It would be unwise to bet against them adding to the Rawlinson Cup over the coming months, too, if Friday night’s performance is anything to go by.
There might have been only a single goal between the sides in the 3-2 scoreline, but the Westerners were far more convincing winners than that margin suggests and thoroughly deserving victors after taking the game to Saints for much of the second half.
When Max Johnson popped up out of nowhere with a 25-yard pile-driver in the 91st minute it might have briefly given a glimmer of hope for the recent Spirit Cup winners, but in reality it was merely a consolation for Saints on a night when Nick Batiste had very little to do apart from pick the ball out of the net at the end of each half.
The same could not be said at the other end where Max Wall pulled off a couple of fine saves and there were plenty of other near misses to go with the three goals Sylvans netted.
Their first on 34min. had a touch of good fortune about it as Oscar Leadbeater’s strike from a tight angle took a deflection on its way past the Saints goalkeeper, but the player – and, in fairness, referee Ben Boardman – had earned that luck.
The build-up was slick with a clever dummy from Kyle Smith pivotal before Tiago Rodrigues released Leadbeater down the right-hand side. The marauding midfielder deserved a lot of credit for opting to stay on his feet when brought down as he cut into the box and he, along with the official who played the advantage, got his just reward when his effort found the far corner of the net.
Sylvans sensed blood and they immediately went in search of a second, with Smith having a shot blocked before Wall parried away a danger ball in from James Ravenscroft and Rodrigues was crowded out by defenders all in the space of a minute.
As the half was coming to a close Joe Tempest whipped in an inviting cross that Smith was just unable to get on the end of, but then, out of the blue, Saints were back on level terms with the last kick of the half as Louis Hunter tucked away a penalty after Rio Bowditch did well to entice a foul from Jimmy Montgomery on the left-hand side of the area.
Eager to restore their momentum, Sylvans were out early for the second half and they were quickly on the front foot, with Wall having to be alert to come out of his area to clear after Smith had turned the ball around the corner for Luke Ogier to bear down on goal.
The Westerners regained the lead 56 minutes in when Emerson Nobes delivered a quality free-kick from the centre circle and his fellow centre-back Henry Marsh, who later received the Keith Parkyn Trophy as player of the match, got the run on the Saints backline to plant his header into the bottom corner.
It was all Sylvans for the next 25 minutes, with Leadbeater firing wide before Wall made a reaction stop to deny Ogier and then the goalkeeper had to scramble to spare Johnson’s blushes when he inadvertently turned a low cross towards his own goal.
The Westerners also had several set-piece opportunities to make the game safe, but could not make them count.
Instead it was neat passing football that conjured their third goal nine minutes from time with Leadbeater and Smith playing their part before Rodrigues slotted home with impressive composure.
Johnson’s cracker that halved the deficit came as a shock to everyone, but Sylvans still finished strongly with an off-balance Elliott Tart hitting the outside of the post in the closing moments.
