Egham Town 3 Badshot Lea 2

CCL PREMIER TUESDAY 18 SEPTEMBER 2012
EGHAM TOWN 3 (1) BADSHOT LEA 2 (1)
Egham Town scorers: Jamie Read (5), Brendan Matthew (64), Enrico Rossoni (93)
Lee Passmore’s first game in charge as Egham Town boss resulted in a dramatic 3-2 with a late winner by sub Enrico Rossoni. With six players having left for pastures Chipstead the first team selection understandably included some of the youth team, but crucially skipper Arran Taylor-Ives (who as a player is almost identical, I think, to Jack McKinlay) was back from America to partner Junior Wright in central defence. Josh Andrew’s departure meant Matt Smith, who was signed by John Hamsher as a midfielder, at right back and a dead leg for keeper Paul Borg meant Josh Henry went between the posts.
Striker Jamie Read, whose appearances had begun to look increasingly rare under the former regime (ignored on Saturday against South Park with the score 0-2 in favour of Smith) took just five minutes to spark an entertaining, if occasionally feisty, night of football. He broke from midfield down the inside left channel before hitting an exquisite cross shot that pinged in off the inside of Matt Watson’s left post. For the next half hour Egham looked like a side determined that they could keep calm and carry on after the events of the preceding few days, but were pegged back with a goal by Ross Mullard off a free kick whose award was dubious.
The second half saw three goals and several bookings as the temperature on the pitch rose, starting with a first minute challenge by Egham’s Brendan Matthew on Michael Smith. Cautions for James Brown, Jamie Houghton and Lea’s Darren Blake quickly followed. Egham had calls for a spot kick turned away after Read got a shove in the back but settled to take the lead again with a glancing header by Matthew off Smith’s curling free kick, the ball again going in off the goal frame. Henry made a crucial and impressive double save from Josh Pearson but was cruelly exposed by a defensive lapse that let Adam Cornell score for 2-2. At this stage even the optimists would have been happy with a draw. Jake Galbraith made a great intervention to stop Dan Ker putting the visitors ahead, while Junior Wright was off receiving treatment for a knock that saw him subbed by Alex Rodrigues. Cornell missed a good chance to snatch the point from Egham, heading wide from a superb position. Finally, three minutes into time added on, Rossoni, who half an hour earlier had replaced Mathew, received a pass from Smith and jinked his way into the box. With retreating defenders afraid of tackling him while simultaneously obscuring the view of their own keeper Egham's Italian maestro finished with a deft sweep of his right peg to snatch a superb win.
Egham travel to Farnham Town on Saturday, then on Tuesday goes to Whyteleafe’s ground to face their tenants Warlingham (CCL One) in the EL Records Premier Challenge Cup.