Egham Town paid the price for missing chances in the early stages of the seventh game of Dickson Gill’s third stint as manager. The side showed changes from the defeat at Waltham Abbey, a midweek friendly at Horley Town seeing the squad pick up five injuries, including goalkeeper Yannick Makiese, and ended at half time to prevent further damage. That gave Jack Wingate another chance between the sticks, and he did well on his return, but the big news was the signing of Perry Coles on loan from Farnborough. The former Slough Town, Camberley Town and Guildford City forward has a goal average of just under one strike in two games, a boost to a club with only 16 goals in 23 league games. That total should have improved, even without the new man, as early as two minutes in. Ibrahim Kehinde attacked down the left and sent in a cross that found Danny Campion at the back post, but he missed the target from only three yards out. After ten minutes Luke King won a corner, taken by Temiloluwa Oladejo and cleared to Palmire Cabo-Verde. He found Kehinde, whose cross was sidefooted beyond the left post by King. After 16 minutes Tristan Toney threaded a lovely through ball to Brendan McCarthy, who held off defenders before firing a shot that crashed against the bar. He had had similar bad luck last week with the score at 1-1. The Herts side took heart from this series of misses and began to exert pressure on the Sarnies’ back line. Wingate made a decent save at the foot of his left post and followed that with a superb double denial of Ware centre forward Brandon Adams from close range. Had Egham been able to hold their 8th placed guests to half-time things might have turned out differently but when Campion picked up a needless caution for pulling Ben Hart back the free kick led to a corner that was not well defended and Adams could not miss as the ball came to him one yard from goal.
Ware doubled their lead in the 57th minute, Adams racing through on the break after Egham had been applying pressure on their defence. Coles and McCarthy were working hard up front but marksmen need bullets to fire. Gill changed his midfield, Kehinde replaced by Connor Chapman and Lamir Ceesay by Gilberto Abril, then, after Dave Cowley had drilled home a cross shot from the edge of the box, Greg Wright came on for Cabo-Verde. Coles had a good run terminated by a foul, but from the free kick Oladejo failed to test Calum Kitscha in the Ware goal.
With Molesey also losing, but only by 0-2, that final goal further widens the gap from the bottom-placed Sarnies and the Moles. South Park are pulling away, after a 2-1 win at Chalfont St Peter. With Molesey (11 points) seven points adrift of the Reigate side and Egham still stuck on 9 it looks the clubs from Walton Road and Wards Place will be heading towards the Combined Counties League next season. However, Molesey have 16 games left, and Egham 15, so perhaps it is too early to be downhearted.
On Tuesday Egham face Woking in the Specsavers Surrey Senior Cup Second Round. Woking, beaten by 0-2 at home to Wealdstone in front of a 2075-strong crowd and sitting in 2nd place in the Vanarama National South, are a massive 63 places further up the pyramid. The two clubs last met in the same competition at Kingsfield on 26 March 2014. Woking won 7-1. Egham won the last couple of minutes, Brendan Matthew converting a low cross from Reis Stanislaus, who is now back with Molesey. Talking of 7-1 defeats, Bracknell Town are Egham’s next home opposition, on Tuesday 5 February, three days after a trip to Tooting & Mitcham United. Egham were hammered by the Robins at Larges Lane, and threw away a 3-1 half time lead at home to Tooting. The Sarnies have mustered one point from the last 27 available. Things have to improve.
EGHAM TOWN: Jack Wingate, Luke King, Temiloluwa Oladejo, Luke Randall, Tristan Toney, Palmire Cabo-Verde, Lamir Ceesay, Ibrahim Kehinde, Brandon McCarthy, Danny Campion, Perry Coles. Substitutes: Connor Chapman (Kehinde, 66), Greg Wright (Cabo-Verde, 75), Gilberto Abril (Ceesay, 73).