After the disappointment of two heavy defeats on their travels, the Ducks entertained the Rams of Beaconsfield on what can only be described as a heavy pitch. Despite the match being given the go-ahead after a mid-afternoon inspection, a further heavy rain shower a couple of hours later saw the game again in doubt, with standing water visible in a few places on the pitch. Thankfully, after an inspection the match officials gave the game the green light, although the pitch still looked far from perfect at kick off. The Ducks made two changes from the team that was defeated at Slough on Saturday; Dom Petrucci replacing Jason Blackett and Shane Wood replacing Bill Morgan in the centre of the defence.

The Ducks started the match well. After Dom Petrucci was fouled on the right side of the pitch by Craig Carby, Liam Smyth took the free kick and found Steve Hatch unmarked at the far post, but his header was too high to trouble James Reading in the Beaconsfield goal. Just two minutes later, another Smyth free kick this time found Shane Wood, whose header went wide of the keeper’s right hand post.

The early running was being made by the Ducks, and after a Beaconsfield free kick was cleared, Stacey Field found striking partner Dom Petrucci, whose shot from 25 yards was comfortably saved low down by Reading. Beaconsfield had to wait until the 16th minute for their first real sight of goal. Bates was tackled by Jack Wood on the edge of the box, but the ball fell to ex-Aylesbury FC striker Brian Haule 25 yards out, but his shot was easily saved by Jack Sillitoe in the home goal.

The first talking point of the match came in the 22nd minute, Tom McGarry sliding in to a tackle on Zack Reynolds, missing the ball but connecting with the Aylesbury player. The referee allowed for the conditions and gave the benefit of doubt to the defender, issuing a warning rather than a yellow card. However, just 2 minutes later a similar tackle by Reynolds on Hutchinson saw the referee decide to draw out his yellow card for the first time in the match and book Reynolds, who could consider himself a tad unlucky.

In the 27th minute, it was the visitors who went closest to opening the scoring. Hatch fouled Haule on the left flank, and the resulting free kick from Christian eluded 3 unmarked players at the far post with the Ducks defenders chasing shadows. 10 minutes later, Sillitoe cleared the ball long; Petrucci flicked on to Field who fed Ben Baines rushing to join the attack on the edge of the box. Amid claims for a penalty as Christian tackled him, the ball was cleared for a corner, with the referee deciding Baines had slipped rather than being fouled. The home fans didn’t have to wait much longer for the opening goal; as half time approached another long ball forward from Sillitoe saw Jordon Ajanlekoko mistime his header straight to the feet of top scorer Field, who volleyed home his 15th goal of the season from 20 yards. That was the last action of the half, the Ducks good value for their half time lead.

Just as in the first half, it was the Ducks who started the second half the stronger. First to threaten the goal was Field, who picked the ball up 30 yards out but his speculative effort cleared the cross bar. Two minutes later, Petrucci, who was having a fine game, played Field in again, but this time his shot from 25 yards was saved by Reading. The action continued with Smyth crossing a free kick to Hatch at the far post who somehow missed the chance to extend the lead, Reading making a fine point blank save from his close range volley. Following up, Baines tried an acrobatic overhead kick which just cleared the cross bar. Beaconsfield manager Gary Meakin had seen enough by now and decided to change tactics, making two offensive substitutions and adopting a 4-2-4 formation. However, it was Aylesbury who continued to look threatening. Indeed, after good interplay between the strikers, Zack Reynolds cut inside from the left flank and fired an explosive shot across Reading and inside the far post to double the lead.

The visitors appeared to lose their composure and discipline from then, consistently challenging the referee’s decisions and picking up yellow cards for their protests. It went from bad to worse for manager Meakin, who after a confrontation with the assistant referee was invited to leave the dug out by the man in the middle. On the pitch, his team were making little headway against a resolute home defence, with the Wood brothers excelling at centre back, reading the game well and winning tackles and headers with great regularity. Substitute Aaron Morgan showed attacking intent when he linked well with Carby down the left, however Baines got back to make a fine tackle and clear for a corner just before he could get his shot away. In the 73rd minute, a deep free kick from Keith Williams was headed on by Field to Petrucci who crashed a shot against the bar; Baines following up saw his shot saved by Reading.

The final 15 minutes saw Beaconsfield struggle to make an impact on the home goal, while the Ducks comfortably played out the closing minutes, making a succession of substitutions to kill the pace of the game. The final action saw the Beaconsfield players getting more indisciplined, culminating in a second yellow for Carby, seemingly for questioning a decision too forcibly.

The game finished a few minutes later, a deserved win for the Ducks against high flying opposition who were previously unbeaten in 13 league matches. Again the team has shown that on their day they are capable of competing with the best in the league. With little rest before the Berks & Bucks Semi Final against Chesham on Thursday, at least they will go into the game in high spirits, hopefully with some of the missing players available to add depth to the squad.