Sholing 2-1 Wimborne Town

Scorers : Byron Mason 64, Dan Mason 85  /  Dan Bartlett 90+3

Date: Wednesday 26 April 2023, 7:45pm – Southern League Division 1 South Play Off Semi Final

Venue:  Imperial Homes Stadium  Attendance: 393

Sholing : Theo Widger, TJ Cuthbertson, Marv McLean 46, Robin Nicholls (Jake Cope 84), Dan Miller (Jordan Rose 89), Rob Flooks, Brad Targett (Wayne Robinson 90), Byron Mason ©, Dan Mason, Lee Wort, Charlie Wagstaffe.  Unused subs : Sami Makhloufi, Cohwen Whitaker

Bookings : Charlie Wagstaffe, Lee Wort

Wimborne Town : Shane Murphy, Oakley Hanger, Connal Morrison, Scott Arnold ©, Connor Cocklin, Dan Bartlett, Harry Morgan, Lewis Beale, Jez Bedford (Ollie Dennett 88), Henry Lander, Harry Baker (Asa Phillips 79). Unused subs : Ben Satterley, Aaron Roberts, Ben Rodwell

Bookings : Connal Morrison

Imperial Homes Man of the Match : Byron Mason

The Mason brothers both scored to take the Boatmen into the Promotion Play Off Final!  Sholing went up a few gears in the 2nd half and deservedly won the match to set up Monday's final at home to Hamworthy United

Team News : The big surprise was the return of Rob Nicholls to the team!  With Leon Baker injured & Owen Roundell unavailable, Rob answered the call to arms and showed fantastic commitment to travel down from his new home in Sunderland for the game, his first since he left us before Christmas.  With Gosney suspended, 16 year old Theo Widger continued in goal.

Unsurprisingly, the opening of the game was a hundred mile an hour stuff, with Rob Nicholls showing no rustiness, immediately getting stuck in.  When the game calmed down a bit, it was Wimborne who settled quickest, putting a header just over in the first effort on goal by either side.

On 13 minutes, Theo Widger showed great reactions to divert a shot by Baker onto the base of the post.  Throughout the match the 16 year old would again show maturity beyond his years, especially impressive in such a high pressure game such as this.

Sholing slowly started to build some momentum, with Brad Targett showing his pace a couple of times down the right wing, forcing corners and from one of them, Dan Mason headed narrowly over.  Charlie Wagstaffe chased a high ball forward and got there before the keeper to knock it past him, but he was forced wide and his effort towards goal saw Murphy put the ball behind.

The game drifted for a spell, with the visitors looking the more composed in possession and they created a big chance on 43 minutes.  Baker was played into the right side of the box and was in on goal, Theo Widger narrowed the angle and made a fantastic stop to keep the score level at the break.  HT 0-0

Sholing's body language was one of a side that knew it could play a lot better than we did in the first half and we would go on to dominate the second half.

On 49 mins, TJ's cross into the heart of the box was met with a glancing header by Dan Mason that the keeper waved wide, until a look of panic came over him as the ball thudded against the post.   D-Dan would go close again 5 minutes later, his angled shot beat the keeper, but a defender was behind Murphy to clear off the line. The clearance went only as far as Wagstaffe who fired goalwards with the ball seemingly hitting a Wimborne hand, but the ref wasn't interested.

With the Boatmen on top, the Wimborne keeper was taking a ridiculous long time over his kicks in an attempt to take the sting out of our momentum, but it wasn't working as we continued to pile forward.  A lovely one two between Dan Mason & Lee Wort, saw D-Dan smash the ball across the face of the goal and just wide.   Worty then set up Rob Nicholls for a shot from the edge of the box that just cleared the bar.

Finally we got our reward on 64 minutes and it was the skipper who put us in front. A ball into the box didn't reach Dan Mason, but the ball fell to BYRON MASON just inside the area to hit it first time through the crowd and into the far corner beyond a static keeper.

Boatmen looked strong and organised at the back and in midfield, with Wimborne not really threatening our goal.  Theo made some nice claims under pressure as the clock ticked down.

We scored our crucial second on 84 minutes with DAN MASON rewarded for his persistance. A Wimborne defender, under pressure from Dan, knocked the ball back to his keeper, Dan quickly closed him down, forcing Murphy to kick the ball against him.  Quick as a flash, D-Dan assessed the situation and calmly lifted the ball over the keeper and it bounced into the net to spark wild scenes!

Jake Cope was denied by a good save and Sholing were forced into a couple of late substitutions as the 4th official indicated there would be a minimum of 5 added minutes.  Wimborne made it a nervous ending, when on 93 mins, Dan Bartlett sent a low skidding shot across Theo and inside the far post.  This lifted the visitors, who did have one more chance to equalise, but a shot from the edge of the box went miles wide to huge cheers from the Sholing support, who then greeted the final whistle with similar noise a minute later.   FT 2-1

The celebrations were subdued from the Sholing boys, knowing tonight counts for nothing if we don't win the Final on Monday.  We will face a Hamworthy United side who have been very impressive this season and won their semi final at a canter against Evesham, despite playing at a neutral venue. 

Marc Diaper : "With so much riding on the win, these games are always a little edgy to start with and we didn't play with the tempo or aggression we normally have in the first half.  The second half we were a different team and credit to the lads, I thought they were superb. 

I think we deserved the win against a well organised Wimborne side.  It's only half a job though and we have a massive game on Monday, another tough one against Hamworthy. 

Thanks again to our supporters for your backing last night. It really does make a difference to the team.  Up the Boatmen !"

Next Game : Sholing v Hamworthy United - Monday 1 May 3pm - Play Off Final

Photos courtesy of EspieJaz, swipe to view pics :