EGHAM TOWN 0 BARTON ROVERS 2

EVO-STIK SOUTHERN LEAGUE DIVISION ONE SOUTH
SATURDAY 23 JANUARY 2016
EGHAM TOWN 0 (0) BARTON ROVERS 2 (1)

“You like a stat, don’t you?” said Egham boss Gary Meakin to me after I pointed out that the win at Aylesbury United was the first time in seven games that the side had scored in both halves. The pity with the follow-up game (the club’s 150th game in the Southern League) was that they failed to score in either. Nine games had gone since the last blank (0-1 at Petersfield United) and two weeks ago midfielder Kurtney Brooks was celebrating, after the 1-0 win at home to Kings Langley, that Egham had not lost with him in the side. Even better, with his fellow midfielder playing, Egham had a 100% record. Those runs have ended now, because the side starting in 17th place were better on the day at the basics (defending, taking chances) than the side sitting 4th.
With Tuesday’s home game against Royston Town postponed at the eleventh hour, Egham would have been in good heart after a 3-0 win at Aylesbury United. Bajram Pashaj banged in two and here looked as if that would continue in a sparkling first twenty minutes that saw Brendan Matthew’s speed and Chris Henry and Pashaj’s fleet footedness leaving visiting players chasing shadows. Rovers’ Warren Plowright was lucky to escape unpunished for a couple of untidy challenges on Matthew and Henry, but the key fact was that keeper Kyle Forster was not being stretched. The loss of wide man Callum Webb to injury after 31 minutes saw tall striker Ryan De Battista come on to augment the front line. By now it was clear that Barton Rovers were getting something more than a toe-hold in the game, and they had had a couple of shots that were enough to alarm the Sarnies’ faithful. Alarm became “WTF” when soft defending allowed Tyler Ingham to poke the ball past Egham keeper Jamie Norris, who had not been beaten in the previous four games.
Twelve minutes into the second half Meakin made another change, Henry, who had not got into the game, being replaced by Jake Cass. Unfortunately it did not do a lot to lift what had been, thus far, a flat performance. On the hour Hassan Sulaiman conceded a corner, it wasn’t dealt with and Jordan Davis drilled a low shot into the net. Ashton Grant shot wide off the rebound from his own shot as Egham looked unsettled, a situation which seemed to be settled to some extent when Ryan Phillips replaced Ryan Parsons. Parsons wasn’t doing anything wrong but Phillips attacks more from left back and from his first dangerous cross De Battista nodded down for Cass to hammer a volley just over the bar. Time was running out for Egham. On 81 minutes Matthew won a corner from which Luke Neville headed over. From the goal kick Rovers attacked and Davis’ cross shot clipped the foot of Norris’s right post. The game was now more open, and Matthew headed wide from Phillips’ cross, and Egham piled forward looking for something from a game they had let get away from them. The final sortie ended in a mighty scramble and De Battista having his shot charged down.
Egham have not lost much ground, and are still 4th, but will need to be more decisive in their attacking play and cut out misplaced passes and choosing wrong options if they are to succeed at Hanwell Town on Tuesday and at home to Bedford Town on Saturday. There is good news, it seems, on the injury front, with right back Jerome Ecclestone named as a non-playing sub and Mitchell Gutteridge making good progress after a bad shoulder injury.
EGHAM TOWN: Jamie Norris, Hassan Sulaiman, Ryan Parsons, Reece Yorke, Luke Neville, Kurtney Brooks (Captain), Callum Webb, Wes Daly, Brendan Matthew, Bajram Pashaj, Chris Henry. Substitutes: Ryan Phillips (Parsons, 74), Ollie Jones, Jake Cass (Henry, 57), Jerome Ecclestone, Ryan De Battista (Webb, 12).