Egham Town 4 Dorking 3

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COMBINED COUNTIES LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION
SATURDAY 15 OCTOBER 2011
EGHAM TOWN 4 (3) DORKING 3 (1)
Egham Town scorers: Matt Grave (1), Tom Hedges 2 ((36, 39), Brendan Matthew (90+3)

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If you win ugly it's still a win. Egham managed to establish a nice, healthy looking 3-0 lead by the 39th minute and then proceeded to make an almost complete bugger-up of the whole thing. Some indefensibly bad defending damn nearly wiped out some decent attacking play, but the chief concern must surely be why, having got themselves into a position from which they could have secured a comfortable win they just switched off. True, Dorking had something to do with it, but there is a pattern of conceding bad goals that one day will actually make the wrong sort of difference to a scoreline. 5-0 up against Eversley in the League Cup, one bad back pass let the visitors make the score 5-1, and they had a decent shout for a penalty later; two bad goals at Colliers Wood United last Saturday, one on a break from our attack, the other an uncontested back post header; the bouncing ball nodded in at the back post at Horley; as long as Egham manage to score fairly freely this means that the remarkable lack of goalless draws (four, two of which came last season) in five and a bit seasons in the CCL will continue to mean entertainment in Egham games, but it does little to keep the blood pressure down.
Not a minute had gone when Egham skipper Marcus Moody and Matt Grave combined to pounce on a bad back pass (defensive frailty is not just Egham's headache) and Grave lashed the ball into the net with Chicks' keeper John McBride stranded. Egham looked settled, and on 14 minutes Jamie Houghton fired a long range shot which McBride gathered as Dale Marvell closed in. After Paul Borg had dealt capably with Leroy Hyett's cross shot Grave tore down the left side of the Dorking defence and hit a fine cross with the outside of his right foot for Tom Hedges, waiting at the back post to head home. Hedges was not, despite the raging claims of the Dorking bench, offside but referee T Ellams only spoke to him, instead of banishing him to the stands for his outburst at the assistant referee. Three minutes later Houghton flicked the ball on for Hedges, who took his one-on-one chance with consummate ease. Then, with a minute before half time, Jake Galbraith's weak header back to Borg let Martin Smith lob the Egham keeper.
Three minutes into the second half Dorking had a corner which Craig Duffell headed home, without much in the way of defensive hindrance and the score was 3-2. John Hamsher took off Hedges for Ken During, moved Lee Pasmore into midfield and hoped that the usual centre back partnership of During and Aarron Taylor-Ives would keep Dorking at bay. Unfortunately, with 80 minutes on the clock, another Dorking corner was headed in, this time by Smith. In between the goals Grave had ended Egham's best attacking move of the half with a weak shot and Marvell picked up a caution for dissent, frustrated by an offside flag when clearly onside. In the Egham dugout the management team looked equally frustrated, but were true to their attacking instincts. The game had a frantic last ten minutes. First Louis Chandler-Joseph, a 16 year old who made his debut in the midweek win at Horley, came on for Pasmore, and with his speed and surprisingly tough tackling for one so young, gave his team more forward momentum. He linked with Grave, who forced a corner, from which During headed wide. Marvell was replaced with a minute left by Brendan Matthew, and almost immediately Duffell picked up a second yellow, and therefore a red, for a foul on Chandler-Joseph. The Chicks' Sam Currie followed Duffell into the book for upending Grave. That free kick led to a corner, in the clearing of which keeper McBride clattered into Dorking centre back Russell Hartt. Bewilderingly the referee gave Hartt a free kick for the heinous crime of being flattened by his own custodian, who took the free kick, launching the ball long for Darryl Jeeves, whose shot forced a tremendous, and crucial save from Borg. Finally Egham poached the winner, Jake Galbraith's free kick popping up kindly for Matthew to score his third league goal with a good touch and smart finish from close range. Great was the relief, and after other results Egham are now in second place. That elevated status, the best Egham have reached in their time in the CCL, should put them in good heart for next Saturday's home FA Vase tie against Kent Leaguers Greenwich Borough, provided they can cut out the defensive lapses.

EGHAM TOWN: Paul Borg, Dan Hartlebury, Jake Galbraith, Lee Pasmore, Aarron Taylor-Ives, Luke Muldowney, Jamie Houghton, Marcus Moody (capt.), Dale Marvell, Matt Grave, Tom Hedges. Subs: Ken During (Hedges, 50), Max Galbraith, Brendan Matthew (Marvell, 89), Tom Brunton, Louis Chandler-Joseph (Pasmore, 84).