Ruislip returned to league action for the first time since late September and dug out a hard fought win against a spirited Beaconsfield outfit. Whilst never at their best, the away side showed admirable spirit to overcome a difficult first half and take control of the game in the second period and earn the points with, in the end, something to spare. It was Beaconsfield that had the first chance of the morning as Harry Sandiford was forced into turning a goal bound header over the top. It was the start of a good day for the keeper as, although he never had many saves to make, he always looked in full control of his area. Ruislip struggled to create chances early on but then took the lead on 17 minutes with their first effort of the game with what was a fantastic team goal. Debutant Jack Neill started the move and the ball was moved on through Omari Reynolds and Charlie Coshall finding Ryan Morgan in space on the right and his fierce low drive found the bottom corner unerringly. This did not however seem to unsettle the home side, as having seen a goal chalked off for offside on 20 minutes and then having had survived when Mark Webb was unable to finish off his jinking run through the heart of their defence, they equalised on 29 minutes with a searing and frankly unstoppable 25 yard effort. To be honest, Ruislip were then grateful to get to half time with the scores level as they were second best for the rest of the half. There was a feeling at half time that maybe Beaconsfield’s chance had come and gone as it was unlikely that Ruislip would play at a such a low intensity in the second half. And so it proved as two goals in two minutes just after the restart, gave the game a very different look. Firstly Lennox Kedman, having a more than decent game on the left, latched onto Webb’s lofted through ball and never looked like missing and then Coshall from close range cleverly flicked home the returning Caleb Watts’ mishit drive. With Harrison Deas working hard to protect his defenders, Ruislip saw out the game with minimal fuss. They came close to adding to their tally with 13 minutes remaining as Remi Ogunbayo’s poor miss led to the daddy of all goalmouth scrambles where the ball just wouldn’t go over the line and one which ended with Watts’ pile driver grazing the bar. Kedman then smacked a free kick against the bar from way out on the right before Neill maybe should have scored the goal his promising first performance in Ruislip colours deserved. Not the greatest of performances but a good test of character and one which Ruislip passed. MoM following on from his excellent performance the previous week, Lewis Crowley was once again Mr Composure at the back
