Reading YMCA crashed out of the Reading Evening Post Senior Cup after a 4-2 defeat at the hands of Hellenic League high fliers Wokingham/Emmbrook on Saturday.

YM had not played for 4 weeks and it showed in the opening exchanges with Wokingham dominating the opening 15 minutes and creating a couple of good chances.  YM gradually adjusted to the pace of the game with Drew Tipper and Danny Fitzpatrick getting to grips with the Wokingham midfield and Martin Abery's pace and trickery causing problems for a hesitant Wokingham defence.
Abery flicked one effort over the bar and then strike partner Sam Jennings went close but just as YM were getting on top they conceeded a soft when a floated free-kick was not dealt with and the ball eluded everyone apart from a Wokingham player who arrived late at the back post to scramble home.

YM suffered a blow after 30 minutes when Chris Lemm picked up a knee injury but he was replaced by Sam Cripps whose industry and energy made a big impact during the remainder of the match. YM continued to play some decent stuff and hit back shortly afterwards when a superb Tipper through ball found Abery clear of the Wokingham defence where he stabbed the bast past onrushing keeper Kane Roberts.  YM looked like going into half-time on level terms when again they gave away a poor goal from a set-piece as a Wokingham corner found Sam Whiting completely unmarked at the back post where he had the simple task of heading into the net.

The second half saw YM forced to reorganise again with Jennings forced off with a dead leg to be replaced by Luke Kasonde.  There was little betwen the teams during the opening spell with both sides having spells of pressure and creating chances.  Great work from Cripps finished with Abery receiving the ball on the edge of the box where he beat the last man only to hit his shot straight at Roberts.  YM also had an effort cleared off the line before Cripps' superb 20 yard effort was pushed round the post by Roberts. Wokingham were also creating chances and Bland should have done better with one effort whilst Whiting just failed to capitalise on a Ben Green slip.  

But just as YM were building momentum Wokingham extended their lead after a rare howler from keeper Scott Mortimer.  Mortimer rolled the ball out of his box before attempting to kick clear only to see the ball land straight at the feet of Whiting on the edge of the box who slid into the empty net. Despite being dealt this hammer blow YM kept going and with 15 minutes left were awarded a penalty after Fitzpatrick was held in the box.  Johnny Adey made no mistake with the kick.
But Wokingham managed to see out the game well and never allowed the visitors another chance to level the scores.  Instead, with YM throwing men forwards and less than a minute remaining, top scorer Bland found himself in space down the left where he then cut inside to hit a clinical low shot past Mortimer to finish the game at 4-2.

YM boss Mark Lemm said "It was a really frustrating game today as everytime we were building up pressure or had got back into the game we'd give away a soft goal which put us on the backfoot.  It is very unlike us to give away so many soft goals and it's probably a sign of rustiness after so few games recently. It's disappointing because we played well, created plenty of chances and there were long spells when we were on top but credit to Wokingham they are a good side and when they went 3-1 up they closed out the game well.
But we've still got 2 competitions to go for and maybe this defeat will give us the extra edge we need going into the final weeks of the season."

YM Rapids suffered their first defeat of the season at the quarter final stages of the Berks and Bucks cup. A remarkable run of 18 successive wins came at Newbury’s Faraday Road but YM’s second string can be proud of their efforts against a side several divisions higher and feeding a semi pro club.

The game started at a frantic pace but it was YM who began to take control with Steve Daly and Tim Sidwell getting a grip in midfield and feeding wide men Lewis Evans and Dean Williams, but the final ball let the young men down on several occasions. Newbury were a well oiled machine and had lively wide men but full backs Marcus Sanigar and Chris Leach made some outstanding tackles to keep them at bay and spur on further YM attacks. The first clear cut chance of the game fell to Dave Morrison who jinked in between 2 defenders but could only fire straight at the keeper. Steve Woodrow was finding plenty of space on the big Newbury pitch and it was his right footed cross that led to the opening goal. Morrisons headed attempt eluded everyone but Evans was on hand at the back post to tuck the ball home for a deserved YM lead.

Newbury then came firing back and their tricky left winger cut in on several occasions, firing warning shots at the YM back line and it on one of these runs a weak back pass was seized upon. YM keeper Ian Harvey looked odds on favourite but a vicious bobble meant the ball flew over his foot and the Newbury player had to tap in to an empty net. With only 5 mins of the half remaining Dave Rolfe and Mark Ilsley stood strong only for a last ditch tackle to allow a Newbury player skip through and go sprawling for a penalty. Harvey made amends with an excellent save to keep the scores level at half time.

Shades of the previous week seemed to creep in with YM lacklustre for the opening 10 minutes and it was no surprise when Newbury took the lead with a scrappy goal whilst YM were caught sleeping. Cookham demons were quickly banished however when Sidwell flew in to a tackle that sent the ball forward towards Woodrow, and with the Newbury keeper getting in a mixup with his centre half the YM record breaker sent the ball goalwards, it having just enough pace to make the goal before a despairing home challenge came in.

The introduction of livewire Rob Maslen adding pace to the attacking threat and an older head on young shoulders may have seen the YM startlet play Morrison in for the winner. Daly and Sidwell both burst forward but could not find the pass to unlock the home defence. Sidwell then sent Morrison clear with a chance that has seen the hotshot net 20+ times this season but the pitch, again came to the home side’s rescue as the ball bobbled with the striker looking to bury the ball from 18 yards.

The game looked destined for extra time when Newbury’s MOM winger cut inside once again to fire a rasping shot at Harvey that fell straight in to the path of a home midfielder who finished the game and tie off with a cool finish despite appearing 5 yards offside. A bitter blow for the young rapids side but an excellent display saw manager Paul O Boyle quote ‘we were back to our best this week and I’m proud of the boys who matched a much higher ranked side for pace, fitness and hunger. We still have the league and 2 more cups to play for and the QF is a fantastic achievement in a competition that started with over 200 teams’

READING YMCA RAPIDS: HARVEY, LEACH, ROLFE, ILSLEY, SANIGAR (replaced O'BOYLE 75mins), EVANS, DALY, SIDWELL, WILLIAMS (replaced by MASLEN 60mins), WOODROW, D MORRISON SUBS MASLEN, O'BOYLE.

BOILERS MOM - LEWIS EVANS