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Combined Counties League - Premier Division Match

MATCH REPORT

If the first 75 minutes of Chertsey Town’s trip to bottom of the table Cobham was not a happy time, the fifteen either side of the referee’s final whistle was something quite different. It seemed that the visitors might never score at first but trey eventually stuck in two winning goals in the final quarter of an hour. Smiles in the Chertsey caravan broadened further soon after the conclusion of the game when news came through that serious rivals Epsom & Ewell and North Greenford United both suffered defeat in their respective matches.

By escaping from a draw, plus those defeats elsewhere at the top of the table, five points swung in Chertsey’s favour. Town still remained in fifth place but their recent progress has meant that they are now poised to claw their way to a possible runners up place. They certainly have the easier path of the top five but will have to overcome Epsom & Ewell as prime aspirants for the second spot, next Saturday at Alwyns Lane.

Chertsey went into the game with just one change when Mark Waters failed a late fitness test and was replaced by Luke Muldowney, now rapidly getting back to match fitness, in the midfield. The substitutes bench came under further early stress when a clash of heads resulted in Steve McNamara leaving the pitch just before half time with concussion.

The game took for ever to get going. Chertsey obviously had the pedigree but the very young Cobham side, together with the arid bobbly pitch, cancelled out any advantage and not a sniff of a goal at either end was evident until 35 minutes had elapsed. At this point, Chertsey’s Aaron McLeish was put through but, with only the goalkeeper to beat, kicked more dirt than ball to allow Peter Ruggles an easy block. Two minutes later Shane Cheesman, for the home side, was set free. His shot was more potent but a goal was thwarted through an acrobatic save from Michael Lidbury.

Chertsey showed why there are 17 places between the two sides in the Combined Counties League table in the second half but still produced nerves in not creating a scoring finish to their endeavours, well, not until the end game was well and truly in progress. Earlier, a series of shots rained in from John Pomroy, Gareth Graham, Marcus Moody and Aaron McLeish in a fifteen minute lashing of the Cobham goalmouth but it was only the McLeish effort that was on target and saved by Ruggles scooping the ball away from the bottom of his left stick.

Gavin Bamford then headed over from the resultant corner kick, quickly followed by a Pomroy stab at goal that was snuffed out. But then the deadlock was broken when a raking cross field pass found McLeish. He slid it back across to Pomroy who, from a little outside the penalty area, curled the ball into the net, high off the far side upright to at last put his side ahead in the 75th minute.

Town continued to press for another goal but left a gap at the back and their good work could have been undone had Lidbury not plucked out two good looking strikes from first Shane Rideout then Cheesman again. Despite this, the midfield continued to boss the game with Steve Gibson again outstanding, so that anything less than a Chertsey win would have been a travesty but even they came close to embarrassment with the manner that goal number two went in.

On 82 minutes, a free kick delivered by Graham from just outside the corner of the penalty area. The ball flew towards the far post and fooled everyone in its flight, including the home ‘keeper, to drop over the line and give Chertsey the luxury of completing the final eight minutes with a margin of immunity that any health safety official would be proud to endorse.