Egham Town 3 Horley Town 0

CHERRY RED RECORDS COMBINED COUNTIES LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION
TUESDAY 30 APRIL 2013
EGHAM TOWN 3 (2) HORLEY TOWN 0 (0)
Egham Town scorers: Jacob Lambe 2 (23, 26), Luke Craig (62)
Not yet. Not quite yet. Egham Town edged nearer the CCL Premier title tonight, but with Guernsey winning 2-1 at Bedfont Sports, who visit Egham on Saturday, all Egham eyes will be on GFCTV on Friday as the Channel Islanders entertain Dorking. After 41 matches the situation for Egham Town is clear; one more win and the title is theirs. Guernsey’s hectic weekend schedule comprises four home games:

03 Fri 19:45 League Home Dorking

04 Sat 13:00 League Home Hartley Wintney

05 Sun 13:00 League Home Epsom & Ewell

06 Mon 13:00 League Home Farnham Town

Egham have 95 points; Guernsey have 84. After the embarrassment of Saturday it was essential that Egham restore their pride with a committed and successful performance against doughty opponents with whom they had only recently drawn 1-1 away. Both sides had changes from that game, the chief one for the home side being the sidelining of leading marksman Jamie Read with a badly bruised thigh. The front pair for this match were the young guns Jacob Lambe and Brendan Matthew. What a transformation Lambe has undergone. Since his debut at Bedfont Sports he has developed from an at times awkward looking player sometimes adrift from the stream of play into a powerful, athletic and speedy striker with an eye and a hunger for goals. He grabbed two more tonight, settling the team down after a powerful start was showing signs of developing into frustration. Initially it was Matthew who tested Dan Chatfield in the second and fifth minutes then marauding full back Josh Andrew hit the bar with a powerful 20 yard bullet. After 20 minutes came the breakthrough as Luke Muldowney finished off a four man move with a shot that Chatfield could not hold and Lambe raced in to score off the rebound. His anticipation served his team well again three minutes later when Matthew crashed shot off the bar, racing in ahead of Chatfield to force the ball home. Egham were almost gifted a third – Arran Taylor-Ives launched the upfield, Matthew nodded it on and as Tom Winsor guided the ball back to Chatfield he overdid it, and was relieved to see the ball dribble just past the post. As the first half ended we heard that Bedfont Sports and Guernsey stood at 1-1. Fingers were crossed and prayers said. No lambs were sacrificed.
Which was just as well… Not too much into the second half we heard that the Bedfont Sports skipper had first use of the shower and Guernsey had taken the lead onto which they would hold. Egham went about making sure Horley would not worry them further by maintaining their pace and control but fashioned their third from a Chatfield blunder. Having just re-tied his laces he tried a goal kick but underhit it and as it came back Matthew sized up the situation, decided that passing to Luke Craig was his best option, and saw that thought rewarded as the midfielder smashed the ball into the net with a rising shot. Lambe tried a lob, but slightly overcooked it with twelve to go, then as full time approached the Horley No. 9, Dave Brown, came to the attention of the referee once too often and was sent off. Almost immediately Lambe was denied his hat-trick, his powerful shot on the turn bringing a truly superb flying save from the veteran Horley keeper.
The CCL Premier next season will be very interesting. Westfield have won promotion from Division One, Walton Casuals have been relegated from Ryman One and doubtless Windsor will be one of the strongest sides in the battle for honours. Egham’s job now is to make sure that such issues are of only passing interest for 2013-2014.
EGHAM TOWN: Paul Borg, Josh Andrew, Joel Jacobs, Arran Taylor-Ives (skipper), Jim Ward, Luke Muldowney, Tommy Hedges, Stephen Coultas, Brendan Matthew, Jacob Lambe, Luke Craig. Subs: Louis Chandler-Joseph (Coultas, 70), Reis Stanislaus (Matthew, 73), Patrick Craig, Alex Rodrigues, Kemo Maphela.