Chessington & Hook United 0 vs 2 Colliers Wood United

Our start was particularly bright and with both sides playing at a high tempo there were openings at both ends.

Certainly from our point of view we had the better of it, and both of our loanees from Walton and Hersham, Sean Bradley and Harry Smart, were denied early on. Firstly Bradley’s left foot drive was well collected by the visiting keeper and then a last ditch block denied Smart.

We continued to create, and our best chance fell to Smart again, who when well set up by a clever header from the returning Robbie Burns missed the target with his lobbed attempt which fell just over the bar.

To be fair there could have been a penalty shout as the out rushing goalkeeper completely took Smart out after the ball had gone. I suspect the referee felt that the chance had gone, and he may have been justified in turning the appeal down.

Coombes was the next to break clear and when well placed his weak shot was saved.

Defensively we were coping well despite the absence of Fontana, although shifting Leacock into the back line had taken away some of our creativity from midfield but our enthusiastic approach had more than compensated for this.

As the interval approached we had two further opportunities to break the deadlock. Firstly Burns was denied a goal when the offside flag ruled out his fine finish following a clever disguised pass from Smart, and right on the whistle Heath’s edge of the box strike was well saved low down by the impressive Colliers Wood goalkeeper.

In a game that had started so well it was disappointing that in the second half we lost our way. Our play became disjointed and we were conceding possession far too easily to be able to have any sustained pressure on the visitors.

The main changing point came when the lively Coombes had to be replaced after picking up a hamstring injury, and although Wickes was always a threat we had lost our shape.

The visitors took the lead just after the hour mark when a lack of challenges on the visitors wide man saw him advance cross field and to the edge of our box before hitting a low drive in off the post.

No doubt a source of frustration for the management to concede that easily.

We continued game fully but with little quality, and but for an attempt by Wickes that was blocked by the keeper we didn’t threaten at all and the one goal seemed to be enough.

If we were clinging to the hope that with such a slender lead we were still in it, our hopes were soon extinguished when a fine chipped finish with ten minutes to go well and truly sealed the game.

To be honest even this goal could have been avoided, but a lack of pressure on the ball had paved the way and the chance was well taken.
The game having gone from us drifted aimlessly towards its end and the final whistle ended another miserable night for us.