Didcot’s play-off aspirations took another jolt when they were narrowly beaten by title contenders Bromsgrove Sporting at the Loop Meadow on Saturday.
Taken in isolation this was a decent display that probably merited a draw on the overall balance of play but one point from their last three matches puts the pressure on the Railwaymen to pick up wins urgently to avoid dropping out of the top five places.
Diddy needed to settle well after last week’s mauling by Berkhamsted but instead got off to the worst possible start by falling behind in the sixth minute. Charlie Dowd’s corner picked out Jason Cowley and the league’s top scorer punished the hosts for allowing him too much space by powering a header into the opposite top corner.
Kieren Westwood was put through and almost made it 2-0 moments later but Leigh Bedwell managed to smother his effort. The game then meandered along for a while as the teams cancelled each other out on a tricky playing surface. Felipe Barcelos sent an acrobatic overhead kick narrowly over the crossbar and Callum McNish had a strike blocked by keeper Jono Brown but Sporting were able to nurse their one goal cushion successfully to the half time interval.
Not for the first time this season, Didcot came out of the traps strongly as the second half started and pinned Bromsgrove back. Excellent forward play by Barcelos forced an error by centre-back Kyle Lincoln; a defensive header falling short allowing the Diddy number nine to pounce. Unfortunately, Brown was alert to the danger and positioned himself perfectly to prevent the point-blank strike from reaching its target.
The Diddy faithful could have been forgiven for thinking that was the golden chance wasted but their team maintained the momentum and equalised a few minutes later. John Dennis was allowed a free run at the Rouslers backline and made the visitors pay by drawing the exposed Brown from goal and rifling a finish into the bottom corner.
Barcelos was denied by Brown for a second time and Dennis thundered a 25 yard strike just past the post as the Railwaymen looked to take the lead, only for their good work to be undone when the Worcestershire side scored from their first attack of the half. Diddy were caught dithering over a throw-in and in a flash Westwood was away down the left. Cowley was put through on goal and as Bedwell came out to meet him unselfishly squared the ball to Dowd who tapped into the empty net.
Nathan Hayward slammed a shot inches over the crossbar as Bromsgrove looked to increase the advantage but a third goal proved unnecessary as despite three substitutions in quick succession Didcot could not make any further impression on the game.
The result maintained the second and fourth place league positions for the two sides but more meaningfully, Bromsgrove are a colossal 23 points ahead of their Oxfordshire counterparts. Diddy’s worry is that only five points separate them from ninth placed Thame United and victory at lower mid-table Kempston Rovers is a must next Saturday.
Didcot:Bedwell; Barder; McNeill; Thomas (Ballard 81); Carnell; Learoyd; Dennis; McNish; Barcelos; L.Williams (Humphries 79); M.Williams (Hackett 79) Subs not used: Hayden. |