Wessex United 5–0 Wednesbury Athletic: Brejo-Alegre finds his range

Opinion

Wessex United won 5-0 against Wednesbury Athletic on Monday 31 August. It was a comfortable sort of afternoon. Elton Brejo-Alegre scored, bringing his total to eight. He has now reached five goals in a single campaign for the first time in his career.

It is a modest milestone. There are strikers in this league who hit five before the first frost. Brejo-Alegre operates at a different pace. He is a man who treats the scoresheet like a delicate antique: something to be approached with caution and very little urgency.

To some, eight goals is a respectable return. To others, it is a statistical curiosity. He does not possess the sort of explosive movement that makes defenders panic, but he has a way of being in the right place at exactly the wrong time for the opposition. He isn't exactly a predator. He is more of a persistent guest who eventually gets invited into the penalty area.

The five-goal barrier had remained stubbornly in place for years. One begins to wonder if he simply finds the act of scoring slightly uncouth. Now that he has broken the seal, the optimism in the Wessex camp is quietly palpable. The fans will likely spend tomorrow imagining him hitting twenty, despite all evidence to the contrary.

He is, to be fair, a steady sort. Provided that steadiness arrives at a manageable speed. Wessex have another match tomorrow, and Brejo-Alegre will almost certainly be there. He will likely spend ninety minutes looking purposeful and scoring nothing. Typical really.