Reading YMCA slipped to 4th in the table after being held to a draw by Berks County Sports but YM manager boss Mark Lemm described it as a point gained after a tough battle.

Lemm said "Before the match we were focused on winning to keep the pressure on the top teams but we finished the game happy with a point as Sports put us under alot of pressure at times.  Their defence was organised and restricted us to a few half chances whilst in Ian Jubb, Steve Gillett and Ian Bradshaw they had alot of creativity and caused us plenty of problems."

YM included new signings Sam Jennings and James Wise in their squad for the first time.  Jennings has made the short journey from local rivals Highmoor/IBIS whilst fellow striker Wise has committed to the club after starting the season at Fleet Town.

YM started the game brightly but soon faded as Sports began to knock the ball around nicely with Matt Gorman and the lively Jubb both prominent.
The YM defence was frequently required to produce a last-ditch tackle or block to deny Sports which meant YM keeper Scott Mortimer was largely untroubled despite the Sports pressure.

The best chance of the opening exchanges actually fell to YM when striker Andrew Heath showed good pace and strength to get passed 2 Sports defenders but his lob sailed over both the keeper and the bar.  It was Sports though who took a deserved lead when a well struck cross from the left caused hesitancy in the YM defence and a Sports player nipped in to slide the ball into the net.

Sports continued to look the more fluent of the 2 sides with the YM midfield struggling to deal with their passing and movement.  But against the run of play in-form YM striker Drew Tipper earned his side a lifeline when he raced on to a deft Danny Fitzpatrick pass before hitting a vicious shot into the roof of the net from a tight angle.

The second half saw the game becoming stretched with the heavy pitch taking its toll on both sets of players.  There wasn't much in the game during this period but Sports always had the edge and they had the best chance when a superb solo run from Gillett saw him beat 3 players before finding himself 1-on-1 with keeper Mortimer, but Mortimer continued his excellent form of this season to push the ball round the post.

YM were offering some threat from set pieces but were generally being well marshalled by the Sports defence.  The introduction of Wise added some impetus to the YM attacks and he went close with a long range drive and then just failed to get enough power on a header when going backwards.
Debutant Jennings also went close with a header in the final minutes but the scores remain unchanged leaving Sports to fell slightly disappointed that they did not take all 3 points.

Lemm continued "We've added quite a few players to the squad recently and we have strength in depth all over the pitch now.  It's just a question of bedding in the new players, getting a couple back from injury and then we should be in good shape after the Xmas break.  The main thing is that we're still in contention in the league which was our target at the start of the season but we still have alot of improving to do to make any impression."

READING YMCA: MORTIMER, M LEMM, ILSLEY (replaced WOODROW 60min), CASSIDY, FITZPATRICK, KEARSEY, BULLETT, ZIELINSKI, CORNELL, HEATH (replaced WISE 60min), D TIPPER (replaced JENNINGS 80min) SUBS WOODROW, WISE, JENNINGS.

LEMMY'S MOM - DARREN CORNELL

Ym new boy Mark Ilsley took the MOM award against Woodcote Stoke Row. Ilsley has made a big impact in YM's defence since arriving on a free transfer and will be a tough nut to crack in future weeks.