Henley Men's 5ths travelled to Sonning for a local derby on Saturday, and came away with another well earned victory. An increasingly confident Henley 5ths turned out a strong team with a great deal of experience of playing together and that unity showed in the expansive play on show. Anchored by Dan Austin in midfield, with Piers Edgell, George Austin and Simon Taylor, Henley took control of the game early, shutting Sonning out of the early play. Good movement from forwards Sam Austin, Charlie Tyler-Chamberlain and David Corke tested the defences and Henley were able to apply consistent pressure to Sonning, whose stout defence was able to withstand the early pressure. Defenders Jon Williams, Adam Warner and Dan Bradbury supported the attackers and soaked up the rare breakaways, with keeper Ed Newbold having little to do in the first half.

Despite the pressure, Henley were unable to make their chances count, and it was not until the squad began to rotate, bringing on Nick Shuttleworth in defence and Nicholas Seqrue in attack that the cutting edge became more incisive - a late move saw an excellent cross struck by S Austin and the rebound tapped home by Taylor to leave the home side one up at half time.

Both sides emerged determined to attack in the second half, which was a more end to end affair, but Henley's dominance was not under serious challenge. Debutant George Austin visibly grew in confidence and his attacking contribution opened out space for the attackers to run onto. The pressure mounted and Austin G was able to pick up the ball just outside the D, drive in and take a well struck shot that was only just saved, allowing Austin S to mop up and tap the ball home: 2-0. Rapidly rotating players to maintain their energy, Henley maintained their advantage, creating another goal scoring opportunity with a short corner, which was injected by Tyler-Chamberlain and picked up by Segrue, whose well taken shot struck home: 3-0. With tails up, Henley were flying high, only to see a Sonning breakaway in the last 2 minutes evade the defence and slip past Newbold for a consolation goal and a final score of 3-1.

Henley's confidence in each other and their own skills was the difference here, and they will draw on the lessons when hosting Staines at home next weekend.