BRACKNELL Town FC manager Mark Tallentire believes he has a star in the making in Ben Poynter, writes Dave Wright.

The young midfielder scored for Robins when they held Hellenic League Premier Division runners-up Thatcham Town to a 1-1 draw at Larges Lane on Tuesday.

That took his goal tally to five, following his brace in both the recent games against Woodley United and Wokingham & Emmbrook.

“He has done exceptionally well,” said manager Mark Tallentire.

“He is very composed, technically good and and I think we could have unearthed a little diamond.

“I am really pleased for him.”

The tall Poynter equalised for the Robins in the 21st minute when he seized onto a clearance on the edge of the area and struck a well-placed lob over keeper Chris Rackley.

Thatcham had taken a 12th-minute lead through ex-Robins hot-shot Shane Cooper-Clark, who turned up the left-hand post to turn home a right-wing cross from Josh Baines.

Cooper-Clark thought he had set up a second goal early in the second half when he got behind the Bracknell defence down the right before squaring the ball to the unmarked Adam Morris in front of an open goal, but the Kingfishers midfielder somehow managed to screw the ball wide.

Soon after, the visitors also struck the crossbar.

“We rode our luck there, but over the whole 90 minutes we deserved a point,” added Tallentire.

“It was a fantastic shift from our players.”

With three players nursing hamstring problems and two ankle knocks, Tallentire rested several key players and he will continue to do so for their remaining two home games against Royal Wootton Bassett on Thursday and Milton United on Saturday.

The manager added: “I will be resting players in order to keep them fresh for our cup ties next week.”

The Robins visit Didcot Town Reserves in the semi-finals of the Bluefin Sports Supplementary Cup on Monday and 48 hours later take on another Division One East side, Henley Town, at The Triangle ground in the quarter finals of the Reading Senior Cup.

“We will be treating both sides with respect,” said Tallentire.

Relegated Wokingham & Emmbrook were beaten 2-0 at home by Ardley United on Tuesday.

But the game was surrounded in controversy, with joint manager Matt Eggleston blasting referee Nathan Briggs’ handling of the game.

“I’m disgusted with the level of the referee,” he said. “I feel absolutely cheated.”

It looked as though an Ardley player had tripped over his own feet when the visitors were awarded an early penalty to take a 1-0 lead through Ade Talari.

Sumas worked hard to get back in the game but their hopes of earning a point ended when Reece Bayliss added a late second.

Wokingham complete their league fixtures home to Lydney Town on Saturday. Then on Monday they make the short journey to Binfield for a Reading Senior Cup quarter-final tie.

Binfield will be looking to bounce back following a 5-1 loss at Brimscombe & Thrupp and a 1-0 reverse at Ascot United on Monday.

Manager Roger Herridge said: “As a team, we have been conceding far too many soft goals and late goals as well. This is something we need to address for next season.”

Ascot will meet Brimscombe & Thrupp in the Hellenic League Floodlit Cup final at Kidlington FC next Thursday.