BINFIELD were blown away by Highworth at a very windy Hill Farm Lane on Saturday, writes Dave Wright.

The Moles were beaten 4-1 by their high-flying opponents, their heaviest home defeat in the Premier Division this season.

And manager Roger Herridge had to admit: “They adapted to the conditions far better than we did.”

He had seen Highworth winger Bradley Clark give his side a 31st-minute lead with a high cross from way out on the left which got caught in the wind, deceiving keeper Nathan Silver and dropping into the far corner.

Before then, Binfield had twice gone close to opening the scoring, first through Josh Howell and then Brad Brown.

In between, Highworth dangerman Terry Bohane had seen his effort cleared off the home line and it was the same player who raced through to dink the ball over Silver to make it 2-0 after 37 minutes.

By this time Moles had lost defender Lewis Leonetti with a knee injury.

“That was a big blow,” said Herridge. “He could be out for a little while. We are going to miss him, as he is one of our best defenders, while also being the most experienced central defender.”

The young Binfield back line, with Callum Carlisle making his first start, never looked comfortable, both against the wind and an attack led by Bohane, one of the league’s most prolific scorers.

The Moles conceded a third goal just before half time with Nathan Blackford’s shot taking a deflection on its way past Silver.

“If we had gone in at half time just one goal down then we may have been able to turn the game around in the second half, but at 3-0 the game was effectively over,” said Herridge.

Binfield, who had won 3-2 at Highworth earlier in the season, had more possession in the second half than they had in the opening 45 minutes, but without looking particularly dangerous in the final third.

Their defence was again caught out in the 68th minute, allowing Blackford to net his second of the game and Highworth’s fourth.

Herridge commented; “For as good as they (Highworth) are, you look at the four goals we conceded, I would say all four were probably avoidable.

“One thing you can’t do on a windy day like today is to give away as many free kicks as we did.

“At the end of the day we need to defend better as a top team.”

He continued: “I hope some players will learn from games like this and become better players.

“If they don’t learn, then possibly they won’t be here for long.”

Howell pulled a goal back for Binfield with a fiercely-struck free-kick in stoppage time.
Binfield face another tough home game this Saturday when Thatcham are the visitors.

Then on Monday (7.45pm) they receive a visit from Division One East side Woodley United in the opening round of the Reading Senior Cup.