AYLESBURY 1 EGHAM TOWN 0

SOUTHERN FOOTBALL LEAGUE
SATURDAY 8 AUGUST 2015
AYLESBURY 1 EGHAM TOWN 0 (Price 90 + 5)

Egham Town went down to a very, very late goal at Haywood Way in this season opener but, until a crucial late lapse in concentration, did more than enough to give cause for optimism for forthcoming games. Aylesbury, 12-1 to finish top (the Sarnies are 33-1) had a strong finish to last season and had the majority of the attacking impetus throughout the match. Egham therefore had to defend stoutly and did so, the first defiance coming after eight minutes when Jamie Norris, named as skipper in the absence of midfielder Troy Ferguson, pulled off a great save after Jamie Budd had managed to get round Mitchell Gutteridge. A minute later striker Danny Bassett was flattened, and from Seb Castello’s free kick Luke Neville headed wide. Brendan Matthew chased down a clearance in the 12th minute and was unlucky to see the ball just evade him. It was already clear that this was a contest between two well-matched teams, but Aylesbury should have taken the lead in the 32nd minute when Lynton Goss blazed a decent chance over the Egham bar. Ten minutes from the break Bassett broke down the left, back heeled the ball to Castello, who returned it for Bassett to shoot just past the far post. With seconds left Mason Welch-Turner was on hand to clear the ball off the line when Budd found a gap in the Sarnies’ back line.
The first half of the second period was fairly quiet apart from Goss firing over the bar again, and Bassett being clattered again, which led to him giving way to Jon Hippolyte, who is on loan from Maidenhead United, where his father Johnson was manager for several years. Egham boss Trevor Norris then subbed Gutteridge, a defender, for Haluna Masembe, an attacking midfileder round about the same time former Egham top marksman Ryan O’Toole came off the Moles’ bench. In this game last season O’Toole scored the home side’s third in a 3-1 win. This time round, after Hippolyte had seen a decent shot on the turn saved by keeper James Weatherill, O’Toole took advantage of some defensive inattention and slipped the ball in for Gareth Price, whose 95th minute cross shot found its mark.
In his talk to the team after the match Norris Senior could be heard saying that this performance was “a solid foundation to build on”. That is for certain. Egham have some key players to come in. The experienced defender Tom McGarry watched from the sidelines, Troy Ferguson is not yet recovered from the knock he received against his old club Staines Town and Yinka Salami has work commitments in India. Chandler-Joseph (pictured) did magnificently at right back considering he had just returned from holiday, and Gutteridge had not had a full pre-season as he recovered from injury.
Losing to very late goals somehow hurts more than when the winner is struck earlier. One young Egham man learnt a salutary lesson though. As Jordan Carter was warming up, to come on seconds before Aylesbury scored, he opined that this was “a good point”. At the time we had ten minutes left, at least, as I reminded him. Jordan, as a Sarnie, remember this: never, ever assume anything in an Egham game.
Next up are two home games. On Tuesday Egham entertain a Hanwell Town side that lost 0-1 at home to Chalfont St Peter, and on Saturday the visitors are Leighton Town. The Bedfordshire side’s last two visits have seen them leave with the points in late season encounters. They started their season with a 0-0 at home against Godalming Town.
EGHAM TOWN: Jamie Norris (Captain), Louis Chandler-Joseph, Mason Welch-Turner, Wilson Gondwe, Mitchell Gutteridge, Luke Neville, Josh Andrew, Tarome Hemmings, Danny Bassett, Brendan Matthew, Seb Castello. Subs: Jordan Carter (Castello, 90 + 4), Jon Hippolyte (Bassett, 67), Haluna Masembe (Gutteridge, 75), Larry Boateng, Jamie Cunningham (gk).