Holders Reading YMCA made an impressive start to the defence of their BTC Senior Cup trophy with a comprehensive 6-1 defeat of Premier Division West Reading.

Wests were coming off the back of a narrow 3-2 defeat by Hellenic League high flyers Marlow Utd and YM were focussed on avoiding a cup upset at the hands of their Tilehurst rivals.

And YM had the perfect start when a poor West Reading clearance saw ace marksmen Drew Tipper chest the ball down before lobbing the ball over the West Reading keeper.

Shortly afterwards YM had an Andy Bullett “goal” disallowed for offside but the second goal duly came when a long ball down the channel found pacy frontman Steve Green.  Green drove into the box, turning the Wests defence inside out before a drilling a low shot into the net.

Leading 2-0 within the first 10 minutes YM then relaxed and their play became disjointed as they frequently surrendered possession.  Wests were making it hard for YM as they worked hard to close down the man in possession and in Coyle they had a player who always threatened to breach the YM rearguard.

A crucial moment came on 20 minutes when a scramble in the YM box saw midfielder Aidey Kearsey make a superb last ditch tackle to deny Wests a certain goal.  A Wests goal could well have changed the complexion of then game but despite competing well it proved to be their only real chance of the half.

YM were still struggling to get into any rhythm but looked relatively comfortable and always looked to have more penetration in the final third than their opponents.  YM skipper Tim Sidwell went close with a rasping 30 yard drive but the score remained at 2-0 going into the break.

After the break YM slowly began to impose themselves on the game with the pace and frequency of their attacks forcing Wests on the backfoot for long periods.

YM had a great chance to kill the game off when Darren Cornell broke through the Wests defence before squaring the ball into the box.  With the Wests defence nowhere Green and Tipper were left with just the keeper to beat by somehow they conspired to spurn the opportunity.   

The Wests keeper then reacted well to deny Tipper with his legs and was then on hand again to claim a goalbound header from the same player.

Finally, YM’s dominance saw them claim the crucial third goal when a well rehearsed corner routine saw Bullett drill a corner into defender Adam Cassidy who volleyed into the net.

Wests got a quick reply though when Cornell was adjudged to have handled in the box and the penalty was subsequently dispatched.

The final 20 minutes saw YM totally rampant with Bullett and Green the stars of the show.  And it was those 2 players that combined when Bullet hit an exquisite 40 yard cross field pass that found Green in acres of space where he proceded to home in on goal before sliding the ball into the net.

More fine work from Green saw him hit the bar before the 5th goal came when a Sidwell long throw was flicked on by Mark Lemm to Andrew Heath whose headed effort hit the bar leaving Bullett to nod in the rebound.

Heath then wrapped up the scoring after great work by Nader Edmunds left Heath the simple task of sidefooting into the net.

It could have been 7 when Cornell was left 1-on-1 with the keeper but the midfielder blazed over from close range.

YM player manager Lemm said “The scoreline flattered us as this wasn’t a great performance and Wests matched us for a long period in the middle of the game. 

We pulled away in the last 25 minutes and looked good but by that stage Wests were looking tired.  Wests have some decent players though – Coyle is a real threat, Phoeby is a real presence and in the keeper also made some great saves.

It’s just good to get the win as we want to put up a strong defence of this trophy and going out at this stage wasn’t an option.  We’ve been playing a lot better in recent weeks and you can sense a real determination in the squad to do well this year.”

READING YMCA: MORTIMER, M LEMM, CASSIDY, ROLFE, CORNELL, SIDWELL, ZIELINSKI (replaced by EDMUNDS 60mins), KEARSEY, BULLETT, GREEN, D TIPPER (replaced by HEATH 65mins) SUBS EDMUNDS, HEATH, T MORRISON (not used).

LEMMY’S MOM – STEVE GREEN

Reading YMCA Rapids went into the game without a win in their last 4 matches but they put that statistic right by demolishing a young Winnersh side.

YM Hall of Famer Steve Woodrow did the damage with 3 goals to make it 7 goals in just 3 Rapids appearances and he was backed up by goals from Sean Kenny (2), Chris Kisluk and Lee Worth.

Rapids boss Paul O’Boyle said “This was an important win as our confidence has taken a bit of a battering in the last few weeks.

It’s vital we try and stay in touch with the top 4 sides if we are to have any chance of promotion and we can’t afford any slip ups against sides in the bottom half.”

READING YMCA RAPIDS: HARVEY, HARRISON, SILLEY, O’BOYLE, CALLOW, WILLIAMS, KENNY, KISLUK, WOOD, WOODROW, WORTH (replaced by SUTTON 45mins) SUBS SUTTON.

BOILER’S MOM – STEVE WOODROW

Sean Kenny earned his 2nd MOM award in 2 weeks with an outstanding no nonense display against Bell & Bottle. YM's midifled hard man set the standard with some tough tackling and great passing.