Hillingdon Borough 3 - 1 Egham Town

FRIENDLY

HILLINGDON BOROUGH 3 (0) EGHAM TOWN 1 (1)

Egham Town scorer: Matt Grave (15)

Egham Town’s new management team took their charges to Breakspear Road for a match against South Midlands League side Hillingdon Borough on Saturday. Time to get the first cliché of the season out of the way; this was a game of two halves. Having played very well with a mixture of known faces, new faces and a good sprinkling of youth, Egham deserved their half time lead, but Borough then swapped their first pick for a new XI who took advantage of tiring opposition. Those who watched will, though, know that 3-1 was a harsh result.
John Hamsher, Wayne Noad and Colin Bartholomew have taken the bull by the horns in the close season and made some interesting new signings. One due to take his bow was Kevin Borg, a goalkeeper signed from Epsom & Ewell, but he suffered an unusual injury – a horsefly bite that caused his right knee to balloon. In his place the trio called up Egham Town Youth keeper Josh Henry, who put on an inspired display until fatigue in those in front of him gave the home side more opportunity to score. Jake Galbraith is back for his third stint in the Egham Town red, at left back and the club are delighted to welcome Marcus Moody back. That at least stops him scoring against us, or playing well against us, which latter he did consistently in Chertsey’s colours. Lee Passmore returns for midfield duties after several years away, and marksman Matt Grave showed with his deft finish from Luke Muldowney’s through ball the coolness in front of goal of last season. John Pomroy has gone to pastures new and as yet unknown, so in his stead comes Dale Marvell, like Borg an ex-Epsom & Ewell player. Matt Evans, whose playing history is not yet known to me, is a tall forward who will pose an aerial threat. Among those who have re-signed after last season are Jamie Houghton (midfield), Aaron Thomas (centre back), Frankie Driver (forward or midfield) and Paul Bartholomew, at right back. In keeping with their commitment to give the Youth team a chance the management team put 17 year old Jake Josling alongside the more experienced Taylor in the centre of defence and he produced an eye-catchingly excellent performance. Brendan Matthew, who gained a good deal of first team experience at the end of last season, was joined on the bench by fellow youngsters Hakin Miiro and Adam Weir, and all played well when they came on in the second half.
The performance was more important than the result on a sweltering afternoon on a 3G pitch, and from the start Egham set about linking play well in all areas. On 13 minutes Marvell forced a splendid save from the Borough keeper. Two minutes later Grave took Muldowney’s pass in his stride and slammed the ball at an angle for a lead that was maintained in large part by the athleticism and anticipation of Henry. Unfortunately Bartholomew (Paul, not Colin) took a whack on his right calf and had to go off before the first period was over, Weir replacing him. Henry made three very tidy saves in the first fifteen minutes of the second half but with Hillingdon having put on a new side, comprised largely of bigger, stronger and more experienced players it was only a matter of time before they netted. It was galling that they did so with comparative ease for the first, a low cross tapped in after 62 minutes, and even more so when they took the lead a minute later with the defence all at sea and Henry stranded. They also hit Henry’s right post with a shot from the edge of the box before adding an unwarranted third with the last kick of the game.

Egham Town face Walton & Hersham on Saturday, kick off 3 pm, in a pre-season friendly.

Mark Ferguson