‘We Lost the Battle, Not the War.’

..........Marlow vs. Wycombe in the Croxon Cup: the game that builds the foundation for the season to come or the game that smaughts the clubs’ ruin upon the cold mountain side.

The game of Wycombe Men’s 1st team versus Marlow Men’s 1st team, played on Saturday the 26th of September, was a highly anticipated fixture being the first competitive game for both outfits. The game began with a sloppy tempo and mistakes galore.

Wycombe took the lead with a penalty corner which couldn’t be stopped by the mighty Ross Bone in goal (whose positive thinking and warming smile are week by week bringing him closer and closer to the status of club legend) and the young Nick Winter on the post.

Marlow rallied to equalise just 4 minutes later through a well worked Paul Hayes goal. Hayes, standing at 3 feet and 5 inches tall, was signed for a record transfer fee during the summer from Marlow’s feeder club Reading, and has scored 4 in 6 since joining.

The game then took a sour turn. Marlow had two green cards in quick succession for two of their bright stars, Elliot Killington and Ben Rollett which then resulted in two Wycombe goals on the 24th and 31st minutes.

Imre Gerrits managed to snatch a goal back for the reds a minute before the interval but, with the halftime score at 3-2 to Wycombe, the mood was frustrated yet, defiant in the Marlow camp at the break. Kevin Chappell, manager, coach and illegitimate father to some, gave a rousing team talk and the men were ready to commence play once again.

The second half began with Marlow on top and ended with Marlow on top. However, the scoreline finished with blue tumult and red despair. The reds played the ball round in a manner which can only be described as ‘better than the first half’. Finally playing with some conviction, Marlow dominated and Nick Winter scored the equaliser with 8 minutes to play. Then, the worst possible thing happened, the blues drove the baseline with minutes to go and passed a waist high ball into the ‘messy zone’. The outcome was a goal, breaking Marlow hearts in the process. (some of the authors original text has been removed from this paragraph)

Marlow trudged off the pitch, with the bitter taste of defeat in their mouths. As the team reflected on what could have been, the word ‘professionalism’ rang out inside the changing room. ‘We lost the battle, not the war’ was the final word by Kevin Chappell. We lost the battle, not the war. Truer words were never spoken; the troops move forward and look towards the descending sunset of pre-season, and the inevitable dawn of the league and the dream of winning a trophy at the end of the campaign. We lost the battle, not the war...

Report by Sam North