Ben Rhydding 1 Oxton 6

This was a sorry and rather dismal performance from a completely depleted Rhydding home side.

With three of their promising young players and coach Demy Dowley rep- resenting the North at the Futures Cup and late illness calls, the home side was really up against it from the start.

It is a real shame they were not able to build on the outstanding performance they produced last week against Timperley.

Instead they had to resort to a programme of damage limitation against Oxton who will be fighting at the top end of the league.

An early reverse shot from the visitors put them ahead quickly and Rhydding had to steel themselves for a tough game ahead.

However, Rhydding always gave good quality in the circle and they were unlucky not to reply with an excellent drag flick from Connor Dowley that drew an impressive save from the Oxton keeper.

Will Musgrave, always on the look out for the provision of lethal passes in the final third of the pitch, made some effective connections with Ian Thomas and George Sweeting but the last piece of the jigsaw was missing.

It remained a slow and sticky game for the rest of the half with only four circle entries for each team.

Rhydding looked poor in the second half and lacked any urgency.

Far too many players were walking and watching the game.

A well-worked penalty corner by Oxton with a spiked deflection put them 2-0 up and the home side wilted even further.

A fast break by Oxton yielded number three with another reverse finish.

They followed this up with another, this time on forehand but Rhydding replied to get on the scoresheet.

Musgrave’s through ball was touched in by an Oxton defender for an own goal.

Oxton scored two more to make it 6-1 and rub salt in the home side’s wounds.

Rhydding will need to try to recuperate and bounce back to the form they showed previously, as they face a tough challenge away at Preston on Saturday.