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Combined Counties League - Premier Division Match

MATCH REPORT

Chertsey Town were fully rewarded for producing their best football of the season against Croydon who, ironically were a better outfit than when the sides met a few weeks ago, but were more comprehensively beaten this time round. The occasion four weeks previously was in the FA Vase. This time three Combined Counties League points was the prize. This was Town’s biggest win since their first home game of the season when they beat Colliers Wood United 5-1.

The squad’s composition has been evolving all season but even so, a core of nine players of the sixteen selected on Saturday are still fully involved at Alwyns Lane. However, two new faces were introduced as Andre De-Lisser, popular but not quite making the grade, departed to rivals North Greenford United. Sam Belcher and Tom O’Reagan joined as 17 year old work experience lads off the back of Chertsey’s connections with Wycombe Wanderers.

Belcher started and O’Reagan joined from the bench during the second half and both made useful contributions in the middle of the park where control was complete from a Chertsey perspective. In fact all departments were dominant for pretty well all the game. This might have been put down to the weakness of the opposition but in fact it was the flowing style of football and tactical adaptation that overwhelmed the visitors from Croydon.

Four goals without reply were secured, giving the forward line deserved accolades but Town’s defence were also supreme, allowing not one serious attempt on their goal. Strong performances from Jack Francis and Jon Boswell left Liam Stone in goal to mainly mopping up duties. Movement from the back along the flanks worked well, especially from skipper Steve Gibson on the right. His Croydon counterparts did not enjoy the afternoon nearly as much and were given a torrid time. Andy Crossley was again effective in creating spece to cross the ball into the danger area.

Chertsey’s game was of a high order and they kept good possession by making double figure passing sequences at regular intervals. Steve Goddard protected the ball well in attack, which allowed better support as team mates joined the spearhead. A number of early goal attempts from Crossley, Goddard and Pomroy were not quite decisive enough to nudge the scoreboard but it inevitably became active, if for no other reason, due to the number of openings being cleaved open.

The first goal came on 34 minutes with an improved Marcus Moody swinging in a diagonal cross that Goddard headed at goal The ball was parried but John Pomroy followed up and celebrated his first goal for three weeks to break a famine of African proportions by his standards. The one goal difference at half time was scant reward for Chertsey but a truer reflection of their supremacy was created in the second half with three more goals.

The first of this trio arrived just after the hour when another defence splitting move was further advanced when Pomroy cut the ball to Goddard who fired off a low strike into the corner of the net from 20 yards. Under pressure, Croydon almost increased Chertsey’s lead by their own volition when defender Ollie Young crashed the ball against the inside of his own upright in an attempt to clear the ball for a corner kick, but got lucky as the ball was then cleared.

The respite did not remain for long as Town recorded goal number three in the 79th minute. Moody was instrumental again during a big move on the right. He delivered a powerful shot that Manny Djornot in goal could not fully smother and Kwabana Agyei, off the bench, was in the right position to turn the ball back into the Croydon net.

Pomroy might well have scored in free play again soon after but missed a glancing header attempt from yet another cross from the right side of the arena. However, he still found the net, perhaps from an easier situation, especially for him, when he put the ball away from the penalty spot five minutes from time, after two consecutive dubious tackles from behind were eventually penalised.

This was not a frenetic climax to a rip roaring league encounter. The standard of play was higher than what might be expected at this level of the game as Chertsey Town’s clinical executions made sure they firmly remain in the championship hunt after top of the table Camberley Town dropped another two league points, the sixth and seventh in their last five games.

Chertsey have drawn Plymouth Parkway, a middle table of the table side from the Cornish and Devon based South West Peninsular League, in the fourth round of the Carlsberg FA Vase. Town are fortunate in receiving another home tie which will be played on Saturday 16th January. The competition, which will stage the final at Wembley Stadium, is now down to the last 32 teams.