Daventry T 2 Egham T 0

CALOR LEAGUE DIVISION ONE CENTRAL
TUESDAY 8 OCTOBER 2013
DAVENTRY TOWN 2 (1) EGHAM TOWN 0 (0)

My mum went to Daventry once– she said it was as dead as a dodo even when the shops were open and she was right. Unfortunately the same lifelessness cannot be attributed their table topping football team who, in ending Egham’s six match unbeaten run, showed why they are currently in pole position. The problem for Egham now is that the next match is against second placed Dunstable Town, the only side to have beaten the Northants side in the league so far. That problem could be exacerbated if the injury striker Jamie Read suffered in a late collision with Richard Morris, the Daventry keeper, is as bad as it looked when he limped off with eight minutes left.
So Daventry are the first side this season not to concede against the Sarnies, but if you can’t score you take care of things at the other end. Egham lost this match because of two defensive cock–ups, and because they could not take the less than a handful of chances afforded them by a well-disciplined back four. The first goal was created by a ball into the middle of the Egham rearguard being allowed to sit up nicely for Ashley Robinson to strike the ball between Gary Ross’ legs after only four minutes. For the rest of the half the high tempo play from both sides was entertaining to watch, apart from referee G Nowak deciding on only a yellow card for the two footed lunge by Marcel Simpson on Patrick Craig. Happily the Egham man was able to carry on after treatment. A shot by Josh Andrew missed the far post by not much and Ryan O’Toole was denied in a one-on-one by Morris as Egham matched their hosts in determination to close down while looking for openings. The one time the visiting defence was breached Kyle Anthony’s superb tackle on Scott Cross snuffed out the chance.
Unfortunately that defensive assurance was noticeable by its absence in the 66th minute when Joe Henderson was left completely unmarked to head in a free kick for the second and clinching goal. Daventry had already proved that, unlike some of the teams Egham have encountered at this level, they are not a one-half side. They were attacking from the off and had chances on the hour to seal the win but Egham’s luck held out, and there could have been an equaliser from Read’s 25 yard chip had Morris not been tall enough to tip the ball over. As it was Ryan Howell missed the chance to make the 8o+ mile trip back even more miserable before Read was injured.
EGHAM TOWN: Gary Ross, Josh Andrew, Jake Galbraith, Kyle Anthony, Chris Ellis, Luke Muldowney, Mo Harkin, Patrick Craig, Jamie Read, Ryan O’Toole, Joe Chandiram. Subs: Shane Graham, Jamie Houghton, Louis Chandler-Joseph, Jim Ward, Jacob Lambe.