EGHAM TOWN 1 FROME TOWN 2

FA TROPHY FIRST QUALIFYING ROUND
SATURDAY 31 OCTOBER 2015
EGHAM TOWN 1 (1) FROME TOWN 2 (2)
Brendan Matthew (9) : Corby Moore (25), Tyler Sibbick (41)

Egham Town lost for the second time in four days as they surrendered their 100% home FA Trophy record against Southern Premier Frome Town. After the midweek reverse on the atrocious pitch at Petersfield Town the Sarnies had to make changes with Tarome Hemmings coming in at right back for the injured Jerome Ecclestone while on the other flank new boy Dominic Rhone was cup-tied, giving Mason Yorke his home debut. Ollie Jones came in for Chris Henry but otherwise the side was as expected, and it is this continuity of selection that has made Egham hard to beat since Gary Meakin took over. Lose they did though, despite taking the lead with a wonderful strike from Brendan Matthew in the 9th minute. Taking a pass from Callum Webb on the right flank, 22 yards out, Matthew saw keeper Daniel Lloyd-Western off his line and sidefooted a perfect lob for an early lead. After 25 minutes the Somerset visitors were level. Egham ceded possession in midfield and Frome won a corner from which the ball fell to Corby Moore, 25 yards out. There was no doubting his shot was well struck but the two deflections en route to the back of Jamie Norris’ net meant that Moore was also lucky. Giving the ball away in midfield led to the second goal too, this time a corner being headed home from close range by Tyler Sibbick four minutes before half time.
After taking the lead Frome then, it could be said, gave Egham a lesson in how to win a football match. There was no doubt they were no more adept than Egham at the basic skills required at this level and were no better than some of the sides Egham have beaten this season, but once ahead their methodology seemed, to this writer, a to be an object lesson in cynicism. Aided, if not out-and-out abetted, by some comically inept officiating Frome got away with time wasting, blocking and fouling. Egham Town went into the week standing second in the Non-league Paper’s Fair Play League, showing that under both Trevor Norris and his successor Meakin they don’t play like that and, given that they have just won ten on the spin, they don’t need to. Once Norris fils had flipped Darren Jefferies shot over the bar shortly after the restart the game was as even as it had been in the first half. Jones got the ball into the Frome met but was offside then, as Egham started to look like they would get back in the game Rob Hobbs flattened Jones. Referee Marcus Carmichael would have done better to play advantage as the ball was in the possession of Bajram Pashaj, who was about to shoot, but he pulled play back. He failed to book the miscreant. Webb went off and Henry came on, which did little to add thrust to the home side’s attacks. Pashaj played a long forward pass for Matthew to run onto and Connor Roberts just stepped across the Egham striker, clearly obstructing him, but as the Frome left back had not long before got away with fouling Reece Yorke in the area he clearly now felt immune. That would be why he managed to get away with another blatant obstruction that Mr Carmichael ignored. I hope for his sake that Mr Carmichael is better at his job than his hobby. Despite all this Egham kept plugging away, Henry putting just too much weight on a pass for Danny Bassett (on for Mason Yorke) and Lloyd-Western diverting Pashaj’s angled shot agonisingly out of reach of Matthew.
Other league results have tightened the position on top of the Southern Central League.

Team Pld GD Pts
1 Egham Town 14 22 27
2 AFC Rushden & Diamonds 11 14 27
3 Chalfont St Peter 14 12 27
4 Ware 15 1 27
5 St Ives Town 14 11 26
6 Royston Town 13 18 25
7 Kings Langley 13 11 25
8 Aylesbury 14 10 24

Egham travel to Rushden & Diamonds on Saturday, then a week later entertain Royston Town.

EGHAM TOWN: Jamie Norris, Tarome Hemmings, Mason Yorke, Reece Yorke, Luke Neville, Kurtney Brooks (captain), Callum Webb, Jake Cass, Brendan Matthew, Bajram Pashaj, Ollie Jones. Substitutes: Larry Boateng, Dean McDonnell, Chris Henry (Webb, 66), Danny Bassett (Mason Yorke, 77), Jerome Ecclestone.