BUILDBASE FA TROPHY SECOND ROUND QUALIFYING
EGHAM TOWN 3 BOWERS & PITSEA 5 AET (FT 2-2, HT 1-1)
Egham Town scorer Brendan Matthew 3 (1p) (42, 90, 110 (p)

This is a match that will live long in the history of Bowers & Pitsea FC, a tale with which dads can repeat to their sons; how the Essex side, facing defeat with seconds left, levelled with a goal by their keeper and went on to win in extra time.
For Egham the after effects will have a more acrid taste. There are lessons still not learnt, even after losing a winning position in each of their last two home games, and how the hell did they let the opposition goalkeeper score? OK, it is not without precedent; curiously, it is how the Essex side lost two points on Saturday as the Mildenhall keeper paved the way with a 90th minute leveller in a Bostik North division game.
Egham, for their recovery after losing their skipper early on, owed it to themselves to win this tie and a crack at Margate of the Evo-Stik Southern Premier at Hartsdown Park, but for the umpteenth time in this campaign they exposed a blancmange-soft underbelly and were made to pay the price. The tie, staged for a second time after last week’s replay was postponed due to floodlight failure, came after a well contested 1-1 draw on 28 October. It began better for the visitors, and after 14 minutes, when Sarnies’ skipper Mitchell Wiseman was shown a straight red for bringing down Ben Sartain, it seemed feasible that the home side might take a pasting. There was not a lot of dispute about the decision but there were questions to be asked about the manufacture of the defensive line-up (one hesitates to use the word “wall”) and perhaps even of keeper Patrick Ohman’s positioning. The kick, from David Knight, curled into the bottom left corner. Hopes were not high among the Sarnie faithful, but Egham then dug in and reacted superbly, and on 20 minutes keeper Callum Chafer began his heroics by tipping over his bar a Ryan Phillips free kick that threatened to drop over him. Egham were nullifying the Bowers’ attack, Devante McKain’s excellent tackle on Knight a case in point, and then, just before the break, Egham were level. Brendan Matthew had not scored since his classy goal against Shoreham in the previous round, but this bettered even that as he evaded two tackles and unleashed a howitzer of a shot into the top right corner from 20 yards. It was a thing of beauty. Two minutes later the Sarnies’ Lewis Cole was clearing off the Egham line. It was an omen, hindsight suggests.
Early in the second period Fahad Nyanja curled a free kick that glanced the outside of the far post on its way to safety, then Johnny Ashman tested Ohman from distance. Bowers were on top, as you would expect with a man advantage, and it was clear who that man was. Jamie Salmon was pivotal in the visiting midfield, all that was attack-minded yet defensively sound coming through him – until he stamped on Matty Woods and was shown a straight red for his trouble. Ten men all; 13 minutes of regulation time left. Egham were able to spread out from intense defensive duties after Salmon had been instrumental in trying to prise them open. Now he was gone, and nine minutes from time Alex Nolan found room from left back down the right, played a neat one-two with Matthew and saw his shot blocked by Chafer. With five to go the excellent and tireless Woods was replaced by Ryan Debattista. Egham were now looking more likely to score and Matthew spun on a half chance that Chafer turned away with his outstretched left arm. Moments later Debattista worried the Essex men into giving him room for a lovely moment of interplay with Matthew that ended with the latter doubling his score, a crunching shot that rivalled his first for power on its way into the top right. That, then, was it. 90th minute, 2-1 and in control.
No, because this is Egham, and this is what happens. Instead of using their heads and walloping the ball to the four corners of the ground to see out the game they let the opposition have one last chance, one for which Chafer, perhaps chafing still from Saturday’s late concession, decided to even karma’s scales and lumber into the Sarnies’ box. How in the name of all that is sacred in the here and now and any time past or future did this man not get marked? He’s their keeper, out of position by as much as he ever could be, and he’s wearing a lime green top, for pity’s sake! Up he rose, down went the header, up went the visiting supporters’ cheers, and down went Chafer under a pile of his ecstatic team mates. Egham did have time for another attack but Jordan Fredericks (on for Matt Stockill) fired just wide from a Matthew pass.
The first period of extra time was tame in comparison, but when they decided to give shooting a go instead of trying to pass the ball into the net the Sarnies managed to look dangerous, particularly with a Lewis Cole shot that went wide.
The second period was a lot livelier. Callum Webb, very industrious in midfield, was replaced by Liam Tack. The visitors took the lead with the Egham defence looking all at sea, Knight the scorer, but Egham fought back and Matthew scored only his second hat-trick for Egham with a well struck penalty after a foul on Fredericks. This is what the night should have been about. Brendan capped a superb performance with two stunning goals from open play and a confident spot kick and his side were looking at penalties, with at least one attempt pretty much guaranteed to be successful. No, again. No, frustratingly, and all too often, again. It is as if Egham are scared of winning; three draws and one defeat (to a decent Moneyfields side) since their 2-0 win against Aylesbury United on 17 October, and The Ducks were no better or worse than Uxbridge, Marlow or, at least in the first game, Bowers & Pitsea. From the restart Egham slammed the door in their own face. Utterly atrocious defending culminating in Ohman seeing the ball roll under his foot en route to the goal, was bad enough, but the crowning glory, if that is the right phrase, was Ohman racing out of his goal to attempt to clear only for Tony Stokes to send the ball arcing back past him and into the unguarded net, from at least 25 yards out. 2-1 to 3-5.
Margate will be looking forward to facing a Bowers & Pitsea side exhausted after a two hour battle. Egham go to Kempston Rovers, hoping that the Bedfordshire side’s 1-6 loss to Evo-Stik Premier side Royston Town in the bigfreebet.com Cup will offer them some hope of rediscovering some winning form. Next Tuesday, also in the bigfreebet.com Cup, Egham make the short trip to Hanwell Town where they won 1-0 with a late Aaron Berry fluke early in the season.
EGHAM TOWN: Patrick Ohman, Alex Nolan, Ryan Phillips, Devante McKain, Mitchell Wiseman (Skipper), Rhys Paul, Callum Webb, Lewis Cole, Brendan Matthew, Matty Woods, Matt Stockill. Substitutes: Aaron Berry, Jordan Berry, Jordan Fredericks (Stockill, 66), Liam Tack (Webb, 112), Ryan Debattista (Woods, 85).