9:47am Monday 22nd March 2010
Wingate and Finchley are 15 games undefeated and on course for a play-off place after they won 2-1 against Brentwood Town, on Saturday.
Wingate & Finchley rode their luck in this very tough game away game.
The home side started brightly on the slippery pitch, Richard Priest shooting across the goal against the crossbar.
The visitors looked shaky and Gavin King made two point-blank saves to keep his side level in the early stages.
But Finchley took the lead against the run of play, midway through the half. Some excellent slick passing for the first time in the game saw James Edgerley and Chris Chase combine to feed in Dave Laird who rolled the ball past the keeper Nick Pyne.
Laird could have doubled his tally when he stole the ball off the Brentwood right-back, but his shot was blocked by the legs of Pyne.
The goal settled Wingate who started to play their normal game, and three minutes before the break the lead was extended.
Mitch Hahn, subbed on for the injured Gary Burrell, went on a solo run towards the box. His shot across goal was parried by Pyne into the path of Edgerley who slotted the ball into the empty net.
Marc Henry went close at the start of the second half with a low drive that swerved inches wide of the right post, but then for the second time in the game Brentwood were denied by the woodwork.
A header by Dean Pennant at the end of a deep cross beat King but found the far post.
King, staking his claim on the man-of-the-match award, made another point-blank save with his legs as Brentwood piled on the pressure.
It finally told on 64 minutes after some good interplay on right wing saw a low cross turned into the net in a melée.
Finchley survived a massive scare late on, when the hosts thought they had levelled, via a cross in injury time. Lucily, for Finchley, the referee signalled for a foul by a forward.
Lineup: King, Weatherstone, Lenahan, Fowler, Nielsen, Shehu, Edgerley, Henry, Chase, Laird (Smith 66), Burrell (Hahn 18) (Ellis 85). Subs: McLachlan, Carvaleo.
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.times-series.co.uk/trade_directory/