EGHAM TOWN 7 CROYDON 1

EL RECORDS PREMIER CHALLENGE CUP THIRD ROUND

TUESDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2013

EGHAM TOWN 7 (2) CROYDON 1 (0)

Egham Town scorers: Tommy Hedges (7), Reis Stanislaus 2 (36, 60), Luke Craig 3 (80, 86, 90 +5), own goal (90).

It is a fair bet that Egham Town set two club records tonight. Who, even avid gamblers from far afield, would have wagered on a second home 7-1 win? Who saw this record (I think) League Cup success (in any league Egham have played in) coming?
As with the game on Saturday against Molesey your correspondent did not approach this match with any great expectation of progress, based on how well Croydon played in the second half of their 4-2 league win at the Croydon Arena. In fact the visitors had a presentable early chance to take an early lead, having had keeper Francis Amenyam to thank for a magnificent first minute save from Joel Jacob’s free kick. It was Egham, though, who took the early initiative with a goal made by the quick feet and thinking of new man Kemo Mephela, running at a retreating defence at pace before slipping a pass to Tommy Hedges, for whom beating two men in the box before slamming the ball home seemed almost criminally easy. Mephela missed a chance to convert a flat pass from Luke Craig before Egham started creating chances that were almost all spurned. Alex Rodrigues’ free kick was spilled by Amenyam, Jim Ward and Reis Stanislaus having shots blocked in the aftermath before the Trams cleared their lines. In the previous match Croydon’s skilful midfield were allowed room an time to dictate, and it was this that saw them recover from 0-1 and 1-2 for their win. Egham learnt the lesson well, denying the likes of Josh Cover and Claudio de Almeida with great covering tackles. The reward came with four minutes of the half left. Jacobs whipped in a corner for Stanislaus, whose presence, in lieu of Brendan Matthew, in the starting XI was the only change from 3pm on Saturday, and the powerful striker got in front of his marker to flick home a header. By half time the game should have been well and truly over for Croydon but from a Rodrigues’ long pass Stanislaus raced towards goal, accompanied by the unmarked Read, ignored and frustrated as the former’s shot buried itself in Amenyam’s midriff. With seconds left before tea Read shot a decent chance over on another break.
Even though the Croydon committee begged over half-time refreshments “please be gentlue with us in the second half” their team management had different ideas. Profligacy gives opposition hope. Five minutes into the second hope Croydon, who must have been told “get one and we’re back in it”, did just that, a superb solo run and finish by Taylor Smith making those missed chances look potentially expensive. Then someone, forgive me for not spotting who (though I am sure someone will be quick to tell me), launched one into the Croydon half, Stanislaus ran onto it and this time gave the keeper no chance as he finished his run from the halfway line with a first time wallop into the bottom left corner. That was the goal that earnt us a home tie against Wembley or Raynes Park Vale. Croydon folded, just like Molesey did. Mephela and Luke Muldowney were replaced by Steve Coultas and Patrick Craig, the latter apparently being, in contrast to some dodgy info I got from Danny Bennett, related to Luke. I think Luke said they’re cousins, or Patrick is Luke’s son. (For the latter there would have to be some banjos playing in the background, methinks.) Deliverance from the agonies of scraping by in a tie that was promising more goals came as the aforementioned Luke Craig gave us a 15 master class in how to put the ball in the net. Prior to tonight his tally was just two, at Sheerwater and Beckenham Town. Now it’s five. 4-1 on the night came at the end of a break triggered by Jacob Lambe, on for Jamie Read, and after good support by Stanislaus and Hedges the finish was clinical. LC made it 5-1 with a fierce shot preceded by a shimmy that took two defenders out of the game, and 7-1 five minutes into injury time, hitting Hedge’s wall pass on the run, bending the ball round the keeper from the edge of the box. 6-1 deserves a mention of its own, a horrible/hilarious slice by Alfred Kalena off his right boot as he essayed volleying a Jacobs’ free kick, the ball describing a graceless arc past a keeper who was as aghast as he was beleaguered. Equally funny, in its own way, was Amenyam’s angry reaction to the fifth goal, a mishit volley that cannoned into the back of centre back Oliver Hunt, who displayed admirable sangfroid in the circumstances. This commendable trait was equally evident from Croydon’s officials after the match. We have to face each other again at the Runnymede Stadium in the League on 30 March.
Chessington & Hook are Egham’s next opponents, at a Sandy Lane pitch which tonight was deemed unfit for the match against an Epsom & Ewell side for whom victory would have seen them taking top place from us.
EGHAM TOWN: Paul Borg, Alex Rodrigues, Joel Jacobs, Arran Taylor-Ives, Jim Ward, Luke Muldowney, Luke Craig, Tommy Hedges, Reis Stanislaus, Jamie Read, Kemo Mephela. Subs: Steve Coultas (Muldowney, 70), Patrick Craig (Mephela, 70), Jacob Lambe (Read, 77).