Raynes Park Vale 1 Egham Town 2

COMBINED COUNTIES LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION
TUESDAY 9 APRIL 2013
RAYNES PARK VALE 1 (1) EGHAM TOWN 2 (2)

Egham Town scorers: Jim Ward (1) Brendan Matthew (57)

Last season Brendan Matthew scored both goals in a 2-0 win at Sandhurst Town. They took us past our 1990-91 season's best total (100) so we finished with 102 goals. Tonight it was his touch that diverted Luke Craig's pass for the winner in a scrappy game, and we have now reached a club record 83 points in one season. That goal came as a great relief for everyone in a scrappy and at times (and as usual at Grand Drive) feisty match that saw Egham go ahead with not one minute gone from the starting whistle before conceding just before the half hour.
On the back of rediscovering their goal scoring mojo with the comfortable 4-0 win over Farnham Town, Egham needed to keep the pressure up on Guernsey, who were themselves facing Farnham tonight. Guernsey won 2-1 in an apparently equally tight game, hard on the heels of a Friday/Saturday/Sunday triple that garnered just four points from nine. Even so, seeing Egham score as early as the first minute was a shock, Joel Jacobs aiming a left wing free kick into the box where Ward rose highest to head the ball home. Four minutes later Luke Craig was unlucky to see his shot on the turn dip over the keeper and onto the crossbar. The same man then provided a cross that Matthew headed over. On fifteen minutes Jacob Lambe wasted a good chance, dragging his shot wide, then RPV started to exert greater pressure on the league leaders. Paul Borg had to pull off a fine save from a shot from distance, then Egham conceded possession and ground far too easily from an attacking position and RPV scored on the break in the 29th minute. Luke Craig laid on a more than decent chance for Matthew at the far post but the ball was sent high over the bar from close range.
RPV started the second half by inviting a couple of Egham players to particularly close inspections of their playing surface but there was not a lot they could do as Egham surged uphill and Craig L was on hand to deliver a perfect pass for Matthew to guide the ball in off his right knee. A walloping shot by Lambe forced a decent save midway in the second half and for the rest of the game RPV were pretty comfortably contained.

EGHAM TOWN: Paul Borg, Tim Pitt, Joel Jacobs, Arran Taylor-Ives, Jim Ward, Steve Coultas, Tommy Hedges, Patrick Craig, Brendan Matthew, Jacob Lambe, Luke Craig. Subs: Louis Chandler-Joseph (Coultas, 73), Reis Stanislaus (Jacob Lambe (79), Jamie Read (Matthew, 79), Kemo Maphela, Alex Rodrigues.

Bedfont Sports 3 Sandhurst Town 2, Dorking 2 South Park 4, Farnham Town 1 Guernsey 2, Hanworth Villa 1 Molesey 2, Hartley Wintney 2 Croydon 1, Wembley 2 Cove 1.