After Josh Carmichael had given the visitors the lead early in the second-half, Walton & Hersham took full advantage of Billy Walker’s red card to score twice in ten minutes to end Wimborne’s unbeaten run.

Manager Tim Sills made one change, Harvey Wright returning in place of the suspended Drew Eccott-Young. There were only three on the visitors’ subs bench.

With a strong breeze blowing across the 3G pitch from the far corner, on a very warm, unless you were sitting in the shade of the stand, afternoon, the sprinklers were out beforehand to produce a slick surface. Maybe it was too slick, because, with the strong breeze behind them, over-hitting through balls was a feature of The Swans’ play in a surprisingly pedestrian goal-less first half. The hosts dominated possession, putting together eight-nine-ten passes across the back from left to right, from right to left always probing for an opening. Then, when one occurred, they’d try to find the runner but were unable to get the weight of the pass right. Credit though to Wimborne, for maintaining their shape and proving hard to break open.

Clear cut chances were at a premium in the first period. For The Swans, Horan whipped a Beckham-esque ball across the face of the goal; a scintillating central run into the box by Taylor ended with Cameron Plain making a super finger-tip save; and slick inter-play between Horan and Taylor was finished by Powell only to find Plain well-positioned to save. For Wimborne, Owen Roundell-Prince’s long throw ended with a touch from Billy Walker which landed on the roof of the net; Sam Roberts played Will Fletcher through the inside-right channel only to be thwarted by a sprawling save from Barker; and from the corner Harvey Wright’s shot was blocked before Sam Jackson’s low header was saved.

Wimborne’s Sills would have been the happier of the two managers at the break. And his smile would have broadened further with the way his team started the second-half. Sam Jackson and Jez Bedford had combined on the left to set up Will Fletcher for a shot which brought a strong save from Barker, the rebound falling to Matty Burrows who thrashed the ball into the side-netting. Then, on 51 minutes, the visitors were awarded a free-kick wide on the right. Matt Neale’s delivery was on the money for Sam Jackson, beyond the far post, to head across the area where Josh Carmichael headed home from two yards.

As you’d expect, the hosts upped their game and looked threatening with every attack as their movement caused problems and induced tiredness into chasing legs on the strength-sapping surface. Referee Parke seemed determined to penalise the visitors with increasing regularity, and began flourishing his yellow card. He showed it twice to Billy Walker within a few minutes, so, on the hour mark, Wimborne were reduced to ten. Home manager Rowley made clever use of his substitutes, injecting more pace and directness.

It was no great surprise when Walton’s pressure paid off: Taylor’s pacey low cross from the right evaded Plain, Bedford half-stopped it on the line but was unable to prevent substitute Bolton from poking the ball into the net. With Wright moved to centre-back, Bedford, with support from Burrows, filled in on the right of the back-line. But they were no match for another of Rowley’s subs, Vigrass, wide on the left. Twice his twisting and turning and speed took him to the by-line, once to provide a pull-back which Powell turned inches wide of the far post, and once for Rogalski to bundle the ball into the net but the ball had already gone out of play. Then, on 83 minutes, the winger took matters into his own hands: receiving the ball wide on the left, his sublime first touch took him inside his defenders, and as he raced into the box he curled the ball beyond Plain into the far corner.

Wimborne didn’t lie down, and almost equalised when, from just outside the centre-circle, Carmichael saw the keeper off his line, and let rip. Barker acrobatically tipped the ball over the bar. High balls were hit into Barker’s box during the eight additional minutes, but The Magpies were unable to convert any, and a relieved home crowd welcomed the final whistle.

Wimborne’s record-breaking 10-game unbeaten run in the Southern Premier comes to an end. Of course the sending-off made a difference, but so did Rowley’s clever use of substitutes to take full advantage. A battling performance which almost took a point against third-placed Walton & Hersham, shows how far Tim’s team have come since that 4-0 defeat in the reverse fixture earlier in the season. They’ll be determined to complete the season strongly.

Wimborne: Plain, Wright, Roberts, Walker, Jackson, Roundell-Prince (Morgan 73), Carmichael, Neale (Baker 85), Bedford (Richardson 85), Burrows, Fletcher

Attendance: 712

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