AS Camboli continued their title push with a comfortable victory over relegation threatened FollyHill Rangers at a windswept Frimley Lodge. It was a muted celebration for the home side as the result was overshadowed by the sight of their goalkeeper James Price taken away in an ambulance with suspected ankle ligament damage. Despite their league position, the visitors came into the match on the back of a fine 5-1 victory against AFC Sandhurst and Camboli manager, Tom Welburn, had stressed in his matchday programme notes the importance of not taking their opponents lightly.
As the match got underway the swirling wind began to pick up and it was soon apparent that both sides were going to fight the conditions as well as each other. The opening exchanges were rather cagey as a result and neither side were able to stamp their authority on the match. Camboli had fielded a similar formation to that of their previous match against the Crab & Dragon with Jim Welburn playing in a holding role and Sam Welburn and skipper Jonny Gosnell patrolling the centre of the park. Gary Smith continued on the left of midfield and Ryan Adger returned for his first start since early December on the right, as Camboli were hoping to continue to evolve their new system.
Although conditions clearly weren't helping, early on Camboli were at times a little impatient, guilty of playing the ball too quickly up to frontman John Stanborough who was often left chasing lost causes, instead of utilising the qualities of wide men Smith and Adger. At the other end however, FollyHill rarely threatened, with Jack Burgess, Dave Aird, Andrew Bradshaw and Richard Putman ably protecting the goal of James Price. As the first half reached the midway point Camboli began to create a few opportunites as they started to gain the upper hand. Their breakthough came when Stanborough, making his home debut, was clumsily brought down in the penalty area leaving the referee little option but to point to the spot. The flamboyant striker brushed himself down before stepping up to slot home his first goal for the club despite the FollyHill keepers best efforts.
The opening goal seemed to relax the home side and they did start to play some better football. Sam Welburn linked up well with Burgess to flash a shot across goal, Gosnell fired just wide from range and Stanborough was just off target after a sharp turn on the edge of the box. Credit must also be given to the visiting goalkeeper who, despite his burly frame and lack of mobility, managed to deny both Adger and Stanborough by rushing out early to smother the ball.
The second goal can often be crucial in matches and Camboli will have been more than happy that not only did it fall their way but that it also came in the last few minutes of the first half leaving FollyHill little time to respond. Ritch Putman latched onto a looping ball into the left of the penalty area before drawing out the keeper and unselfishly squaring to give Adger a simple tap in to cap a good first half display for the pair of them.
The second half saw Camboli start very brightly, forcing a number of early corners and throwins in dangerous areas. It was from one such corner that Camboli scored their third. Stanborough whipped in a fine ball at the second attempt after FollyHill failed to clear the initial cross and Ritch Putman rose unmarked to power home a header inside the near post from 8 yards. A delighted Putman then ran over to the corner flag to celebrate with home fans who surged forward in a wild frenzy to embrace the local hero.
Shortly after the goal Stanborough, who'd put in another good display, departed following a disagreement with the referee that threatened to escalate and made way for another debutant Dean Penfold. No sooner had Penfold taken to the pitch, Camboli's morning was somewhat soured. James Price leapt high to acrobatically prevent the ball dipping under his crossbar and landed awkwardly to the immediate concern of everyone in the ground. After a lengthy delay, the Camboli stopper was taken away in an ambulance to a sombre applause from the stands.
The incident forced a number of changes. Bradshaw covered in goal as the O'Flaherty brothers came on for Price and Adger and Camboli looked to close out the victory. Sam Welburn added a fourth on 66 minutes with a smart header across goal from a Gary Smith freekick and it could have been more as Jim Welburn sent a free kick inches wide and Penfold hit the crossbar twice! Overall the home side will be satisfied with a victory that, at the time of writing, puts Camboli 2nd in the league.
"I'm suprised by the result because we've fielded the same team that won 5-1 last week. I don't think the ref helped either." Alec Roake, FollyHill manager
"It's a mixture of feelings really. Our main thoughts are with Pricey. We'll know more on Friday when the club doctors can study the results but it doesn't look good for the lad. But he's young and strong and he'll be back and in the meantime the lads will be pushing even harder. We'll keep plugging away, I've always said that we want to be in the mix at the start of February and that's still the same." Tom Welburn, AS Camboli manager
