MK Irish 1-0 Winslow United

MK Irish made it back-to-back victories to begin their 2026-27 campaign as Clinton Zawe’s late goal secured a 1–0 win over local rivals Winslow United at Manor Fields on Tuesday night.

Winslow were playing their first ever game at Step Four following their play-off success last season, while Irish came into the game looking to build on Saturday’s FA Cup victory at Highworth Town.

Irish made the brighter start and created the first opportunities of the evening. Ben Farrell delivered a cross from the right which Kyle Boyce got his head to, although the ball skimmed off the top and went wide. George Shrieves then made a strong run before finding Boyce inside the area, but his low effort went wide of the far post.

Boyce was involved again shortly afterwards when Meadows picked him out inside the box. His effort took a heavy deflection and looped into the air, but the visiting goalkeeper reacted well to back-pedal and turn the ball over the bar.

Winslow gradually found their way into the game and created a couple of openings of their own. Irish produced an important defensive intervention inside the box to deny the visitors a clear opportunity, while a mistake from Ladyman almost proved costly when he was unable to find a teammate under pressure and the ball fell to a Winslow man just outside the area, but he could only find the side-netting.

The visitors continued to threaten from set pieces, with a delivery from the right finding a Winslow player at the back post, but his header was saved by Ladyman.

Irish continued to look dangerous on the break. Rev Kalek sent a long ball forward which George Shrieves chased down with his pace, getting beyond the visiting defence before striking an effort that flew just over the bar.

The visitors had the final opportunity of the first half when a low cross from the right found a Winslow man inside the area, but he could not keep his effort down.

Half Time: MK Irish 0–0 Winslow United

Irish went close within the opening couple of minutes of the second half when Ollie Coleman sent a low ball into the area and Meadows got ahead of his marker, only to see his shot hit the outside of the near post.

Moments later, the game was interrupted by a lengthy stoppage as Coleman went down in pain near the corner flag. After several minutes of treatment, the Irish defender was unable to continue and was helped from the pitch, with Ryan Hawkins coming on for his debut.

Winslow began to apply more pressure following the restart. A shot from outside the box was blocked before a free kick from the right was met by a Winslow man, whose header was dealt with by the Irish defence. The resulting corner was sent towards the back post, where another header was blocked on the line by Ladyman.

The visitors continued to threaten as the game became increasingly scrappy, with a number of free kicks disrupting the flow.

Irish responded with another spell of pressure. Ty Ward delivered a free kick towards the far post where Zawe met it on the volley, but his effort took a deflection and went over the bar.

Meadows then did well to turn on the edge of the area and fire towards goal, but his effort struck a Winslow defender.

With the game seemingly heading towards a goalless draw, Irish finally found the breakthrough on 84 minutes.

George Shrieves made a run down the left before sending an excellent ball towards the far post. Zawe took a touch before calmly finishing past the visiting goalkeeper to put Irish ahead.

Winslow pushed forward during the ten minutes of added time in search of an equaliser, but Irish defended their lead well. The visitors found space inside the box late on, but Ladyman got down comfortably to save a low effort.

Irish then had one final opportunity to seal the points when good pressure from Meadows created an opening for Shrieves, but his effort went wide.

The final whistle confirmed a hard-fought 1–0 victory for Irish and a second successive win to start the season.

It was a scrappy game at times, with both sides having periods of pressure and opportunities to take the lead. Irish had to withstand a strong spell from Winslow after the restart, but Zawe’s late finish and a determined defensive performance ensured the points stayed at Manor Fields.

Full Time: MK Irish 1–0 Winslow United

Goalscorer:
Clinton Zawe (84)