BOSTIK LEAGUE SOUTH CENTRAL DIVISION
SATURDAY 15 DECEMBER 2018
BEDFONT SPORTS 4 (3)
Charlie Postance 3 (3, 37, 45 + 5), Own Goal
EGHAM TOWN 1 (1)
Harry Tucker (31)

On Tueday Egham Town are scheduled, weather permitting, to travel to Reigate for a match against South Park, who are the only side below the Sarnies in Bostik South Central. South Park drew today 1-1 at Westfield, picking up their 5th point of the season. Egham have 8 points and an inferior goal difference. South Park’s home record is no points from eight games, while Egham have lost all eight of their away trips. Something has to give, and if, like today, it is Egham’s defence then they will end the evening in bottom place. A win would be more than useful; on Saturday Egham visit Westfield to see how they get on in looking for their first double of the season. A win would also reduce an already large gap in goal difference behind Molesey, whose home game against Tooting & Mitcham United was abandoned.
Egham Town boss Ashley Smith introduced James Taylor to his squad but there was next to no fire in the rain. Two minutes only had elapsed when Charlie Postance hammered a first time shot into the top right corner of the Sarnies’ net. Egham worked hard to get back into the game, Kezie Ibe heading on to Sean McCormack, from whose pass Jeevan Panesar fired in a shot that home keeper Matte Pierson pushed clear. Scott Harris would have made it 2-0 but for Matt Nolan’s excellent full length save, and not long after Egham were level, centre back Harry Tucker hammering a 20 yarder into the top right corner. “What a goal it was”, said the man on the tannoy. It was as good as it got. Five minutes later Egham’s defence failed to clear a free kick, the ball fell to Postance and he swept the ball home from the edge of the area. Six minutes from the break Pierson, who had gone down injured twenty minutes before, was not able to continue and was replaced by midfielder Paul Johnson. “Got a proper keeper now!” he quipped. In injury time Egham’s defence got into a horrible mess, Nolan was on the edge of his box and Postance took full advantage for a first half hat-trick.
It was hoped by the travelling Sarnies that makeshift keeper Johnson would be kept busy as Egham pushed forward, trying to get something out of the match. Didn’t happen. Instead, Johnson kept himself warm by engaging in banter with those Egham fans who had gone behind his goal. They were more of a danger than Egham’s outfield players. Sports ran the visiting defence ragged but only scored once, and that off an unfortunate rebound from the post on to the unfortunate Tochukwu Okolo. It seems the home side have credited this goal to Postance; utter crap. The same description can be used for the majority of Egham’s second half showing. Rhys Rabess had replaced the ineffective Ibe, and Brendan McCarthy gave way to new man Ibrahim Kehinde at half time. Panesar fired in a 20 yarder straight at Johnson in the 52nd minute, before Sports went 4-1 up, then Panesar went off for Declan Nche, another debutant. That takes to 52 the number of players Egham have fielded this season. There has been no consistency in selection and perhaps an over-reliance on loan players. Ryan Hill seems to have kissed and made up with Hampton & Richmond Borough, enough to be named as a sub for their 2-1 home win over Welling United. Egham looked ragged and generally disinterested. Were it not for Okolo and Nolan, and an astonishing series of misses by the home side this scoreline, bad as it was, could have been horribly worse. Okolo cleared off the line in the 68th minute, and Nolan made an excellent save off Mustafa Tiryaki’s shot from distance. Simo Mbonkwi had come off Sports’ bench to run at the visiting back line and would have scored when Nolan went walkabout again but for Okolo’s one-man resistance force, clearing the ball for a corner. Mbonkwi later fed the ball out to Abdeen Temitope Abdul, who was denied by another Nolan save at full stretch, then Postance was halted as he sized up a shot by Okolo’s excellent intervention. At the death Postance went one-on-one with Nolan but was lazy with his finishing, poking the ball against the Egham keeper’s legs. At the other end, nothing. Sarnie Mike posted this tweet:
Chatting to the @BSFC_Official stand in keeper in 2nd half
Poor bloke nearly froze! Thought David Attenborough was gonna start filming him! Well done that man!!!

Stats: With Tucker’s strike Egham’s League goal tally rises to 13, in 16 games. Their GA column shows 44 conceded, the worst in the division. 8 points out of 48 available = 16.6%. This was the 9th time in 21 games under Smith that Egham have let in 3 goals or more. There are 22 games left to salvage this season. We do not want to be playing Combined Counties League football next season but that is where we are heading.
In January Egham will be at home to Woking in the Second Round of the Specsavers Surrey Senior Cup. At this rate let us hope they field a very weakened side. The last time the two sides met, in the semi-finals of the same competition, on 25 March 2014, Woking were the home side and prevailed 7-1.

EGHAM TOWN: Matt Nolan, Tochukwu Okolo, James Taylor, Harry Tucker, Owen Roberts, Curtis Ujah, Sean McCormack, Danny Julienne, Kezie Ibe, Jeevan Panesar, Brandon McCarthy. Substitutes: Ashley Smith, Declan Nche (Panesar, 63), Rhys Rabess (Ibe, HT), Ibrahim Kehinde (McCarthy, HT).