Ascot United 0 Marine 2
Preseason Friendly | Saturday July 18th 2026
Marine Make the Running at Ascot
Pre-season moved to the edge of Ascot Racecourse on Saturday. There were no jockeys, no bookmakers and, thankfully, no fascinators – just two football teams intent on making the running in another worthwhile step towards the new campaign.
It was Marine who burst fastest from the stalls. Within two minutes Zach Rugman had thundered into a pair of perfectly timed tackles that left nobody in any doubt the visitors had not travelled merely for a pleasant afternoon in Berkshire.
Bobby Wilkinson’s side set a fierce early gallop, pressing aggressively, tackling with purpose, and moving the ball with an assurance that repeatedly left Ascot chasing shadows. Their reward came after only nine minutes.
Tyger Hall harried the home goalkeeper into a mistake and when his first acrobatic effort rebounded off the post bodies littered the six-yard box. Hall was the quickest to regain his footing, he hurdled the prone defenders with all the agility of a seasoned steeplechaser and emphatically buried the rebound. Marine had their noses in front, and few could argue they did not deserve to.
The Wiltshire side continued to dictate the pace. Crisp passing and intelligent movement repeatedly opened up the home defence. In the thirteenth minute Sam Turl, Gabe Reivers, and Dan Warre combined delightfully down the right before Turl’s effort drifted narrowly beyond the far post.
Marine were making virtually all the running. Brad Hooper, deployed in a deeper midfield role, distributed the ball with intelligence and imagination. One exquisite defence splitting pass almost released Warre clear, only for the Ascot goalkeeper to leave his line smartly and avert the danger.
Ascot’s first meaningful effort arrived after 23 minutes but Halliday, alert throughout, gathered with reassuring ease. There was a pleasing fluency to much of Marine’s football. Warre and Hall constantly stretched the home defence on either flank, while Rugman and Reivers repeatedly threaded passes into inviting channels for the wide men to gallop onto.
One particularly flowing move after half an hour deserved a better outcome. Three crisp passes released Piers Walton down the inside-left channel before he found Hall, whose low effort drew another excellent save from the home goalkeeper. Ascot briefly threatened ten minutes before the interval with their best passing move of the half, only for the final cross to carry harmlessly beyond everyone.
Marine thought they had doubled their lead moments later. Turl’s clever footwork created the opening before Hall calmly found the net. The referee’s whistle, however, intervened. There would be no VAR nor stewards’ enquiry. The goal would not stand.
The only real blemish on an otherwise polished first half arrived just before the interval when Ascot sliced unexpectedly through Marine’s midfield before seeing a deflected effort drift behind. Although only ahead by a nose at the break Marine had comfortably made the running. Had they reached the weighing room two goals ahead few would have questioned the verdict.
The pattern scarcely altered after the restart. Hall’s lively wing play on 50 minutes created another opening, Rugman firing narrowly wide, before the midfielder turned provider four minutes later with a teasing cross that evaded the stretching Jordan Annear by inches.
Ascot enjoyed their best opportunity shortly afterwards when an intercepted back pass threatened to send a home striker clear. Halliday, however, left his line decisively, narrowing the angle sufficiently for the eventual effort to strike the side-netting. Approaching the hour Marine produced the move that effectively settled the contest.
Olly Case spotted Jordan Annear’s run and clipped a wonderfully judged pass into the inside-right channel. The striker, with the goalkeeper caught in no mans land, from fully twenty-five yards displayed admirable composure to lift the bouncing ball delicately over him. It was an accomplished finish that looked simpler than it truly was.
Manager Bobby Wilkinson introduced four substitutes and, inevitably, Marine briefly lost their rhythm as players adjusted to the reshuffle. Ascot enjoyed their best spell of possession, but once the visitors settled again, their chances resumed. Dayo Sonoiki delivered an inviting cross on 68 minutes that found Conor McDonagh, although the striker could not quite create sufficient space to test the goalkeeper.
Sonoiki then produced perhaps the afternoon’s most elegant moment. Trapped near the corner flag with his back to goal and a defender tight against him, he pirouetted skilfully away from trouble, leaving his opponent comprehensively wrong-footed before delivering a delightful cross. McDonagh’s powerful effort was met by another excellent save.
By then Marine had the bit firmly between their teeth. They looked every inch a side determined to see the race out properly, avoiding any stumble at the final fence. Tawana Changa almost added further gloss two minutes from time, firing narrowly over after another slick passing move.
This was an impressive Marine performance. The two keepers both did well; defensively the team looked solid with all the full backs used stopping crossing opportunities and also looking threatening on the overlap; all the centre backs were laudably commanding throughout; the midfield pressed with energy, tackled strongly, and moved the ball well; the wide men gave their full backs a torrid old time; and up front the strikers all put in a good shift.
The scoreline reflected Marine’s superiority, but more encouraging than the result itself was the manner of it. Bobby Wilkinson’s side played with confidence, imagination, and discipline. If this was merely another pre-season gallop, Marine look a team gathering momentum nicely before the starter eventually raises the flag for the campaign that really matters.
Pete Crockett
