CHALFONT ST PETER 4 EGHAM TOWN 1

EVO-STIK SOUTHERN LEAGUE DIVISION ONE CENTRAL
SATURDAY 15 11 14
CHALFONT ST PETER 4 (1) EGHAM TOWN 1 (0)
Louis Stead (44), Adam Louth (68, pen), Remmel Clarke 2 (83, 90+3) ~ Danny Williamson (78)

Egham Town blew a chance to move into the play-off places of the Evo-Stick Southern League Division One Central after failing to take advantage of a good start and then struggling in a fog-affected second half.
Team selection was affected with George Gould deciding that he wants to be Windsor’s answer to Wayne Rooney. He did sign for Egham as a forward but failed to shine until he played a run of games at his former position of right back, where his speed of foot and thought saw him shine. His last game was at Uxbridge, where he stood in as goalkeeper and put in a fabulous performance in a 3-1 win. Now, instead of getting a regular game at a higher level in a position for which he is clearly suited he has chosen to be a bit-part player at Windsor. Odd. Centre-back Wilson Gondwe was also missing, away abroad on family business, and Dwayne Antonio was unavailable. On the pitch the decision to put 12 goal striker Reis Stanislaus on the left wing raised eyebrows; he didn’t get those goals playing out there. As strange as this was seeing Brendan Matthew, a fellow forward, again in midfield. Egham have signed a new forward, Chris Smith, formerly of Badshot Lea and Slough Town, making his debut at half time.
Both sides had been in decent form of late, but it was Egham who settled first. Home keeper Mike McEntegart saved well as a Mo Harkin free kick skipped up off a surface made difficult in a torrential downpour. Joe Chandiram was unlucky not to put the Sarnies ahead with a 35 yard shot that crashed against the bar, a let off that gave the Saints a fillip. They lifted their game and Aaron Lansiquot forced Jamie Norris, the Egham keeper, to make decent saves in the 31st minute. However, it still came as something of a shock when Louis Stead’s 44th minute shot, from the edge of the box, found the left bottom corner of Norris’ net, giving the Saints a half time lead.
The replacement of striker Dan Read for the new man, Smith, gave the travelling Sarnies faithful a chance to check a player of similar stature, build and identically lurid boots. Unfortunately Smith, like Read, suffered from a lack of service. Norris was kept busy, diverting a shot by Alex Paine after 51 minutes. Egham did not look likely to breach the home defence and, as the fog drifted in, a rash challenge by Sarnies’ skipper Ryan Lake on Lansiquot gave Adam Louth the opportunity to score from the spot. The referee had harsh words for home centre back Anthony Page, who had been trying to influence the referee into dismissing the Sarnies’ captain: “Stop trying to get your opponents sent off!” Egham responded by bringing Wayne Jackson on for Matthew, and Danny Williamson for Ashley Quashie. A brief flicker of Sarnie life saw Stanislaus tap a free kick to Mo Harkin, whose well struck shot was punched away by McEntegart. The Saints’ keeper was at fault, along with his centre backs, for the one goal Egham did muster in this hugely disappointing display, dropping the ball at Williamson’s feet. The sub calmly placed the ball in the net. It did not lead to a resurgence, as it should have. Egham got the goal by forcing a mistake in midfield, but did not learn the lesson. Chalfont are a decent side but their mid-table position shows that they have good days and bad days, and this was a good day largely because Egham failed to reach the standards of which they are clearly capable. The day got worse for the visitors as the fog thickened, lifted briefly and then came down again to the extent that visibility from one goalmouth to the other was impossible, and across the park extremely difficult. The referee, Ian Corner, should have called the game off, particularly with some dangerous tackles coming in from the home defence. One such, by Sam Grayley on Stanislaus, could have had nastier consequences but fortunately calmer heads prevailed. Had the game been ended early it would have saved Egham the embarrassment inflicted on them in the last eleven minutes. On 83 minutes Saints went 3-1 up through Remmel Clarke, Egham not being strong enough in defence, and the same man added to the visitors’ woes with a fourth, three minutes into stoppage time. Between the third and fourth goals Egham keeper Norris had taken his gloves off, confused by the ref’s whistling in the fog. By this time almost the entire pitch was fogbound, the atmospheric conditions being strangely localised as there were no such problems on the way home. Egham cannot use the fog as an excuse, though; they did not play well enough to get anything out of this match. With nine wins and eight losses in seventeen games the all-or-nothing pattern continues.
EGHAM TOWN: Jamie Norris, Luke Muldowney, Jake Galbraith, Mo Harkin, Ryan Lake (Captain), Lee Morley, Brendan Matthew, Joe Chandiram, Dan Read, Reis Stanislaus, Ashley Quashie. Subs: Danny Williamson (Quashie, 70), Chris Smith (Read, HT), Wayne Jackson (Matthew, 70).