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Combined Counties League - Premier Division Match

MATCH REPORT

If only Chertsey Town had punished modest opponents earlier in the season, in the manner they managed on Saturday against a very average Chessington & Hook United, then they would still be in the chase for top spot instead of hanging on to a possible runners up position. They can theoretically win the championship but prime rivals Bedfont Green, although dropping two points on the same day, are realistically too far ahead to be caught.

Epsom & Ewell are probable favourites for second place but in losing badly against Egham Town, they have given Town a bit of a sniff. The Curfews are now seven points behind but have yet to play them at Alwyns Lane. North Greenford United and Camberley Town are also in the hunt but perhaps pose a slightly lesser threat. The run through to the end of the season is going to be tight at the top.

With Stuart Bamford rested after a midweek knock, Chertsey’s line up saw the return of Paul Brooker to the side as well as Luke Muldowney who started for the first time in nine games following a fractured toe. Leon Johnson was also sidelined but came off the bench later in the game.

Chertsey began in devastating mood and hardly allowed the ball to enter their own half. Chessington were firmly pinned back and when Town slotted their first goal, it looked like it might well be the start of an avalanche. The ball was crossed from the right by Brooker, to be met by Gavin Bamford who headed it home off the underside of the cross bar.

The 13th minute goal was quickly followed up, five minutes later, with number two when back to goal Marcus Moody, turned and fired past the beleaguered goalkeeper Mark Daniels. It looked at this point that a run away victory was more than likely but Chertsey slackened off and allowed their opponents to look more competitive.

Although the pressure on the Chessington defence was eased, they still did not look like troubling Town’s back line. It was not until the 35th minute that any sort of vague threat was posed when they won their first corner kick. A clearance attempt resulted in a viciously spinning ball that cut right into a defender’s arm on the bounce to prompt the referee to award a very harsh penalty kick.

Tony Howton converted from the spot high into the net to give a distorted scoreline that hardly reflected the balance of power. That situation might have assumed even sharper refraction five minutes later had visiting Darren Smith been more potent with a point blank range chance that Michael Lidbury smothered.

Lidbury did well at that moment which is more than could be said of his opposite number soon after when a promising build up in the middle set up Darren Dobinson a dozen yards out. He fired at goal but somehow the goalkeeper missed a relative easy save which did not worry the scorer as he put his side back on track by the half time interval, but not before Darren Woods had a glorious chance to again reduced the arrears with a headed attempt that went exactly where Lidbury wanted it; straight into his arms!

It was more of the same after the break with Chertsey surrendering more possession than seemed proper. It always felt their engine was running smoothly enough but that the turbo lever was stuck in the off position, allowing the visitors too much play. This slack was punished just after the hour when the gap was again narrowed with another Howton success, this time from his head after the ball had been cut across the Chertsey goalmouth off a free kick.

A Chertsey finger did then hover over the supercharger button but Town picked up pace naturally to underline their superiority with two late goals. The first of this double, the most spectacular of the game’s seven, was secured on 69 minutes when a weak goalkeeper’s clearance found Gareth Graham. He immediately pumped the ball back goal wards where the scrambling Daniels only just failed to stop it curling into the top corner of the net.

Having re-established a two goal cushion, Chertsey were not going to make the same mistake for a third time and although Chessington still looked lively, they were given no space to create more disquiet. Ironically, the final goal of the open encounter was initiated deep in Chertsey territory as a strong clearance to just over the halfway line was collected by Aaron McLeish.

His raking runs are not uncommon but so often get bogged down; not not this time! His finish, after cutting in from the right flank, was decisive with a ten yard strike that tested the net’s breaking point to at last make Chertsey’s performance fit more comfortably with the final result.