AYLESBURY UNITED O EGHAM TOWN 3

EVO-STIK SOUTHERN LEAGUE DIVISION ONE CENTRAL
SATURDAY 16 JANUARY 2016
AYLESBURY UNITED 0 (0) EGHAM TOWN 3 (2)
Bajram Pashaj 2 (37, 45), Chris Henry (76)

Bajram Pashaj’s first half brace set the Sarnies on the way to their fifth straight win, the last four with clean sheets, their first “double” and confirmed third place, just ahead of Tuesday’s visitors Royston Town.
Forty five years ago these clubs met for the first time and Egham won twice, 3-0 at home win and 2-1 at the Ducks’ old home at Turnfurlong Lane*. As Egham won 2-1 on 5 September it forms a neat symmetry. The game in September was the only one for which Koo Dumbuya and Ahmet Akdag took charge because shortly afterwards Gary Meakin took over. Under him Egham are in contention for promotion with a settled side that works hard for each other.
United play at the impressive ASM Stadium, home of Hellenic Premier Thame United. The Ducks have just one win at “home”. A supporter, before kick-off, offered a clear-eyed assessment that “for the last two seasons we have been used to playing on a poor pitch (at Leighton Town; his assessment, not mine) but now we are playing on a decent surface sides who can play good football think “Wow!” and play us off the park.” It is fair to say that Egham did not play Aylesbury United off the park, at least for the first 35 minutes. They created plenty of chances without breaking through, were grateful to solid defending for keeping the home side at bay and then finally got their noses in front. As early as the 8th minute the visitors could have taken the lead as Callum Webb’s cross from the right found Ryan De Battista in two minds whether to have a shot or go for a header and doing neither. Pashaj had a shot blocked for a corner that led to a scramble and a shot from Pashaj that was just too strong for Brendan Matthew waiting at the back post. Seconds later Matthew led the next attack, was tackled by the impressive Alex Collard and when the ball ran free Pashaj found De Battista for a shot that went just wide. At the other end a rare slip from Luke Neville let Tyrone Taylor in for a shot that Reece Yorke did extremely well to clear. De Battista had the next chance, steadying himself before firing off target. Two minutes later Egham were ahead, Pashaj cutting in off skipper Kurtney Brooks’ pass, evading three challenges in the box and hammering the ball past home keeper Zaki Oualah. A calf injury saw right back Elliott Carey replaced by Jake Cass, who slotted in superbly in an unfamiliar position, given that he was signed as a midfielder. It did not upset Egham. De Battista forced Oualah into a very good save and Pashaj, after the corner was not cleared, curled a shot that hit the right post. Egham were dominant now and when Webb found Brooks for a pass to Pashaj there was only place the ball was going, rifled into the home goal.
The last time Egham played at an architecturally similar ground, initially struggled to break down the home side and went in 2-0 up was at Arlesey, and ended with a 7-0 win. To get close to that required a goal early in the second half but it didn’t come. Ten minutes in Chris Henry replaced the luckless De Battista. The match was turning into a midfield scrap with United sensing that they might nick a goal back, never more so than when Greg Williams’ shot from the edge of the box crashed against the Egham crossbar. That triggered a response from Egham. Henry raced clear down the left and crossed for Brooks, who was denied by an excellent saving tackle from Shaun Owens. After Pashaj’s run and cross Matthew also had a shot charged down and the next time Henry broke free he crossed for Pashaj, who leant back just too much for his shot to give him a hat-trick. Egham merited a third goal and it finally came when Brooks threaded a pass down the middle for Henry. One on one with Oualah, who came racing out of his area, Henry chose the perfect moment to bend a low shot into the bottom left corner. The goal came in the 76th minute, and Henry should have had another instead of dragging a shot wide five minutes later. Ollie Jones, on for Matthew, was inches away from turning in Webb’s cross as Egham probed further. The home side were reduced to ten men when Rick Brown was sent off for two yellows in three minutes, the first as he and Jack Wood combined to flatten Pashaj and the second for a crude challenge on Jones.
After the match Egham boss Gary Meakin was surprised to hear that this was the first time Egham had scored in both halves since the 3-4 loss at Bedford Town. It didn’t hinder progress; they’ve tightened up at the back and not lost since. He admitted that “It wasn’t pretty. When you know you are so much better than the opposition but not scoring against them you end up chasing the game”. He also noted that Royston had beaten Hanwell, which means that Tuesday’s game between the sides in 3rd and 4th will be tight.
EGHAM TOWN: Jamie Norris, Elliott Carey, Ryan Parsons, Reece Yorke, Luke Neville, Kurtney Brooks (Captain), Callum Webb, Wes Daly, Brendan Mathew, Bajram Pashaj, Ryan De Battista. Substitutes: Ryan Phillips, Jake Cass (Carey, 40), Ollie Jones (Matthew, 77), Tarome Hemmings, Chris Henry (De Battista, 55).
*[Ed: I saw both games; I am that old. In the home game there was a monsoon- like downpour so heavy it was difficult to see across the pitch. In the away game Graham Carter scored a breakaway goal and Bobby Stroud became the first Egham player I ever saw being sent off. In those days the Egham committee had a very dim view of such things and sacked at least one player after his dismissal; not with Bobby, though, as he was far too important to the team.]