AYLESBURY 3 EGHAM TOWN 1

EVO-STIK SOUTHERN LEAGUE CENTRAL DIVISION
TUESDAY 24 MARCH 2015
AYLESBURY 3 (0) EGHAM TOWN 1 (0)
Dave Deeney (58), Ben Stevens (78), Ryan O’Toole (89) : Brendan Matthew (49)

The scoreline looks like a bit of a thrashing but that was far from the case in this tight encounter between play-off candidates Aylesbury and a resurgent Egham Town. Egham were forced to make more changes, the win at Daventry Town having been gained at some cost with Yinka Salami and Ben Hunter injured. Key player Josh Andrew was also missing, and will be for the next three games, so Koo Dumbuya and Trevor Norris called in Tadley Calleva (Wessex League Division One) defender Andrew Charsley for cover, and he did very well in stepping up two levels and not looking out of place. Egham settled early with Danny Bassett testing James Weatherill in the home goal and Sarnies’ skipper Troy Ferguson seeing his dipping 30 yard beat the keeper but not the bar. Egham were facing two former players in centre back Kyle Anthony and striker Ryan O’Toole, the latter, inevitably (the immutable law of the ex) scoring late on. Before that though the visitors were tough and tenacious and determined to carry on their recent good form. Aylesbury thought, wrongly, that they had scored after 22 minutes as a corner caused temporary unease in the Egham defence. Bajram Pashaj had a shot blocked, with Brendan Matthew’s instant volley off the rebound held, and Pashaj was crowded out after running from the halfway line.
The Sarnies were playing every bit as well as the second placed Moles, taking the lead just before the hour mark, and it was the born-again Matthew who scored it. With just three goals up to and including 10 February he took his tally to five goals in four games, and I cannot recall the last time an Egham player scored in four consecutive games. (Probably Clayton Whittle, 2001-2 season.) He had the ball on the left, had the confidence to cut in and, urged on by his team-mates, went for a shot that Weatherill could not hold, the ball squirming out of his grasp and rolling over the line. Joy was short lived though, Dave Deeney driving a shot low through a crowd of players for the equaliser. A similar goal gave Aylesbury a barely deserved lead with twelve minutes left, but before then Pashaj had a chance to make it 2-2 with another burst from midfield. Weatherill tried and failed to foul the Egham man, who was too honest to take a dive in the box, and the chance was lost. After Ben Stevens made it 2-1 Egham found it hard to break down a well organised back line. The third was cruel and flattered the home side.
Next Egham to Hanwell Town, with whom they shared not one goal when they met at the Runnymede Stadium on 22 November. Hanwell have recently lost 0-2 at home to the Daventry Town side Egham beat 4-0 on Saturday, and tonight went down at North Greenford United 1-3, the same scoreline by which Egham won at NGU last Tuesday. These are, of course, just figures. Hanwell will want to regain their own play-off slot and it will be a tough game.
EGHAM TOWN: Jamie Cunningham, Danny Williamson, Mitchell Gutteridge, Troy Ferguson, Andrew Charsley, Luke Neville, Bajram Pashaj, Wilson Gondwe, Danny Bassett, Brendan Matthew, Seb Castello. Subs: Reece Brewster, Chad Goulter.