A warm, sunny day greeted the Bromsgrove team on their arrival in mid-Oxfordshire but a bone-dry, uneven pitch did not bode well for a skilful match.

However both teams got to work early on with the home side forcing a corner in the first minute but it was the Sporting who got their noses in front on the sixth minute when Charlie Dowd floated over an inch-perfect corner to the far post that was met by an unmarked Jason Cowley whose bullet header into the top right-hand corner of Leigh Bedwell's net gave the 'keeper no chance.

The goal seemed to give Sporting some confidence that they could go further and that nearly happened couple of minutes later when Kieren Westwood's shot was parried by Bedwell.

However as the half went on so Didcot themselves gained confidence and for periods kept their opponents pinned back in their own half but by half-time they had not managed to get one back. The closest they came was a bicycle kick from Felipe Barcelos that went just over the bar and an angled shot from Callum McNish that Jono Brown, between the sticks for the Rouslers, did well to keep out with his feet.

Hardly surprising after the interval, the home side attempted to take the game to Sporting and they succeeded on the 53rd minute with a skilful effort from John Dennis who managed to weave his way through the Sporting defence before hitting a low shot past Brown into the bottom left-hand of the net.

Smelling blood, Didcot went after the lead, forcing Brown to make another good stop with his feet from Barcelos then moments later McNish posted a good effort from just outside the box that went marginally wide of the left-hand post.

Sporting though were interested in re-gaining the lead and that came on the 64th minute when a quick move up field saw Josh Quaynor slide a pass wide to Dowd who had plenty of time and space to record his seventh goal of the season with a tap-in from 10 yards out.

With the away policy now to defend the narrow lead further attempts were few from either side though Nathan Hayward's pile-driver from just over 20 yards went narrowly over the bar whilst Jack Wilson's attempt to get on the score sheet resulted in a weak shot after taking the ball from well inside his own half.
So the score line remained after five minutes added by Mr Martin.

After the match manager Brendan Kelly praised his side saying "it was a hard-fought but deserved win and we had to soak up a lot of pressure on a poor surface".

Didcot: Leigh Bedwell, Sam Barder, Cameron McNeil, Ollie Thomas (Andrew Ballard 81 mins), Luke Carnell, Adam Learoyd (Capt.), John Dennis , Callum McNish, Felipe Barcelos, Lance Williams (Seth Humphries 79 mins), Morgan Williams (Greg Hackett 79 mins).
Substitute not used: Lewis Hayden.
Goal: John Dennis (53 mins)
Yellows: Lance Williams (5 mins), Cameron McNeil (90+5 mins)

Sporting: Jono Brown, Liam Spink, Jack Wilson, Nathan Hayward (Jake Heath 85 mins), Tom Taylor, Kyle Lincoln, Charlie Dowd, Josh Quaynor, Jason Cowley, Richard Gregory (Capt, Cameron Peters 65 mins), Kieren Westwood (John Pykett 65 mins).
Substitutes not used: Dan O'Sullivan, Tom Rankin.
Goals: Jason Cowley (6 mins), Charlie Dowd (64 mins).
Yellows: Josh Quaynor (16 mins), Jack Wilson (58 mins), Charlie Dowd (62 mins).

Referee: Mr R Martin (Bristol)
Assistants: Mr I Christodoulou (Oxford), Mr K Bungay (Bicester).

Sporting MoM: Tom Taylor

Crowd: 305
Weather: Warm, white cloud.

Report: Phil Baker

Didcot’s play-off aspirations took another jolt when they were narrowly beaten by title contenders Bromsgrove Sporting at the Loop Meadow on Saturday.

Taken in isolation this was a decent display that probably merited a draw on the overall balance of play but one point from their last three matches puts the pressure on the Railwaymen to pick up wins urgently to avoid dropping out of the top five places.

Diddy needed to settle well after last week’s mauling by Berkhamsted but instead got off to the worst possible start by falling behind in the sixth minute. Charlie Dowd’s corner picked out Jason Cowley and the league’s top scorer punished the hosts for allowing him too much space by powering a header into the opposite top corner.

Kieren Westwood was put through and almost made it 2-0 moments later but Leigh Bedwell managed to smother his effort. The game then meandered along for a while as the teams cancelled each other out on a tricky playing surface. Felipe Barcelos sent an acrobatic overhead kick narrowly over the crossbar and Callum McNish had a strike blocked by keeper Jono Brown but Sporting were able to nurse their one goal cushion successfully to the half time interval.

Not for the first time this season, Didcot came out of the traps strongly as the second half started and pinned Bromsgrove back. Excellent forward play by Barcelos forced an error by centre-back Kyle Lincoln; a defensive header falling short allowing the Diddy number nine to pounce. Unfortunately, Brown was alert to the danger and positioned himself perfectly to prevent the point-blank strike from reaching its target.

The Diddy faithful could have been forgiven for thinking that was the golden chance wasted but their team maintained the momentum and equalised a few minutes later. John Dennis was allowed a free run at the Rouslers backline and made the visitors pay by drawing the exposed Brown from goal and rifling a finish into the bottom corner.

Barcelos was denied by Brown for a second time and Dennis thundered a 25 yard strike just past the post as the Railwaymen looked to take the lead, only for their good work to be undone when the Worcestershire side scored from their first attack of the half. Diddy were caught dithering over a throw-in and in a flash Westwood was away down the left. Cowley was put through on goal and as Bedwell came out to meet him unselfishly squared the ball to Dowd who tapped into the empty net.

Nathan Hayward slammed a shot inches over the crossbar as Bromsgrove looked to increase the advantage but a third goal proved unnecessary as despite three substitutions in quick succession Didcot could not make any further impression on the game.

The result maintained the second and fourth place league positions for the two sides but more meaningfully, Bromsgrove are a colossal 23 points ahead of their Oxfordshire counterparts. Diddy’s worry is that only five points separate them from ninth placed Thame United and victory at lower mid-table Kempston Rovers is a must next Saturday.

Didcot: Bedwell; Barder; McNeill; Thomas (Ballard 81); Carnell; Learoyd; Dennis; McNish; Barcelos; L.Williams (Humphries 79); M.Williams (Hackett 79)
Subs not used: Hayden.