The Whites’ late fightback came up agonisingly short as they were involved in an archetypal game of two halves at Shrivenham.
With the two sides so closely matched and facing one another for the third week on the trot, a gusty, diagonal wind and a sloping pitch was always going to tip the balance in the favour of whoever had the conditions on their side.
In the first half, that advantage belonged to Shrivenham. Two early corners from the right caused confusion in the Colts box and twice the ball was scrambled over the line as the visitors failed to clear their lines.
They escaped any further punishment despite finding themselves under the cosh but, crucially, made a similarly slow start after the break and yet another Shrivenham set-piece led to a third goal. This time, an accurate strike came in from the left, Luke S did well to claw it out but none of those in front of him reacted quickly enough and, once again, the ball was forced home amid a melee.
The Colts’ heads were undeniably down at that point but the momentum began to shift when Matthew threaded a fine through ball into Liam’s path and he raced clear from the halfway line before slotting his finish into the corner of the net.
When a lofted ball into the box prompted a miscued clearance, Liam pounced to head home his and the Colts’ second of the morning and, all of a sudden, a share of the spoils looked on the cards.
There were certainly chances to claim it, with Liam again weaving his way through before putting the ball wide with his weaker left foot, George going close from Matthew’s cross after popping up at the far post and Brandon H denied on the goalline from Toby’s right-wing corner.
Despite the team’s collective failure to deal with Shrivenham’s accurate set-pieces, the Colts defended well in open play and limited a dangerous home attack to very few clear-cut chances. Tom and Callum were resolute and tenacious either side of Josh, who produced two or three excellent last-ditch challenges. Brandon H also showed excellent composure and vision when he was introduced on the right, while Max shielded the back-line with a typically strong display and also forced a late save from the keeper.
Luke S could not be faulted for any of the goals and pulled off a couple of magnificent one-on-one saves to deny Shrivenham a fourth goal that would have ended the Colts’ hopes.
Bradley produced a brave cameo on the left despite a hand injury and the game also saw a very welcome return to the black and white stripes for Brandon M, who asked questions of the Shrivenham defence and twice went close to marking his first appearance of 2015-16 with a goal.
Shrivenham are perennial top-three finishers and their delight at the final whistle said an awful lot for the respect now commanded by the Colts among the leading teams in one of the North Wilts League’s most competitive divisions.