Unlucky today lads. An extremely difficult game to be a part of, especially under the shocking conditions and I think we can be proud of our performance, overall.
We started the game in decent fashion although the opening exchanges were a pretty even affair. The best chance of the opening 15 minutes actually fell to Chilworth. Their left winger found himself in acres of space and managed to square for his striker who had the goal at his mercy but could only fluff his lines and place his short wide of the mark. A real let off as far as we were concerned.
We then responded in the best possible way. A good flick on from debutant Jack, fell to Nick who managed to smuggle the ball into my path and I could hardly miss from only yards out. A rare sight, me scoring and my first goal of the season!!! 0-1.
We looked pretty solid when the ball was on the deck from this moment on but it was clear to see that anything hoisted into the area, was going to cause us problems and it wasn’t long before Chilworth managed to get themselves back on level terms. A decent free kick from the right hand side fell to the Chilworth centre half at the back post who then headed the ball back into the danger area for his teammate who fired an effort goal wards which Luke managed to save brilliantly but he couldn’t prevent the follow up from rolling into the corner of the net. A real scruffy goal as far as we were concerned but these things happen. 1-1.
We didn’t let this goal effect us too much and kept plugging away, looking for openings but couldn’t prevent conceding yet another scrappy goal. A free kick into the area wasn’t cleared properly and which led to hopeful ball being lofted into the area which fell kindly for an orange shirt who made no mistake by firing past Luke.
We looked a bit shell shocked after conceding two quick fire goals and Chilworth looked to seize on this opportunity and managed to rattle the bar in the process. We stuck together though, regrouped and managed to force an equalizer against the run of play. Good work down the left led to the ball being played inside for an onrushing player but unfortunately nobody gambled but Ivan did anticipate the resulting clearance which took a massive deflection off him and past the wrong footed Chilworth keeper. A luck break but I think we deserved a slice of fortune.
We then had a level of sustained pressure of our own with Nick and Danny H both having chances to put us back in front, and probably didn’t want to hear the half time whistle blow but it ended all square at the break HT 2-2.
The first half of the second half was a rather cagey affair which I think was down to both teams being conscious of the fact that the game was delicately poised at two a piece which led to few clear cut goal scoring opportunities in the opening minutes.
We stuck to our task, defended well and managed to take the lead again with a stunning strike from the returning Danny H. Good work down the left led to the ball breaking for Danny who unleashed an unstoppable drive into the roof of the Chilworth keepers near post. A truly quality effort. 2-3!
It looked as if we might go on to win the game but we were then undone by another hopeful cross into the box which wasn’t dealt with at the back post and the Chilworth striker had the easiest of tasks of passing the ball into the net past Luke. There was a big suspicion of offside but we can’t have any complaints as we didn’t bring a linesman. A factor that has proved beneficial to Chilworth on both times we have played them. 3-3.
It was clear to see that many of us were struggling in the soggy conditions and unfortunately, we couldn’t keep the game on level terms. Great skill from the Chilworth winger saw him weave his way past three changes and then coolly place his effort into the corner of the net and past Luke for 4-3.
We looked deflated after conceding two goals in such a short period of time and legs were clearly getting even heavier as we entered the final minutes of the game. The result was then put beyond any doubt after Jon conceded a penalty and as the referee deemed that he was denying a goal scoring opportunity, he was then given his marching orders. An extremely harsh descion which Chilworth agreed with but the referee had clearly made up his mind. The resulting penalty was then scored. 5-3.
5-3 was how it ended but I don’t think we can be too hard on ourselves. We showed a lot of belief and character and stuck together when we did go behind and were maybe unlucky not to take anything away from the game. Substitutes would have been handy on a day like today but commitment from some players can be questionable at this stage of the season.
Pyrford Socail in the cup next week and a real opportunity to go on a decent cup run!!
COYH!!!!
