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Combined Counties League - Premier Division Match

MATCH REPORT

Combined Counties League points are desperately needed at Alwyns Lane if Chertsey Town is to regain top spot this season, especially with those taken from promotion seeking rivals such as Bedfont Green, Town's opponents last Saturday. A tight, tense and intriguing contest produced stalemate but it was hard to see how such an indecisive score line was achieved given the balance of play.

The point a piece was more satisfactory for the visiting side, but although Chertsey really needed to win this one, solace would have been taken in their performance and that at least they hardly lost ground on the leaders as no one team is emerging strongly in a most democratic competition.

Boosted by the double signing of brothers Gavin and Stuart Bamford, first team regulars at Ashford Town until two days previously. Chertsey's line up with only five starting players who had signed back in August, looked as strong as seen at Alwyns lane for a number of seasons and although the weather forced fortnight lay off, along with new faces in the side, might have prompted a rusty performance at the start, the quality of football was nonetheless higher than might be expected at Combined Counties level.

Chertsey began the more solid of the two outfits and much of the action was parked in the Bedfont Green half but only a half chance, falling to Marcus Moody, came out of the possession enjoyed by the home side during the opening 20 minutes. Prominent in Green's resistance was goalkeeper Lee Pearce who denied a potent Steve Gibson strike on 27 minutes, then a far post Paul Brooker volley nine minutes later.

Next to no possibilities were created at the Town end and it looked only a matter of time before Chertsey would take the lead, possibly off one of the string of corners created through sustained pressure. But it was the away side that drew first blood in their first real opening of the game when a break out presented Kevin Cooper with a shot on goal at close range. Goalkeeper Michael Lidbury made a magnificent save but the ball spun back out to Cooper who made no mistake the second time around, leaving just five further minutes of play before the break and bewilderment that a side playing so coherently could find themselves a goal down.

Bedfont Green were marginally more comfortable on the ball after the break but it was still the white shirts of Chertsey that made the running. With Cooper putting his goal away earlier against his former side, a concerted effort in reverse was plainly evident from Aaron McLeish who came close to hitting home against his former team mates. 

A particularly powerful strike from him fizzed just a foot wide and again Pearce did well to keep his sheet clean but he was unable to stop Chertsey's richly merited equaliser on 63 minutes. A free kick, deep in the Chertsey half and near the left touchline was lofted almost 60 yards before taking a couple of bounces. John Pomroy reached the available ball first and somehow clipped it over Pearce at an acute angle just as it look likely to run harmlessly out for a goal kick. 

The earlier congestion of players congregating in the Bedfont Green penalty area eased off in the latter stages as crosses from the wing, especially from the right, began to be delivered earlier but still the visitor's defence remained stubborn and the draw became an ever more reality as the final seconds ran out.