First met second in the Senior Divison and it was Highmoor who comfortably extended their lead at the top of the table with a 3-0 victory.
YM went into the clash missing Tim Sidwell and Tim Zielinski whilst goalscoring defender Danny Fitzpatrick was only fit enough for a place on the bench. But the Young Men did welcome new signing Ben Green into the side for his 1st team debut.
Highmoor are almost back to full strength after enduring a difficult period which saw them coping with a lengthy injury list and they looked at their fluent best in a confident opening 20 minute spell.
The movement of the Highmoor strikers and wide men were causing YM all kinds of problems as they repeatedly breached the YM backline. Wide men Dave McCann and Chris Jewell should both have opened the scoring but both shot wide with just the keeper to beat.
The inevitable goal soon came though when an inch-perfect Jewell free-kick was met with a glancing header from midfielder Craig Hiscock.
YM continued to invite by pressure by giving away possession cheaply but they began to close down their opponents more quickly and slowly got a foothold in the game.
The YM strike partnership of Drew Tipper and Andrew Heath were largely isolated but they were causing the Highmoor defence a few problems when they did manage to get the ball at their feet.
YM had a great chance to equalize when a corner was flicked on by Adam Cassidy into the path of Mark Lemm who could only head straight at Highmoor keeper Courtney Issacs from close range.
With the score remaining at 1-0 at half-time there was a sense that the Young Men may have weathered the storm and could begin to impose their own game on Highmoor. Certainly the incessant Highmoor attacks of the first half had receded to the occasional sortie but they were still in control of the match but at just 1-0 everything was up for grabs.
YM keeper Scott Mortimer, who was having a faultless game, had to be alert on a couple of occasions to act as sweeper and clear the ball to safety but generally YM were holding out well.
The killer blow came midway through the half when YM were caught pushing forwards leaving their defence exposed to a Highmoor counterattack. Defender David Rolfe made a great last ditch tackle but was then adjudged to have held on to the Highmoor player preventing him getting to the ball. Jewell dispatched the penalty with a minimum of fuss.
This prompted YM to ring the changes with Steve Woodrow and Luke Buckley both coming into the fray and they were the catalyst for a final 20 minutes which saw YM finally put some sustained pressure on Highmoor and create numerous chances.
But before YM could mount a fightback Highmoor made the game safe when striker Richard Holland, who along with partner Vinnie O’Brien had been a handful all afternoon, beat the offside trap and then dribbled round Mortimer before stroking the ball into the empty net.
The final quarter of the game saw a bizarre spell in which YM created a host of chances and if it was not for some superb goalkeeping from Issacs and some desperate goaline clearances YM would have had a goal or two as reward for their efforts.
Great work by Buckley left Tipper with a great chance but his near post shot was tipped round the post by Issacs. Another great move saw Tipper left with just the keeper to beat but Issacs kept the shot out with his legs and then a defender flung himself in front of Darren Cornell’s rebound shot. Woodrow twice forced Issacs into great saves and then sub Danny Fitzpatrick could not adjust his feet in time to poke the ball over the line from a corner.
YM player manager Mark Lemm said “Highmoor have a lot of firepower in their side and they were fantastic for the first half hour. We made it difficult though by not keeping possession and not getting tight enough to them and when we started to do that we made more of a game of it.
But Highmoor are a top side and thoroughly deserved their victory although we could well of grabbed a goal or two at the end.
From our point of view it is important that we stay in touch with the leaders – we have a couple of new signings to come in and players to come back from injury so we should be a bit stronger after the Christmas break.”
READING YMCA: MORTIMER, B GREEN (replaced by FITZPATRICK 75mins), CASSIDY, ROLFE, M LEMM, EDMUNDS (replaced by WOODROW 65mins), KEARSEY, BULLETT, CORNELL, HEATH (replaced by BUCKLEY 65mins), D TIPPER SUBS WOODROW, BUCKLEY, FITZPATRICK.
Reading YMCA Rapids' interest in the cup competitions ended on Saturday with a poor showing against Division 2 side Woodcote/Stoke Row Res.
The Rapids went into the game with just the bare 11 and were forced to draft in outfield player Robert Kirby to play goal.
And Rapids' chances were not helped when Kirby injured his thigh early on which severly restricted his movement.
The Rapids were 1-0 down at half-time after a dismal 1st half which prompted manager Paul O'Boyle to read the riot act at half-time. Despite improving after the break the Rapids went a further goal behind and although they pulled a goal back with 20 minutes remaining when a Marcus Sanigar cross was headed into the net by a Woodcote defender they could not apply enough pressure to force the equalizer. Dean Williams had the best chance late on but failed to convert from close range.
Boss Paul O'Boyle said "We were poor today even taken into account we were missing several players. I had high hopes of progressing in one of the cups this season but we've effectively been knocked out in the 1st round in each of the competitions. All our focus is promotion now but we will have to improve big time to have any chance of achieving that."
READING YMCA RAPIDS: KIRBY, SANIGAR, TOWNER, ILSLEY, CALLOW, WILLIAMS, KISLUK, WILSON, WOOD, MASLEN, SUTTON SUB O'BOYLE (NOT USED).
BOILER'S MAN OF THE MATCH - CHRIS KISLUK
ANdrew Heath took the 1st team MOM award in the 1-0 win over Rabson Rovers. With the game locked at 1-0 it took a tremendous rear guard action to keep rovers out but this was helped with the immense running from Heath who did not stop from minute 1 to minute 90.
