Pinewood arrived at Edgbarrow for a late morning kick off fresh from the previous weeks derby victory over the Predators. With both Will Taylor and pacy winger Teddy Green missing, opportunities were there for other players to step in and impress, and they took their chance!

Pinewood lined up with Finley Perryman in goal as per usual and a back four of Benn Staines, Fabio Farella, Josh Hawkes and Tegwyn Whawell. Sam Clark, Oli Thompson and Zach Whiting made up a midfield three with Daniel Parikos, Zabi Parker-Silito out wide, and top scorer Jackson Williams up front.

Pinewood started well, battling in the midfield against a large, powerful FC Bracknell side. Some sloppy early defensive play almost let Bracknell in but some good, alert goalkeepng from Finley and some good tackling from Josh say them kept at bay. Pinewood were looking dangerous on the break and a superb through ball from Zach saw Jackson through and his lobbed shot hit the back of the net only for play to be pulled back for the narrowest of offside decisions. Shortly later Daniel also found himself 1 on 1 after breaking past the FC Bracknell defence but the opposition keeper stood up tall and made the save. Pinewood were buoyed by these 'nearly-breakthroughs' and kept pushing forward, Jackson wasn't to be denied and after bring played in by Daniel he slid the ball past the keeper for 1-0. No less than we deserved after the chances we were creating. The match restarted and followed a similar pattern, FC Bracknell looking dangerous, using the strong wind well to get balls over the top but Finley showing a handling masterclass in goal kept them at bay, sweeping up behind his defence well. The coaches introduced Leo and Nevaan for Zabi and Tegwyn and 22 minutes into the half Daniel burst into the opposition box after being slipped in, checked back to try and create space only to inexplicably be held back by the defender - penalty!! Jackson stepped up and buried into the bottom left corner - 2-0! Half time came, Pinewood on top.

The second half began with Zabi and Tegwyn being reintroduced for Benn and Daniel being rested, and the Pythons picked up right were they left off. Solid pressure on the Bracknell back line who no longer had the wind to rely on say some good chances come and go, Nevaan cutting in from the left and rifling a shot goalwards only to see the Bracknell keeper gather well. Jackson was pressing hard, putting in a tonne of effort to close down play, ably assisted by Zach sitting in behind him and it was that pressure that saw the Bracknell keeper closed down after he strayed from his line and only half hit a clearance straight to Zachs feet - one touch into the box and bang - Zach hammered his shot into the roof of the net for 3-0. Bracknell looked shocked, Sam and Oli working hard in midfield to deny them space and standing up well to the physicality of the game. After 56 minutes it was 4 - Tegwyn picking the ball up high on the left hand side of the pitch and whipping in a cross that Daniel picked up and slid beneath the onrushing keeper. 4-0. The game ebbed and flowed, Pinewood rotating players regularly Fabio and Leo stepping into the centre of defence as Josh moved into midfield for the first time in his Pythons career, Oli moving up front in place of the hugely impressive Jackson, and Zabi moving into CAM for Zach who put in an immense shift. It was Zabi who finished the scoring, with Pythons again getting in behind the defence and Nevaan, who was a thorn in the Bracknell side all day long, selflessly squaring for Zabi to knock home from 8 yards out. 5-0, and the final whistle sounded.

A great team performance. Choosing a player of the match was a very difficult task but, after much deliberation, Zachs constant running, battling and distribution saw him scoop the prize this week. He has been a critical player for us over recent weeks and today was no different. Kudos to FInley for a clean sheet, Jackson for 2 goals, Daniel for a goal and 2 assists (and winning a penalty!), Benn for a display of strength and composure, and to Josh for a superb defensive display. Well done lads!