A tight but chanceless local derby against Virginia Water resulted in the Sarnies dropping down a place to 6th, and out of the play-off slots. Leading marksman Nathan Hogan had left Egham in midweek, to help give CCL Premier South side Redhill’s own promotion chances a boost. That worked a charm: Redhill stay 4th, but were surprisingly beaten 2-0 at relegation candidates Sheerwater. Also in midweek Egham signed exciting winger Junior Ferreira de Paiva, who was league rivals Broadfields United’s skipper, and his tireless energy was the highlight for a home side that struggled to breach the Waters’ defence. Similarly, Waters found their hosts’ back line determined to keep a second clean sheet in a row. The first half had little to write about apart from a great deal of earnest endeavour by two well-matched sides, but the second started with one of barely a handful of openings as Jon-Jo Bates surged forward and was unlucky to see a dangerous cross to de Paiva intercepted by Albie Nolan-French.
Egham bosses Ben Peden and Adam Humphries had signed Armando Pires Costa and Armani Morris, a couple of promising players, in the week before last, and both showed up well as Egham pushed late on for what might well have been a winner, given that their keeper, Lewis Gallifent, was having a fairly quiet afternoon. Ben Jordan came close for the Sarnies at the end of a decent move and there was a brief episode of “frank exchange of views at close range” after an incident involving Egham’s Tristan Francois and Waters’ Turnell Sinclair. A late sin-binning of Rodney dos Santos was safely covered by the home side as a game in want of a regular striker petered out.
Egham Town’s next two home games (as currently scheduled, given the damage recent weather has done to the fixture list) are against the sides currently second and top. Flackwell Heath visit on 23 March and Easter Monday sees the return of former Egham boss Gary Meakin in charge of title favourites Rayners Lane. In between, on 30 March, Egham make a first ever trip to Risborough Rangers. All will be hard games; Egham lost 0-2 at Flackwell Heath recently, 2-4 at Rayners Lane with Messrs Gasson and Williams in charge, and 0-3 at home to Risborough in that managerial pair’s last home game.
EGHAM TOWN: Lewis Gallifent, Rodney Dos Santos, Ben Peden, David Lopes, Adam Humphries (Captain), Tristan Francois, Jon-Jo Bates, Alex Paine, Luke Maguire, Ben Jordan, Junior Ferreira de Paiva. Substitutes: Callum O’Keeffe, George Tucker, Armani Morris (Maguire, 78), Dan Brown, Armando Pires Costa (Bates, 72).