LEIGHTON TOWN 0 EGHAM TOWN 1

EVO-STIK SOUTHERN ONE CENTRAL
SATURDAY 6.2.16
LEIGHTON TOWN 0 (0) EGHAM TOWN 1 (0)
Chris Henry (88)

There is a pattern developing in results between Egham Town and Leighton Town, with both sides performing better, or at least getting better results, on the other’s ground. Egham have not conceded in three trips to Bell Rise (0-0, 3-0, 1-0) and The Reds have left the Runnymede Stadium with, in order, a 2-0 win, a 2-2 draw and this season a 2-1 victory with the winner a fluke in the last minute. It was fitting, therefore, that Egham should have all three points this time round, in a wind-affected game with the weather conditions an element in the build up to the only goal.
Neither side had played since 23 January, Egham losing 0-2 at home to Barton Rovers with a performance that could kindly be described as appalling. Other results, some extremely helpful to the Sarnies’ cause, had pushed the Sarnies out of the play-off places to 6th, which is where they are still. Howling wind affected very many games and this was no exception, but there could have been a storm of a different nature had Callum Webb taken exception to a dreadful tackle by Maxwell Ibeto in the 3rd minute. “Oh, that’s a bad one” said one local, adding “he should go for that.” He didn’t, getting just a yellow. He was joined in the book by Egham’s Luke Neville two minutes later for nothing as crude, then the game settled down. Leighton had the wind in their favour and tried to use it, some shots seemingly hoisted high and wide-ish in an attempt to catch out Egham keeper Jamie Norris. By this time the referee was making no friends with some suspect decisions, including a booking for Bajram Pashaj, but the game at this stage was a non-event. Egham had a debutant striker, Kane Jones (Windsor, Burnham), who worked hard in the tricky conditions, but Egham were not looking as sharp as they needed to be. The nearest thing to a threat on goal came as Norris palmed a dodgy looking cross away. Norris himself raised eyebrows at the end of the half as he had the ball in his control and decided to play out time, quite legally, by strolling with the ball at his feet from side to side of his box. No home forward tried to close him down, so from the other end of the ground we saw twenty men move left, right and left again like some rubbish screensaver before the whistle ended the half. At least it gave the spectators something to talk about.
Egham had to do better in the second half. Leighton Town are third from bottom for a reason, and they had lost nine home league games before Saturday. For the Sarnies to have any kind of pretensions towards a play-off place they needed to impose themselves on this match, regardless of the weather and a scuffed up playing surface. To a large extent they did this, putting more pressure on the home defence, but having to be grateful from time to time for some more of the great defending that sees Egham with the best GA total in the division. Jake Cass won a corner from which Brendan Matthew headed wide, Hassan Sulaiman won another flag kick which was cleared only as far as Pashaj, whose shot was deflected for one more corner, and Matthew had good cause to ask the referee about a push in his back as he attacked the cross. That flurry of activity done with Egham were, on the whole, able to maintain control. The wind was causing all kinds of odd things to happen to any kick sent above head height, then, almost at the death, it came to Egham’s aid. Just when it looked as if they were about to record their first draw on the road the wind carried a Norris drop kick onto the head of a Leighton midfielder who kindly flicked the ball on for Chris Henry who, left free in the penalty area, guided his shot beyond home keeper Bradley Kirkwood.
EGHAM TOWN: Jamie Norris, Hassan Sulaiman, Ryan Phillips, Reece Yorke, Luke Neville (Captain), Wes Daly, Callum Webb, Jake Cass, Brendan Matthew, Bajram Pashaj, Kane Jones. Substitutes: Ryan Parsons, Ollie Jones, Elliott Carey (Webb, 64), Chris Henry (Kane Jones, 64), Ryan De Battista.