YM came out of the blocks in sluggish fashion and were immediately under the cosh as Rabsons demonstrated their intent.  Dangerous striker Matty Brown had started well and almost opened the scoring before being denied by a last ditch tackle.

But the Young Men were finding Brown too hot to handle and he soon opened the scoring when he turned and out sprinted the YM defence before planting the ball underneath the body of advancing keeper Scott Mortimer.

The goal did serve to shake YM from their lethargy and they were unlucky to have a "goal" disallowed when player manager Mark Lemm's was deemed to have impeded a Rabson's defender whilst heading into the net.  YM were enjoying a good spell and were knocking the ball well in patches before they were awarded a penalty after 20 minutes when Drew Tipper was tripped in the box.
Defender Danny Fitzpatrick stepped up to score in his 4th consecutive game.

The revival proved to be shortlived though as Rabsons continued to look the more threatening.  Alongside Brown, midfielder Pedro De Barros was the outstanding player on the field with his boundless energy never giving the YM midfield a moment's restbite whilst centre back Elliott Dean was also impressive.

More good work by Brown saw strike partner Chris Breardmore left with an open goal but YM's Fitzpatrick raced across goal to thwart him with a superb last ditch challenge.  YM then had the chance of the match when teenage striker Luke Buckley beat the offside trap to find himself one-on-one with the keeper but he stood up well to stick a leg out to deny YM the lead.

Another mazy dribble by Brown saw YM defender David Rolfe bring him down inside the box for the 2nd penalty of the game.  However, this time Scott Mortimer leapt to his left to tip the ball round the post from Brown's spot kick.

Rabson's soon regained the lead though when a deep corner found Dean unmarked at the back post and the defender's header crept into the net despite the best efforts of Mortimer.

YM huffed and puffed in the 2nd half but despite showing some improvement Rabson's always seemed in control and able to snuff out YM's attacks.

Tipper almost equalized with a diving header from a set piece whilst Cornell was unlucky with a volley from the edge of the box but as the game became stretched it was Rabson's who looked most likely to score and invariably it was only Fitzpatrick or the excellent Mortimer who prevented Rabson's inflicting more pain on YM.

In the closing minutes, YM player manager Lemm pushed himself up front and he almost earned his side an undeserved share of the spoils when his header cannonned off the crossbar but YM finished the game ragged and tired and with much to ponder.

Lemm reflected "We got what we deserved today and full credit to Rabsons as they outworked us, outmuscled us and out played us.  We'll learn the lessons from this game and move on - we've always bounced back well in the past when we've had a bad day so I'll be looking for a big response on Saturday.

I said to the players at the start of the season that there is not much between most of the teams and its vital that we win our individual battles and build a platform to push on in games.  Not enough players won their battles today and we paid the price."

READING YMCA: MORTIMER, KEARSEY (replaced by KENNY 75min), ROLFE, M LEMM, FITZPATRICK, CORNELL, SIDWELL, ZIELINSKI, BULLETT (replaced by EDMUNDS 45min), BUCKLEY (replaced by SMITH 65min), A TIPPER SUBS EDMUNDS, SMITH, KENNY.

LEMMY'S MOM - SCOTT MORTIMER

YM legend Steve Woodrow proved his class by bagging 4 goals in Reading YMCA Rapids' 6-2 win over Goring Res.

Woodrow holds the YM appearance record and his 4-goal haul was the first time a YM player had achieved the feat since 1998.

The Rapids actually went behind in the match but Woodrow ensured his side went into the break 2-1 up.

Two further goals from Woodrow and a goal from Andrew Heath saw the Rapids move into a 5-1 lead before Goring pulled a goal back.  James Spencer then wrapped up the scoring with his first for the club.

Rapids boss Paul O'Boyle said "Steve was excellent today and is looking as good as ever.  He even managed to score one with his head which is certainly a collector's item! We've had 2 good wins in the last 2 weeks but we'll face a stiff test at Newbury Res on Saturday and this will give me a good indication of the progress we are making."

READING YMCA RAPIDS: HARRIES, SANIGAR, SILLEY, TOWNER, WOOD (replaced by CALLOW 55min), T MORRISON, GROVER (replaced by PATTERSON 45min), R TIPPER, WOODROW, HEATH, MASLEN (replaced SPENCER 65min) SUBS PATTERSON, CALLOW, SPENCER.

BOILER'S MAN OF THE MATCH - STEVE WOODROW

Red hot YM striker Drew Tipper earned himself his first MOM of the season with a hat trick of headers against Royal Mail. Tipper is showing great form at the start of the campaign which has earned the YM man a call up to the rep side for clash against Wiltshire next week.