EGHAM TOWN 4 BEDWORTH UNITED 4

EVO-STIK SOUTHERN LEAGUE DIVISION ONE CENTRAL
SATURDAY 25 APRIL 2015
EGHAM TOWN 4 (2) BEDWORTH UNITED 4 (2)
DANNY BASSETT 2 (2, 39, p), HALUNA MASEMBE (47) JOSH ANDREW (58)
DANIEL CREANEY 2 (30, 82), ALEX NAUGHTON (35), KYLE CARTWRIGHT (73)

Egham Town ended a tumultuous season with an excellent performance that, until managerial sentiment took over, could have seen them end with a fabulous win against promotion contenders Bedworth United.
Bedworth came to the Runnymede Stadium having already secured a place in the play-offs and were confident of seeing off their hosts even without their talismanic, but banned, star striker Danny Dubidat. The Midlanders had won 2-0 at Northwood on Tuesday and were hopeful of a similarly trouble free three point haul. Egham, though, equally forcefully, wanted a positive response to throwing away two points at home to Potters Bar Town in their last home game. It almost worked. The Sarnies were given an early hand when Christopher Tullin gifted a chance to Danny Bassett as early as the second minute and the young striker demonstrated great skill as he advanced on Bedworth keeper Denham Hinds before drilling his shot low and into the bottom right corner. That early advantage should have been built on by Josh Andrew, whose ground shot was saved two minutes later. Egham defender Mitchell Gutteridge took a kick in the head as he went up for a header in the opposition box, Haluna Masembe having seen his header hit the bar. Thirteen minutes in Andrew hooked a pass on to Matthew, but Hinds saved the shot with his left foot. The save made a difference. Given that Egham did not beat Potters Bar because they did not take their chances before allowing their guests back into the game this game was already beginning to take on a similar hue. Daniel Creaney missed a decent chance to level as he dragged a shot wide, and Bedworth were beginning to find holes in the home defence. Some smart passing from the forwards allowed defender Andrew Westwood to support the attack and hammer in a shot that Jamie Norris saved quite magnificently, full length and at point blank range. The reprieve was short lived but the goal was a defensive disappointment as a simple cross from the right found Creaney unmarked at the back post for a straightforward header. That came on the half hour; five minutes later Bedworth’s Marlon Waters and Westwood exchanged passes before Alex Naughton scored with a well hit cross shot. Had Norris not pulled off a great save from Jamie Ashmore the Midlanders would surely have won at a canter but on the back of that stop Egham got their act together again. Matthew latched onto a dreadful back pass by Nathan Hines who then hauled the Egham forward back in the penalty area. It came as no shock to the Egham faithful when the referee Rob Smith, in as craven an act of cowardice as the Sarnies have seen all season, bottled it and only booked the miscreant while awarding a spot kick, which Bassett smashed past Hinds. I sought confirmation from assistant referee Newton Gordon that, given that there is no such thing as “last man”, Hines should have been dismissed for denying a goal scoring opportunity. Mr Gordon’s nod confirmed what we all thought. There was time still for a scare in the Egham box as some panicky defending allowed Creaney another headed chance, but this time the ball kissed the inside of Norris’ right post before being safely gathered once it had bounced on the line.
As in the first half Egham took only two minutes to score after the restart. Waters made a superb tackle on Egham’s Bajram Pashaj 30 yards from goal but Pashaj did not give up, rode a foul from the same Greenback player and slipped the ball out to the pacy Masembe coming in from the left wing. Masembe had plenty to do given the angle of his run and that he had Mark Albrighton and Tullin to beat as well, but did it superbly, easily beating Hinds with an excellent finish. Almost from the kick off Pashaj’s burst to the byline and pull back for Matthew opened up the visiting defence but the shot was narrowly wide of the mark. Egham were looking comfortable against a side who by now had realised that their first visit to the Runnymede Stadium in ten seasons was not as comfortable as they had wanted. It was even less so when, after Matthew had seen his shot parried by Hinds, Andrew was on hand to hook his shot into the opposite corner of the goal for a 4-2 lead. That Bedworth got a point from here was, as admitted by Koo Dumbuya and Trevor Norris after the match, due in large part to the decision to make changes where usually there would be none. The first, the replacement by defender Seb Castello of Bassett, came immediately after Andrew’s strike. Having seen this sort of thing go wrong before this scribe was instantly worried, and I was right. The two goal margin became just one when Tullin nodded on Ashmore’s corner and Kyle Cartwright headed in from close range. Then Greenback sub Chad Degville-Cross, was brought down by Dan Williamson as he cut in off the byline and Mr Smith had no option but to award a penalty. Luke Rowe’s spot-kick was well hit but Norris read it and dived low to his right to save. Ben Hunter replaced Pashaj, this time there being a gap of five minutes or so before the next Bedworth goal, which was another disappointing concession as Creaney stumbled in turning in Rowe’s cross. There was one more chance for Egham, Masembe opening up the defence again before pulling back for Matthew, who shot wide. The final subbing, Chad Goulter on for Matthew, came with three – event free - minutes of the season left.
EGHAM TOWN: Jamie Norris, Danny Williamson, Mitchell Gutteridge, Troy Ferguson, Wilson Gondwe, Luke Neville, Josh Andrew, Bajram Pashaj, Brendan Matthew, Danny Bassett, Haluna Masembe. Subs: Seb Castello (Bassett, 72), Wayne Jackson, Chad Goulter (Matthew, 87), Ben Hunter (Pashaj, 82), Jamie Cunningham (keeper).

Egham finished in 15th place, four lower than last season, but still a creditable accomplishment given the managerial upheavals this season. 52 players were used this season, with one, the unfortunate Esteban Salgado, being named, but not used, twice. For Bedworth the draw saw a 4th placed finish, which is where they would have been even had they won. Had they lost, though, they would have finished in 5th, on goal difference behind Barton Rovers, and instead of travelling to Aylesbury would be on their way to runners-up Royston Town.
After the match the end of season awards were handed out. The first was for Players’ Player of the Year, and was given to Brendan Matthew. Matthew has been at the club for several seasons, coming from the Youth team, and has finally been given the managerial trust his talent deserves. He finished with nine goals, six of them in a five game run in March.
The Managers’ Player of the Year is Wilson Gondwe, who came to club under Lee Passmore, making his debut on 6 September at Leighton Town. His tenacity and skill have endeared him to the Egham fans, and, clearly, to Messrs Dumbuya and Norris Snr.
Finally, the Supporters’ Player of the Year award was won by a landslide by keeper Jamie Norris. Club Secretary Danny Bennett said in his speech before handing over the award that the shot stopper had not had a bad game – then everyone recoiled at the thought of the collective disaster at AFC Hayes. That aside, Norris Jnr, who came to the Runnymede Stadium last season, has been consistently excellent.
The Sarnies’ managerial duo expressed their thanks to all the players for their efforts, wished them all a good break and said they look forward to seeing them back at the club on 20 June in readiness for season 2015 – 2016. Which league Egham Town will be in when the new campaign opens on 8 August is open to conjecture but the key requirement for the club is to be more competitive than it has this season.

Mark Ferguson