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Leatherhead travel to a side that will be looking to get into the play-off places with any kind of results against us tonight. We have been relying on late goals, in the league, to keep us top but hopefully we can make things a bit more comfortable tonight. The weather certainly won't as it could be the first Double Socker of the season.
Kick off at 7.45pm. Directions can be found here. See you there!
into the play-off places with any kind of results against us tonight. We have been relying on late goals, in the league, to keep us top but hopefully we can make things a bit more comfortable tonight. The weather certainly won't as it could be the first Double Socker of the season.
Kick off at 7.45pm. Directions can be found here. See you there!
If Leatherhead had played like they did in the last 10 minutes, this game would have been put away with ease. However, as it happened, we struggled against a side that came with a plan.
For the majority of the game, Leatherhead were like modern jazz: not incredibly entertaining, full of hopeful long balls for Breckon to deal with, and notable for the players who weren't being played. Cameron Black was strangely absent, and we were served by neither Butler.
One thing Bedfont managed well was frustrating our attacking players by playing a high line, which caught us offside more than in any other game I can remember. It was like having Dave Stevens back in the squad. The long balls to Jacob were also a source of frustration, as they were often overhit or too straight to do anything with. To make matters worse, Jacob suffered a nasty cut to the face from a clash of heads and was whisked away to hospital.
That said, we did manage to get the ball in the back of the net, but it was ruled out for offside. Anas also came close when his shot looked certain to find the back of the net, only to hit the post and bounce to safety. Bedfont opened the scoring by working the ball into the box and firing it past Wheeler. 0-1.
Anas did eventually get on the scoresheet by chasing a ball down the right and lobbing it towards the far post. Someone was there to tap it in, but it had already crossed the line. 1-1.
I thought the second half would be dramatically different, and that we would take control of the game, but alas, it was more of the same. Bedfont scored again with a close-range goal, and we were behind once more.
A couple of changes saw us start to look livelier, while Bedfont seemed less confident in their high line, though they somehow managed to soak up the pressure. Just as six minutes of added time were announced, we got the equaliser. Our long ball tactic was abandoned in favour of our more familiar ball-to-feet approach, and a swift cross found an unmarked Anas, who prodded it home on his second attempt. 2-2.
With four minutes of added time still to play, we pressed hard for a winner and nearly got it, only to be thwarted by an excellent save and an incredible goal-line clearance from their No. 7. So, we settle for a point—but it's a point more than Westfield managed, and we now have the chance to pull further ahead when we play mid-week at Hayes & Yeading…
When the Hampton & Richmond manager, Alan Julian, last came to the Grove to face Leatherhead, he was with a Billericay side where Glen Tamplin shouted at him to shut his eyes while singing "The World's Greatest." No doubt he wished he could shut his eyes again and make it all go away, as Leatherhead ran riot over his side today.
Following the toss, we were forced to change ends, and we barely had time to get behind the goal before we were 1-0 up. A blistering run from Anas and a deadly cross found Seb Tauta Caballero, who headed it home with less than two minutes on the clock. 1-0.
Had we scored too early? No, because it only got worse for our National League South guests. Another cross from Anas went long and found Gallagher alone, who stroked it into an empty net. 2-0.
From then on, Leatherhead were firmly in control. Towards the end of the first half, the ball got stuck under Hogan's foot; otherwise, he would have been clear on goal. In the dying minutes, Ty Butler did manage to break away, but the 'keeper got a vital touch to keep it out. In between, I was more concerned about conceding at Fareham than I was against this team.
I sometimes find that referees, when they come from the same level as the higher-division side, often lean towards the more familiar team. This was certainly the case in the last few minutes, as the referee turned a blind eye to some terrible tackles from the frustrated Hampton & Richmond players. Sadly, this boiled over, and yet another FA Trophy game ended in a kerfuffle.
That was a mere distraction, though, as the win was secure. Now we go into the draw on Monday, dreaming of trips to Carlisle or Rochdale…
As the teams lined up in their dressing rooms to come out, the home captain let out a battle cry to "let them know how ******** good we are." However, it was clear from the outset that South Park hadn't come to play football but instead came to show us how "hard" they were by trying to kick lumps out of us. Throw in a wet, slippery, plastic pitch, and it's understandable that we found it difficult to settle.
But settle we did, and we got a first-half goal from a hotly disputed corner (I don't know why they disputed the corner—it was as clear as day). The resulting long ball fell to The Lip's Logan Coles (replacing my sponsorship of Sam ou est de St Croix), who smashed it in off the far post.
In the second half, one-nil down, the penny finally dropped for the home side that they were going to need to play football a little bit to get a goal back. This made for a more entertaining game all round, and we felt the pressure a bit.
But from pressure comes great opportunities, and towards the end of the game, Body was set free in a one-on-one with the 'keeper. We've grown used to players like Anas and Hogan finding a way to slip it past the 'keeper, so when Body took an extra touch to round the 'keeper, I thought he'd blown it. However, he had the speed to catch up and slot the ball into the empty net.
Two-nil, and with the game safe, South Park reverted to their old ways and tried to start a fight by the corner flag. The weak officials could have prevented this by giving a foul when Anas's shirt was pulled up over his head, but the tussle was allowed to carry on until things boiled over.
On to Saturday, and hopefully the rain doesn't spoil the visit of Hampton & Richmond tomorrow…
Kick off at 7.45. Directions can be found here. See you there!
A smash-and-grab job for Leatherhead in Portsmouth, as a last-minute winner breaks Fareham hearts and keeps us clear of Westfield.
A big travelling crowd came to see Leatherhead on the south coast, probably expecting to see a hatful of goals against bottom-of-the-table Fareham, but spent most of the game watching in frustration as our hosts took the game to us.
In a cagey chess opening 15 minutes we, once again as we did at Egham, got caught out with the same King's Indian Attack, with a sudden long ball into to right hand side and a free run on goal. A powerful finish beat Rileigh and put the home side 1-0 up. Strangely, a home supporter in a red tracksuit decided this was the game to "give it large" when facing both the top of the table team and the largest travelling support of the season.
The first half was not pretty. Fareham were a niggly side that both worked hard and played dirty (I haven't seen so much shirt pulling in a game, for example), and it looked like we were expecting an easier ride. We did get a goal to ease the nerves when on out-swinging corner was met by Cameron Black around the penalty spot who deftly guided a looping header over the No 3 on the line and into the back of the net.
While the ref let a lot of shirt pulling go, he also overlooked a reaction from Gallagher that could have seen him sent off on the stroke of halftime, but he survived, and we went in 1-1.
Changes were made and we started to look a lot more urgent. Fareham were asking their own questions of us but it seemed like it was inevitable that we would score… until it didn't. A minute when in a minute's silence seems like an eternity, but when chasing a goal they start to fly by.
Enter stoppage time, and if their manager has anything about him, he would have gone into the dressing room after the game and apologised to his hard-working team for losing this game. A substitution in the 91st minute is done simply to waste time, certainly when you place a five-foot something player in the back three. There was something special about this player (Number 12) as the crowd let out a large cheer when his name was announced and a few went over to rub his bald head for luck. He needed it, as the once comfortable defence that kept us at bay was now unsettled.
In the 92nd minute Cameron lofted a long ball into the box towards Breckon. Breckon was being manhandled so it went over his head and fell into a space in front of the Number 12. What he lacked in height he made up for in enthusiasm and leapt to clear it, but physics came at him fast; it glanced off his head and into the path of Anas who smashed it home. Limbs. Number 12 could not have placed the ball more perfectly if he had tried. The only thing more precise was the finish itself.
We held out a spirited spell of pressure from Fareham, as they attempted to get a point they probably deserved but we held out. Onto Tuesday and the bogey ground of South Park.