Going into this Red Insure match having finally broken the home defeats hoodoo, Aylesbury United chose to mix things up with the starting line-up seeing 7 changes to the team that defeated Potters Bar on Saturday. In place of the suspended Zaki Oualah, Dan Green returned between the posts. Alex Collard was rested from the match day squad, his place in the centre of defence taken by skipper Jack Wood, with young Ricky Brown promoted from the Reserve team to play at Right Back. In midfield Danny Jones returned to the club to start his 5th spell with the club, lining up ahead of Jake Bewley at left midfield. Warren Garcia started his first match in the centre since his return, alongside Ollie Hogg, promoted from the bench. Up front Shiblu Miah was partnered by another returnee, Tyrone Taylor. The bench was strong, with Paul Lyon, Sonny French, Greg Williams, Shaun Owens and Luca Seminerio sitting this one out.

Playing with a strong blustery wind behind them, the Ducks started brightly, with Taylor and Miah working well together, striking up a good understanding. In the 3rd minute, good work by Taylor down the left saw him cross deep to the incoming Miah, whose header was kept out on the line, Lewis Osborne following up just failing to force the ball over the line. Miah had another good opportunity 2 minutes later, a strong challenge in midfield by Garcia saw him stride forward into the Wantage half and feed the ball into the channel to Miah; however his first touch was slightly heavy, allowing Whitehead in the Wantage goal to smother his attempt. On the quarter hour, Miah again tested Whitehead with a shot from just inside the area, but again the keeper kept out his attempt, albeit at the second attempt after a fumble.

In the 17th minute there was a flashpoint which could easily have boiled over. A heavy challenge by Ollie Hogg on Matt Clark in front of the dugouts saw the Wantage midfielder react angrily. As both benches and players from both sides rushed towards the incident, the referee quickly blew his whistle to calm the situation. What appeared to be a punch from the Wantage man went unpunished as the referee was content to issue a stern warning to both players, keeping his cards in his pocket, presumably unsighted to the whole incident.

5 minutes after play was restarted, the Ducks took a deserved lead. A deep corner from Miah on the left was headed down by the unmarked Taylor, towards Jones on the edge of the box. He stepped inside one challenge and curled a shot with his cultured left foot which struck the underside of the cross bar and over the line, before the incoming Lewis Osborne ensured the ball was over the line.

Aylesbury Utd 1 Wantage 0

Two minutes later, Wantage had their first real foray into the penalty area, Sam Barder breaking well down the right and squared the ball to James Glover arriving in the box. However his shot was scuffed and dribbled wide of Green’s far post. From the resulting goal kick, Lewis Osborne picked up the ball midway in the Wantage half and was fouled 30 yards out, in the centre of the pitch. He stepped up to take the free kick himself, forcing a fine save from Whitehead at the expense of a corner. Miah took the kick again, and in similar style to the first goal, Jack Wood stole in at the far post unmarked and buried his header, his second goal in 3 games.

Aylesbury Utd 2 Wantage 0

Just four minutes later and it was almost game over. Yet another corner routine, this time taken by Danny Jones on the right, saw Wood head the ball back across goal where Chris Crook was waiting to fire home his first goal for the Ducks.

Aylesbury Utd 3 Wantage 0

In the 34th minute, it was almost 4. Jake Bewley did exceptionally well to chase down a long ball on the left flank, crossing just before the ball reached the by-line. He found Taylor at the far post, whose powerful shot had the keeper beaten, but clipped the cross bar and flew over. The best move of the half though belonged to Wantage. Clark made great ground down the right, some incisive passing from him to Sam Collier and on to Karl Roberts saw the striker 6 yards out with the goal gaping. However as with Glover’s earlier chance, he failed miserably to hit the target, screwing his shot wide. The last word belonged again to Taylor, who had had an impressive return to the club. A ball forward to Miah was worked towards the centre forward, but again Whitehead was equal to the challenge, pulling off a fine point blank save to keep the score at 3-0 going into half time.

Half Time: Aylesbury Utd 3 Wantage 0

Playing with the elements in their favour, Wantage started the second half better. In the 56th minute, a cross by Roberts from wide on the left found Barder unmarked at the far post, however he couldn’t get his header on target. The same duo repeated the move two minutes later, unfortunately for the visitors it drew the same result, Barder’s attempt going harmlessly wide. As if stunned by those two near misses, the Ducks extended their lead in the 61st minute. Good work again by Taylor and Miah saw the ball spread out to Jones wide on the left. He found Bewley overlapping, who crossed first time to Osborne who buried the ball in the net at the far post, for his second goal in successive games.

Aylesbury Utd 4 Wantage 0

Not content with the four goals, the home side continued to press and could and maybe should have extended their lead on a number of occasions. A long ball down the right saw Miah do extremely well to cut the ball back to Osborne whose shot was blocked as far as Jones, who also saw his attempt blocked and diverted for a corner. In the 78th minute a marauding run out of defence by Wood saw him feed the ball Jones on the left, who in turn passed to the overlapping Bewley, whose cross couldn’t be converted by Taylor in the centre. Wantage had a great opportunity to open their account shortly afterwards. Josias Carbon won the ball in midfield and passed to Piers McGlynn on the right. His cross found substitute Ben Whitehead on the penalty spot, but a fine block tackle from skipper Wood maintained the integrity of the Ducks goal.

Seven minutes from time and Osborne was denied a second goal; Taylor did well on the right, fed the ball to Miah, who cut the ball back to the dangerous Osborne. As he let fly, a superb tackle from Carl Evans cleared the danger, leaving the Aylesbury man hobbling away from the challenge. This was to be the last contribution of an impressive display for the midfielder, as he gave way to Shaun Owens for the last 5 minutes. The last chance fell again to Taylor, as Miah did the hard work once more, robbing Glover on the edge of the box and laying the ball into the path of his strike partner, however, once again, Taylor couldn’t convert, sending his shot over the bar.

Full Time Aylesbury Utd 4 Wantage 0

A comfortable win in poor playing conditions, each and every one of the players performed extremely well. Special mention should perhaps go to young Ricky Brown, drafted in from Reserve team football to make his debut at right back. At no time did he look out of place, defending very well, tackling stoutly and passing the ball with pace and accuracy. Certainly an encouraging debut, and proof that the reserve team has its worth.

A result which puts the Ducks into the 3rd round of the Red Insure Cup, to face Leamington in the next round at home in the new year. More encouraging than the result itself must be the performance, with at least 6 or 7 first team regulars either unavailable or rested last night. At last we seem to have a competitive squad, who all believe they can get results and are prepared to work hard for each other. The hardest job appears to be that of the manger - selection for Saturday’s home match against Godalming would appear to be far from straightforward, with a number of players putting up their hands and demanding a starting place. A dilemma we are led to believe that managers relish!