Chertsey Town FC: White with blue trim shirt, Blue shorts, white socks

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Surrey Senior Cup Tie

MATCH REPORT

Chertsey's previous encounter with Colliers Wood United, a league fixture less than a month previous, was a disastrous four goal drubbing but this Surrey Senior Cup tie gave an early opportunity to show how the balance of power has swung in the other direction. Chertsey dominated much of the game and fully deserved their passage into the next round, and an away tie with Bookham in January, but there was a sting in the tail of Wood's response after being forced to the periphery.
 
Five of Chertsey's previous eleven cup ties this season have featured extra time, two with penalty shoot outs, but this one looked likely to be clear cut, that is until a late rally was puffed up by Colliers Wood in the last quarter of an hour. The bubble was burst in the final five minutes but it did give plenty of late interest to a game looked to be going only in one direction, almost from the start.
 
Solid performances all round set up this win and signals Chertsey return to proper form. It was this confidence that forced the visiting side onto the back foot from the start. Chertsey's passing game has been freed up from their recent moribund short game and shots at goal at frequent intervals have reappeared. Mu Maan was the first to make a creditable strike at goal, after just five minutes. That one flew just wide but then Aaron McLeish followed next in the queue nine minutes later with an effort that struck a nearside upright.
 
McLeish still has a tendency to turn head down into trouble in, for a striker, an instinctive quest to create scoring chances instead of sometimes executing a simple lay off. Although he was still sniffing out goals, he did lay on two of Town's goals with the first arriving on 24 minutes with a silky lay back of the ball on the right side into the path of Jake Rowley. Rowley did not even break his step to meet the ball and crash it first time into the net with sheer power beating the goalkeeper despite the 20 plus yards distance.
 
Chertsey almost fell asleep immediately after as Colliers Wood mounted their best attack to date and, out of a right wing corner kick, Phil Hughes managed to clip the back stump after having eluded his markers. This attack turned out, for the remainder of the first half, to be their finest moment but the scoring should not have stopped at the other end for Pomroy was on hand right in front of goal twice, but twice was unable to turn the ball into the net. McLeish then hit the ball against Wood's cross bar after cutting in from the right and lofting the ball over the 'keeper but it did not lose sufficient altitude to find the net.
 
The second half saw two controversial goals being scored, the first by Chertsey after just three minutes of play. McLeish looked to be suspiciously offside when a through ball was pressed through to him. He did not hesitate as he advanced along the flank to release an early ball for Pomroy to head. The goal attempt was blocked but he still managed to unceremoniously bundle ball over the line in a tangle with an attendant defender.
 
Gareth Graham produced another powerful midfield showing and was almost rewarded with a goal on 57 minutes. He fired low at goal from well outside the penalty area but lurking inside was Pomroy who, for the second successive match, stole the laurels with a deft touch on the ball as it sped past, to fool the Colliers Wood defence and create what looked likely to be an unassailable lead.
 
However, the visitors were not going to lie down and target man Hinga Amara decisively yanked his side back into contention as the pace heated up towards the end. An equally suspicious offside situation, as that which surrounded Town's earlier goal, was present when Hinga was supplied but he too completed the operation undaunted in the 74th minute with a strike close in.
 
The goal sparked his side and Chertsey looked under pressure for the first time in the game, a pressure that intensified ten minutes later when Hinga was the man again. He cut through a gap in the Chertsey back line and although still well outside the box, he curled an inch perfect shot into the top corner of the Chertsey net. The goal created more tension for the final minutes than anticipated, even a dozen minute previous, but in truth, despite just conceding two quick fire goals, Chertsey did not really look likely to allow yet another extra time scenario to become manifest which was just as well on a frost threatened evening.