Back
HAYES & YEADING UNITED 6 EGHAM TOWN 1
Tempest Ward15 Apr 2018 - 10:26
Share via
Sarnies go all soggy in second half
EVO-STIK SOUTHERN LEAGUE SOUTH, EAST DIVISION
SATURDAY 14 APRIL 2018
HAYES & YEADING UNITED 6 (2) EGHAM TOWN 1 (1)
Egham Town scorer: Mitch Wiseman (31)
No matter how many times Egham Town concede six goals in a match it does not get any easier for their long-suffering fans. This is the fourth time a round half dozen have gone into the Egham net this season, added to the seven at Hartley Wintney, but the first time goalkeeper Matt Nolan was forced to pluck the ball so many times from his goal. Not that he was to blame for this tonking; he made several decent saves, especially from Manny Duke, preventing even greater humiliation. Since he took over the No 1 shirt the Egham defence has looked more solid, resolute enough to hold off then leaders AFC Rushdenn & Diamonds and beating Hayes & Yeading United 2-0. The win against the West London side saw heroic, cohesive defending and attacking with purpose. It would be fair to say that there was not so much of these qualities on display at the SkyEx Community Stadium in the second period, after being having the better of the play in the opening 45.
Egham were behind after only 9 minutes, Duku taking advantage of a gap in the Sarnies rearguard. Egham were not slow to respond and for the next quarter of an hour edged the midfield tussles and began to look threatening with the pace of Michael Kalu and the skills of “Hayes reject” Ashley Lodge. The pressure seemed to be telling on the home side, who appealed for every little nudge, especially in their own box. Referee Steven Rea had their number though: “I know how precious you lot are”! On the half hour a nicely flowing move from the visitors gave Lodge room for a thumping drive that Zaki Oualah, in the home goal, was glad to steer over the bar. When Lodge’s corner came in Egham centre-half Mitch Wiseman drove the ball into the roof of the net with his right instep. That takes his tally to nine, which is pretty decent for a defender. Egham were behind before half time, the manner of the goal almost as certainly as vexing for manager Simon Lane as it was for the fans down the other end. Home skipper Tom Smith had missed a back post header in the 37th minute, a freebie from a corner, but as the break beckoned his next chance saw him rise up near the penalty spot and, unmarked, nod the ball in. Egham replied with more pressure and after Lodge was fouled Kalu, off the free kick, hit a 25 yard curler that Oualah had to turn over at full stretch.
If that end to the first half gave the travelling faithful some expectation of second half progress they were pretty soon disabused of the notion. In the 58th minute Rhys Paul was replaced by Greig Stewart. It may be coincidence but a minute later Wiseman’s pass left the back line exposed. Sahr Kabba raced through for an assured finish. That gave United the impetus to go for the Sarnies’ jugular. Duku brought an excellent diving save out of the Egham keeper, then from another corner the centre forward was rueing another miss off Smith’s header when sub Spyros Mentis pounced on the rebound and fired home. Yet another denial by Nolan of a shot by Duku failed to stem the tide. Mentis ran from deep, found Duku to his right and Nolan had no chance with the finish. Substitute Ryan Debattista, the scorer of both goals in the game at Runnymede Stadium, caused a frisson of excitement when, seconds in, he turned and hit a shot that, in hitting the top of the outside of the net looked from certain angles as if it had made the score less painful. Egham began to find some midfield possession again but ran out of ideas when they got to the edge of the box. There didn’t seem to be a lot of thinking going on in the Egham box when the final goal went in. A hopeful cross from the Hayes left was turned back in by Scott Donnelly and sub Duncan Culley ran unmolested to turn the ball into the bottom right corner. The travelling faithful shrugged and went home. The match sort of summed up this season, under either Lane or his predecessor Chris Moore – squads capable of playing very well but always with the fear that it could all fall apart. Yesterday’s squad had gone to Hayes in decent form and were given a finishing lesson.
Egham face Moneyfields at home on Tuesday. The remaining schedule has been changed with the Southern League opting to add a week on to the season. It means that the trip to Aylesbury will probably be on 1 May. Next Saturday Egham are at home to Fleet Town, then face Arlesey Town (24.4) and Beaconsfield Town (26.4), both of whose current positions at, respectively, the bottom and the top of the pile means that the league were unable to move fixtures involving a team in a promotion or relegation battle. The top of the table sees a very closely fought tussle, while at the bottom Arlesey Town are fifteen points away from safety with six games left. The remaining game for the Sarnies is a trip to Chalfont St Peter on 28 April.
EGHAM TOWN: Matt Nolan, Greg Haydon, Matt Nolan, Rhys Paul, Joe Debayo, Mitchell Wiseman, Stephan Hamilton-Forbes, Josh Andrew, Brendan Matthew, Ashley Lodge (Skipper), Michael Kalu. Substitutes: Georges Ehui (Debayo, 68), Ryan Debattista (Andrew, 68), Lauric Diakiesse, Daniel Gbadeyan, Greig Stewart (Paul, 58).
SATURDAY 14 APRIL 2018
HAYES & YEADING UNITED 6 (2) EGHAM TOWN 1 (1)
Egham Town scorer: Mitch Wiseman (31)
No matter how many times Egham Town concede six goals in a match it does not get any easier for their long-suffering fans. This is the fourth time a round half dozen have gone into the Egham net this season, added to the seven at Hartley Wintney, but the first time goalkeeper Matt Nolan was forced to pluck the ball so many times from his goal. Not that he was to blame for this tonking; he made several decent saves, especially from Manny Duke, preventing even greater humiliation. Since he took over the No 1 shirt the Egham defence has looked more solid, resolute enough to hold off then leaders AFC Rushdenn & Diamonds and beating Hayes & Yeading United 2-0. The win against the West London side saw heroic, cohesive defending and attacking with purpose. It would be fair to say that there was not so much of these qualities on display at the SkyEx Community Stadium in the second period, after being having the better of the play in the opening 45.
Egham were behind after only 9 minutes, Duku taking advantage of a gap in the Sarnies rearguard. Egham were not slow to respond and for the next quarter of an hour edged the midfield tussles and began to look threatening with the pace of Michael Kalu and the skills of “Hayes reject” Ashley Lodge. The pressure seemed to be telling on the home side, who appealed for every little nudge, especially in their own box. Referee Steven Rea had their number though: “I know how precious you lot are”! On the half hour a nicely flowing move from the visitors gave Lodge room for a thumping drive that Zaki Oualah, in the home goal, was glad to steer over the bar. When Lodge’s corner came in Egham centre-half Mitch Wiseman drove the ball into the roof of the net with his right instep. That takes his tally to nine, which is pretty decent for a defender. Egham were behind before half time, the manner of the goal almost as certainly as vexing for manager Simon Lane as it was for the fans down the other end. Home skipper Tom Smith had missed a back post header in the 37th minute, a freebie from a corner, but as the break beckoned his next chance saw him rise up near the penalty spot and, unmarked, nod the ball in. Egham replied with more pressure and after Lodge was fouled Kalu, off the free kick, hit a 25 yard curler that Oualah had to turn over at full stretch.
If that end to the first half gave the travelling faithful some expectation of second half progress they were pretty soon disabused of the notion. In the 58th minute Rhys Paul was replaced by Greig Stewart. It may be coincidence but a minute later Wiseman’s pass left the back line exposed. Sahr Kabba raced through for an assured finish. That gave United the impetus to go for the Sarnies’ jugular. Duku brought an excellent diving save out of the Egham keeper, then from another corner the centre forward was rueing another miss off Smith’s header when sub Spyros Mentis pounced on the rebound and fired home. Yet another denial by Nolan of a shot by Duku failed to stem the tide. Mentis ran from deep, found Duku to his right and Nolan had no chance with the finish. Substitute Ryan Debattista, the scorer of both goals in the game at Runnymede Stadium, caused a frisson of excitement when, seconds in, he turned and hit a shot that, in hitting the top of the outside of the net looked from certain angles as if it had made the score less painful. Egham began to find some midfield possession again but ran out of ideas when they got to the edge of the box. There didn’t seem to be a lot of thinking going on in the Egham box when the final goal went in. A hopeful cross from the Hayes left was turned back in by Scott Donnelly and sub Duncan Culley ran unmolested to turn the ball into the bottom right corner. The travelling faithful shrugged and went home. The match sort of summed up this season, under either Lane or his predecessor Chris Moore – squads capable of playing very well but always with the fear that it could all fall apart. Yesterday’s squad had gone to Hayes in decent form and were given a finishing lesson.
Egham face Moneyfields at home on Tuesday. The remaining schedule has been changed with the Southern League opting to add a week on to the season. It means that the trip to Aylesbury will probably be on 1 May. Next Saturday Egham are at home to Fleet Town, then face Arlesey Town (24.4) and Beaconsfield Town (26.4), both of whose current positions at, respectively, the bottom and the top of the pile means that the league were unable to move fixtures involving a team in a promotion or relegation battle. The top of the table sees a very closely fought tussle, while at the bottom Arlesey Town are fifteen points away from safety with six games left. The remaining game for the Sarnies is a trip to Chalfont St Peter on 28 April.
EGHAM TOWN: Matt Nolan, Greg Haydon, Matt Nolan, Rhys Paul, Joe Debayo, Mitchell Wiseman, Stephan Hamilton-Forbes, Josh Andrew, Brendan Matthew, Ashley Lodge (Skipper), Michael Kalu. Substitutes: Georges Ehui (Debayo, 68), Ryan Debattista (Andrew, 68), Lauric Diakiesse, Daniel Gbadeyan, Greig Stewart (Paul, 58).
Further reading