Windsor & Eton get the job done despite going into AFC Winkfield tie 'blind'

Photo credit: Richard Milam

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Windsor & Eton weren’t at their thrilling best in Saturday’s Berkshire Trophy Centre Senior Cup clash with AFC Winkfield, but they didn’t need to be as goals from James Clark (two) and Isaiah Chase-Kelly saw them grind out another conclusive 3-0 victory.

Manager Matty Angell admitted as much after the final whistle, but in awful conditions – and on a boggy, heavy, pitch – they proved too strong for a side the manager knew very little about.

Angell and his assistant Rob Webb do their best to get the lowdown on all their opponents, but Angell said they went into Saturday's game ‘blind’.

Reflecting on the contest, Angell said: “It was one of those funny cup ties. We couldn’t find a lot of information about Winkfield so we kind of went into that blind.

That may have played its part in a sluggish opening 45 minutes from the visitors, but they improved in pretty much every aspect after the interval and went on to register their ninth straight win in all competitions.

“We just didn’t click on the day to be honest. It was quite wet and heavy underfoot, and we learned a lot about the squad. But the first 30 minutes we didn’t really play well at all. We were doing things individually when we could have done things a lot better as a group.

“We made a few changes and had a few chats with players and came out a bit better in the second half. We’ve found that our fitness is better than most other teams, so we tend to come good in those last 20-25 minutes. There was no real panic to be honest.

They’ll hope – and fans will expect them – to make it 10 wins in a row when Wargrave visit Stag Meadow on Saturday for their first league clash in three weeks. Wargrave were steamrollered 5-0 away from home earlier in the season, but Angell warned his players they shouldn’t necessarily expect to find life quite so easy this weekend.

“I think there’s been quite a bit of improvement at Wargrave,” Angell added. “They’ve signed a few more players. On the day (when they beat them 5-0), they lost their goalkeeper early on so we can’t read too much into that result. We’ll be well prepared and see what happens, but they’ve had a better run of results, so no one is underestimated. We nearly slipped up against SB Phoenix when we played them at their place. They’ve got to be switched on mentally. When teams come to us it’s not normal for them to play in front of a big crowd. Most of the league are playing in front of 20 or 30 people, so it plays into our hands because we’re quite used to it. But then they raise their game.

Angell’s side sit top of the Thames Valley Premier Division table, two points clear of second placed Westwood Wanderers, but the manager isn’t worried about how the table looks after nine games.

“No league title is won after nine matches,” he said. “Anything can happen, and we’ll take each game as it comes. If we play all our league and cup games up to Christmas, we’ll only have eight games left in the league the following year. Our pitch is quite good, so it could be quite strange.

“I think by Christmas we’ll know where we’re at. But we’ll also know if there are other teams that want to apply for promotion and push on. We’ll have a clearer head space of what we need to do to get promoted.”

He added: “I know from being around the non-league game for a while that we’ve got a good squad for this level. If we turn up on the day and do what we’ve prepared, we should be a force for most teams we face.

“All the players want to get in the squad, and they’re all on their toes a bit wondering if they’ll make it. The nice thing is that when one player comes in, they all do really well, and they give me another headache.”