Shoreham hold off Wick rally

Goals from Dan Momah, John Lansdale and Alex Fair were enough to mean Ben Gray’s late goal was only a consolation in a match featuring four goals of real quality.

The opening 15 minutes saw both sides find it hard to threaten and it was a struggle for meaningful possession. The first moment that shook up a drab opening was when Wick’s Harry Williams picked up Ricardo Alves’ deflected clearance on the halfway line on 20 minutes. As Alves - way off his line - tracked back towards goal, Williams launched the ball from the centre spot over the head of the Brazilian, but the ball rattled against the bar and out to safety. There were loud Wick calls that the ball had crossed the line but from the linesman, a resounding no.

The breakthrough came five minutes later when Shoreham full-back Momah played in Danny Jones down the right hand side and he cut inside towards the area shirking the challenge of Jack Bingham to play the ball back to Momah on the edge of the 18 yard area. Momah’s laces guided the ball into the bottom left-hand corner – with ‘keeper Keelan Belcher’s palm unable to reach.

Momah’s caressed finish was succeeded by another finish of genuine quality as John Lansdale shot from distance to make it 2-0. Picking up the ball 20 yards out the midfield number four lashed the ball into far left corner with Belcher’s hand just tipping the ball into the top bin.

As half-time approached it was Wick looking the likelier to score. Wick Captain Johan Van-Driel had a 25-yard free kick parried low by Alves 5 minutes before the half to keep the score 2-0, and moments later a last-ditch challenge from Shoreham’s Tom Shelley stopped an in-form Conor Bull from racing through to the penalty area - and through on goal.

Shoreham could have had a third after half time when talented youngster Danny Jones skipped across the area to play in Sayers in the penalty area. Sayers got his shot away on the edge of the six yard area but it came off the legs of Belcher and over the bar.

Wick’s Brady latched on to a long ball on the hour, poking through the legs of Momah inside the area but sailed way and a little brash. Wick’s frustrations started to show as player’s incredulity with the officials, but also themselves; with substitute Ben Gray screaming urgency from his team. In rallying the team Gray led by example as he collected from fellow substitute Ben Nightingale to slam home into the bottom corner with ten minutes to go. Nightingale had won the ball off Jordan Stallibrass just inside his half, ran down the line to play in Gray on he edge of the 18 yard box - a well placed finish.

Shoreham restored their two-goal cushion when Alex Fair casually volleyed in a low Lansdale corner with a few minutes left on the clock.

Gray managed to squeeze the ball to Nightingale shortly after, but he pumped the ball wide and with Ryan Barratt’s booking and sin-bin for dissent in the final moments we saw the last of the action for Wick and the whistles went for a 3-1 Shoreham win.

Player of the Match: Dan Momah

Shoreham manager Mark Pulling said: ‘I think we were comfortable, I don’t think we were exceptional at any point today - I just think we went about doing the things we need to at the right time. We deserved the win, we could have scored a few more to make it a little more emphatic but maybe that’s not always a good thing - maybe it’s better to sort of win tough, and win in a way that sometimes you need to in this league."

On promotion Pulling said: We’re not really talking about that to be honest, we’re looking at blocks of games at the moment, because I think the leagues so close, you got so many teams - I think within the top eight - that at this point you’re looking at a couple of points swinging either way. Dorking have played 9 games, they lost 2-3 on the bounce I think they’ve gone up to third or second today.

"So I don’t think it’s a factor looking at promotion from the outset, you want to - everyone does - there are eight teams in it that want to get promoted. So we’re just looking at blocks of games, which players in the squad are going to suit that particular game better….if we’re away for a run of games, and if we’re home for a couple of games, do we look at it a in a different way? The overall aim, yea, is to get promoted but you got to look at it on a smaller scale than that.’

Wick Manager Lee Baldwin said: "We were really, really poor…that was the worst performance I’ve seen with regards to work rate. Listen, you play against a side that have had a good start to the season and you’re gonna get undone…we got undone, we made it difficult for ourselves, we deserved it. We done well to get it back to 2-1 and then we switched off again, then it’s 3-1, and then it’s game over — it wasn’t a good day at the office.’

‘We’re a long way off where we should be, we’ve had a lot of injuries for a long period of time, which has just killed us but we had everyone back today, bar two - so there’s no excise today, and I think that’s why we took our foot off the pedal, I think we knew we had a lot more quality in our side today, but we didn’t work to match it."

Shoreham

1. Ricardo Alves

2. Dan Momah

3. Paschal Nwamadi

4. John Lansdale

5. Tom Shelley

6. Dave Sharman

7. Joel Sayers

8. Dan Turner

9. Jordan Stallibrass

10. Lue Gedling

11 Danny Jones

12. Dean Gilmour

14. Luca Slaney

15. Scott Clampin

16. Alex Fair

17. Will Webb

Wick F.C.

1. Keelan Belcher

2. Scott Rafferty

3. Jack Bingham

4. Harry Williams

5. Nathan Hawker

6. Ryan Barratt

7. Conor Bull

8. Alex Kew

9. David Crouch

10. Johan Van-Driel

11. Liam Brady

12. Nathan Foster

14. Aaron Tester

15. Ben Nightingale

16. Ronald Kardos

17. Ben Gray