitch. The momentum of the game was fairly even by this point with both teams having opportunities to take the lead. However it was Marlow who conceded with around ten minutes remaining. Despite this setback, Marlow pressed on and remained determined to take something from the game. With around five minutes to play, Marlow were rewarded with a goal that their attacking persistence and defensive solidity had deserved. Marlow’s pure grit and determination allowed them to win the ball in their defensive third, before making a few swift well-worked passes to move the ball up the length of the pitch. Rob Gerritts’ impressive hold-up play saw him monitor Jamie Maddern’s lung-busting surge into the D, before passing the ball through to Jamie who slid the ball in under the helpless Wycombe keeper to set up a stunning finale to the game.

3-3 at the final whistle, with a draw a fair result. Marlow – along with a large number of entertained supporters – celebrated a hard-fought draw that felt much like a win against a distraught Wycombe side.

Special mention must go to Ross Bone (GK) for his man of the match performance!