Click HERE to view Bedfont FC web site.

Combined Counties League - Premier Division Match

MATCH REPORT

Chertsey Town might have been fortunate to have survived the first half against an improving Bedfont fully intact in their Combined Counties League encounter but the second half performance by the visitors justified the taking of all three points in one of Town’s least convincing winning displays of the season.

Working on such a small squad of players at the moment, manager Spencer Day’s team almost picked itself with Ollie Treacher in the starting line up in place of the unavailable Gavin Bamford and the bench featuring four youth team players. With such a tight score line throughout the match, little space for tactical manoeuvres were on tap and in the end only Tommy Higgins made an appearance, late on, for Andy Crossley who had given his all.

Bedfont gave quick notice that their star is on the rise and most of the game’s early momentum was driven towards the Chertsey goal and they created two good chances in the first twenty minutes to have taken a lead at the far end of the ground, and with a stiff following breeze to assist. An overhead kick from Awoala Kpanpamo that clipped the Chertsey upright and a swerving 20 yard shot by Luke Craig that Liam Stone, guarding the Curfews net, did well to parry almost made their mark.

Vibrant attacking was not featured high in a rather formless contest, however, both sides won plenty of corner kicks which generally wasted through poor delivery that was so often cut out by the near post sentinel. Crossley made progress on the right and shot from a very acute angle and Kevin Lock also found a place near to gaol, but on an angle. He might have done better to have gone for goal instead of heading the ball back into the kernel of the penalty area that was still devoid of fellow attackers.

These two efforts signalled that Town had started, around the fifteen minute mark, to pick up but they still were too lose at the back at times and a last ditch Dean Inman tackle, plus an awkward, but nonetheless effective clearance off the line by Steve Gibson just kept Town level with the more ambitious Bedfont. It was the host side’s inability to press home when they had the chance that eventually undid them. A good move set up Kpanpamo again but he blasted the ball high with a big target before him.

The second half saw Chertsey turn the tide. Bedfont were far from down and out but they never were able to muster a shot on target for the remainder of the afternoon. At the other end of the park, Town, and particularly John Pomroy, was frustrated when he smacked the ball against the underside of the Bedfont cross bar and it was debatable if had crossed the line. He also found the net on another occasion but the supplier on the left was deemed off side as he pulled the ball back from the goal line.

But Pomroy was not to be denied, even if it took a penalty kick strike to maintain his goal a game record. A ball was travelling across the Bedfont penalty area where, defender Paul Hamer inexplicably tried to accelerate its progress with his arm in the 66th minute with no immediate danger around; seemingly one of those instinctive actions, but silly enough to make sure Chertsey took a hard lead that never looked likely to be liquidised, even during the last fifteen minutes when the game’s pace and verve picked up considerably as Bedfont tried to revive their game but Chertsey was equally determined to retain a lead that pushed them up another place in the league table.