First Team vs Ashurst Wood

Recap

Reigate Priory faced lowly Ashurst Wood at Park Lane on Saturday and dominated the first half, Callum Johnson was unlucky not to put the Reigate side ahead after half an hour after rounding the goalkeeper and having his shot cleared off the line. But it was the lively James Bolton that broke the deadlock ten minutes before the break with a low drive into the left corner from just inside the box. Moments before the break, Bolton doubled his side’s lead with a close range finish from debutant Dexter Smith’s cross.

Priory continued to dominate the game and seemed to have put the game to bed on the hour mark when centre forward Shane O’Keeffe pressured the away goalkeeper into a mistake outside of his box and dispossessed him and turned the ball into an empty net. O’Keeffe got his second with fifteen minutes remaining when his cross-shot was fumbled into the net by the goalkeeper, to make it four. Max Bicknell made it five nil with ten minutes to go, tapping in a Callum Johnson low cross from close range. Unfortunately Priory conceded a goal in the closing minutes which was the only blot on the copybook. A 5-1 win sees Priory now sit mid-table in the Mid-Sussex Premier League.

Manager Dale Wyatt commented, ‘Today’s performance had everything I’ve been asking for. We finally had some composure in front of goal, provided predominantly by James Bolton which I think helped give others the confidence. We saw bodies on the line in front of our goal, we saw complete domination in terms of possession and chance creation, a bit of grit when needed and also a really positive impact from the substitutes coming off the bench. It’s crucial we now use this to gain some momentum with a great opportunity to right some wrongs against Willingdon next week.’

– Surrey Mirror (23/02/2022)