Reading YMCA continued their recent good form with a second successive 5 goal win to leapfrog victims Royal Mail into 3rd place.
The omens did not look promising in the early exchanges when a slick Mail move ended with a heading opportunity from point blank range but keeper Scott Mortimer made a great save to tip the ball over the bar.  Mortimer was again soon after when a long ball over the top tempted the keeper to come and claim but Mail's top scorer Luke Farrugia beat him to the ball and lobbed into the empty net

Mail continued to batter the Young Men and the impressive Dan Donegan forced another great save from Mortimer with his free-kick heading towards the top corner.
YM managed to hang on though and slowly dragged themselves back into the game with Chris Lemm and Drew Tipper beginning to get on the ball.  And it was Tipper who nearly put his side on level terms when a superb YM move ended with his shot being tipped on to the post by Mail keeper Graham Sims.
The game was switching from end to end with Mail making the most of the conditions to put the YM defence under extreme pressure.  But YM's backline of Ben Green, Scott Allen and David Rolfe were warming to the task and Mail were becoming less effective as the half wore on.

YM were now playing some decent stuff and another incisive move ended with Nick Seymour blazing over the bar. YM finally made the breakthrough on 35 minutes when Chris Lemm fired a cross into the box which allowed leading scorer Martin Abery to bundle the ball home from close range.  YM were now on top and grabbed the vital 2nd just before half-time when a Mail player handled in the box.  Johnny Adey stepped up to send the keeper the wrong way and fire into the bottom corner.
The restart saw a tangle between Danny Fitzpatrick and Farrugia spark an 18-man melee but referee and the assistants did a superb job in calming things around as things threatened to get out of hand.

The game was over as a contest within 10 minutes of the restart as YM hit 2 quickfire goals. First some intricate passing found Tipper on the edge of the box where he drilled into the bottom corner with the aid of a deflection.  Then a Fitzpatrick thrown in was flicked on by Sam Jennings into the path of Adey who controlled and shot in one movement to make it 4-1.
Mail refused to cave in though and totally dominated the final 25 minutes with several chances being spurned by a combination of poor finishing and great goalkeeping by Mortimer.  Mail saw a header cannon off the crossbar and bounce back down amidst Mail claims that the ball had crossed the line.  Leon Butcher had 2 great chances to score from close range headers whilst Chris Brown shot narrowly wide of the post.  Mortimer then made an amazing stop low down by his feet from another header and then did well to tip another shot over the bar.

Mail's attacks were creating gaps though and YM rounded off the scoring when sub Tim Zielinski, who was making his final YM appearance before moving to Norwich, picked out Man of the Match Chris Lemm with a deft pass and Lemm showed great composure to control the ball and slot past the onrushing Sims.

Boss Mark Lemm said "The scoreline didn't really reflect the game although I thought we were good value for the win.  Mail battered us in the first 15 minutes and the last 25 minutes but we've got alot of character in the side and we held firm and basically won the game in a 30 min spell either side of half time when we played some really good stuff and took our chances well.
Mail have got the talent in their team to hurt anyone and I'm pleased that we have got them out of the way for this season.
From our point of view it's great to see Chris Lemm back to his best after missing most of the last 2 seasons with injury - it's been like a signing a new player.  We're all sad to see Tim go though as he's done a great job for us over the last few years and we'll miss his drive and determination but wish him well for the future."

YM Rapids marched in to the last 32 of the Berks and Bucks Junior Cup with a comprehensive 3-0 win over division 2 leaders Barton Rovers. With a host of players missing including top scorer Dave Morrison, YM's second string knew a tough game lay in store with Barton crashing in 44 goals so far this season.

YM starter the brighter with forwards Andrew Heath and Rob Maslen looking lively and Dean Williams showing his usual trickery down the right flank on a typical December playing surface. YM's first opportunity fell to veteran Steve Woodrow who dragged a shot across goal. This seemed to spark the visitors in to life and the young men were on the back foot with Barton's front runners having a few half chances, but the YM backline of Cayzer, MOM Ilsley, Towner and Leach were standing firm.

The breakthrough came on 20 minutes when an excellent YM move through Sidwell and Williams result in Heath firing home from an acute angle. This sprung the home side in to action and heath quickly made it 2 after a Sidwell flick on was met by Maslen who slid an inch perfect ball across the box for the YM front man to finish from close range.

As expected Barton came at the Rapids in the second period and a largly scrappy and forgettable 45 minutes ensued. YM keeper Rob Taylor was in commanding form and saved well on 2 occasions. Some last ditch blocks meant Rovers never had a chance to get their shots away, and when a shooting chance arrived it was usually a danger to the foliage rather than Taylors goal.

YM made it 3 with the final kick of the game as Woodrow fired in to an empty net from 60 yards after the Rovers keeper has ventured forward for a corner - only for his team mates to take a short one and lose possession.

Rapids boss Paul O Boyle: 'thats 14 wins in a row for this group of players and they are showing their class against higher opposition. We have South Reading Comunity Centre in the next round and that will be another step up for the lads but i'm sure they will deal with it'

READING YMCA RAPIDS: TAYLOR, CAYZER, ILSLEY, TOWNER, LEACH, WILLIAMS (replaced by R TIPPER 80mins), HARVEY, SIDWELL, WOODROW, MASLEN, HEATH SUBS R TIPPER.

BOILERS MOM - MARK ILSLEY