HT 0-1

FT 1-2

Att 

 Goals: Lampard 31, Sasha 85

MATCH REPORT

Chertsey Town's six week spell at the top of the table was ended by a more direct visiting Molesey side in the Combined Counties League Premier Division match which was played, for once, in blazing sunshine with conditions in stark contrast to the previous week, and much of the season to date.

Injured Leon Johnson was replaced by Anthony Vine whilst another returnee from the injury list, Darren Dobinson, was preferred to Rob Ursell who dropped down to the bench but came on after a little over an hour’s play.

Molesey made the early running to set the pattern for much of this midfield dominated encounter. Most chances came towards the end when legs were getting tired and play spread out a bit more. Molesey created the first chance. From a corner, the ball was scuffed right into the goal mouth. Lewis Ackerman got a strike in from only three yards but Lee O’Leary, backed up by goalkeeper Dave Tidy blocked the 16th minute effort.

Meanwhile, Chertsey had difficulty in working the ball any nearer than twenty yards of their opponents goal. The familiar sight of seeing the ball endlessly worked across the penalty area but without finding a way through a packed defence, only to be cleared after one short pass too many created too many clues for Molesey's defenders.

 Molesey moved forward less frequently but when they did, had a better sense of purpose. It took 31 minutes before this direction bore fruit when Matt Baxter hooked over for Sam Lampard to beat his marker to the ball and head it over to the far side of the net where it dropped in just inside the post.

 The game took on an attritional air with more midfield play and little action at the sharp ends of the park. Chertsey looked a little more determined in attack but a succession of offside positions, particularly when the ball was played wide, stopped any ambitions of a first half equaliser.

 An early Molesey flurry in front of the Chertsey goalmouth looked dangerous but Town had the best chance of scoring next when a header at goal looked a winner as beaten goalkeeper Matt Nash was nowhere, but a defender on the line nodded the ball away.

 Ackerman fired over from a good position on the turn as Chertsey continued to struggle to get going. Too many players were off form and passes went astray. Effort from the Curfew squad was apparent but their skill factor was sadly lacking. The introduction of Ursell increased the skill factor but then he tried too hard to rectify the situation by his own and found too many blind alleys.

 From last term’s Under 18s, Jordan Griffiths was introduced from the bench to try and change the moribund pattern but it was Molesey that effectively killed the game in stoppage time. With both physios going on to the park during the second half, plenty of stoppage time had been built up and it was during these moments that two more goals were scored

 In scoring the first of these, five minutes from the final whistle, Molesey created what then seemed an impregnable lead when Ursell lost possession in trying to thread through a narrow gap. The ball was sent towards the opposite end in quick time where Dan Sasha finished off with the Chertsey defence well scattered.

 The home side came back three minutes later with a decisive attack that ended with O’Leary firing in a shot that was parried, but only as far as John Pomroy who picked his spot from 15 yards. The goal did little to raise Chertsey spirits, coming so late in the game, but a last gasp attempt from a free kick might have made a dramatic change had a forward latched on to the inviting cross.