Another 3 points

This was a game that meant nothing to Croydon and it showed in the way they played. On the other hand Chessington had to win to keep alive their chances of staying up. The game was played on a bumpy pitch that was not up to playing football on the deck. In the 4th min Croydon had the first chance of the game when the wide player of Croydon put a great cross into the box but the home forwards could not make the ground up into the box and only a minute later the same player beat two defenders and crossed but good covering by another defender put the ball out for a corner, but it was Chessington who scored first when in the 10th min. Frankie Green hit a low drive into the corner of the net from 25yards and it seemed Chessington was getting the upper hand in the game and in the 16th minute Elliot Mitchell showed some great skill in beating the full back but nothing came from the cross and only a minute later Nicky White gave the ball away with no pressure on him and only a great tackle by Charlie Ottaway saved his blushes but then within a minute Nicky White showed what he could do the other end of the pitch when he came close to putting Chessington in front but his shot flashed the wrong side of the post. The game then turned into a scrappy affair with both defences just clearing the ball as far as they could into the other half for the other team just to kick it back. The game came alive again in the 32nd minute when Elliot Mitchell fired just wide after teasing the home defence not for the first time or the last in this game. Croydon went straight down the other end and Tom Tyler was booked for a tackle on the Croydon wide man who rolled off the pitch and crashed into the hammer throwing net but it was not the Chessington players fault that the hammer throwing net is right by the side of the pitch, but the referee said the tackle was late but from the stand it looked a good tackle. In the 40th minute came the best chance of the game when with a free header at goal and with just the keeper to beat the Croydon player headed wide, but Croydon did score when in the 47th minute, when from a corner was headed home by the Croydon player was left unmarked to have a free header from where I sat I was not sure who was marking him as the nearest player to him was Andy Heath who seemed to take a step back when the forward leaped for the ball, anyway half time was now 1-1.
The second half started a lot better than the first and the game seemed to be more open with Chessington at last trying to play on the deck and they looked a far better side for it, and if in the 56th minute one of our forwards had gambled on the centre half missing the ball we would have taken the lead. Seven minutes later Chessington should have taken the lead when the impressive Elliot Mitchell volleyed over from inside the six yard box after a good passing move by Chessington. Now Chessington were getting on top and it took a great block by a Croydon defender in the 64th minute to keep the score even. Croydon were not dead and buried though as just a minute later Mark Daniels in the Chessington goal had to be on his toes to tip the ball over the bar, from the resulting corner Chessington went straight up the other end and got a corner themselves from which Chessington scored one of the funniest goals I have seen in all my time in football. The ball was knocked in from the corner only for the keeper to call for the ball but he let the ball go straight through his hands and hit the defender on the post it then dropped at his feet and he swung a boot at it to clear it but the ball then hit another defender and then rebounded off another one before becoming trapped under the first ones foot still on the line but as he tried to clear it again the ball got stuck under his foot and has he lifted his foot to clear the ball it rolled over the line. Chessington 2-1. Croydon should have scored again in the 78th minute but only a clearance off the line by a Chessington defender prevented this. The game was now getting very ugly not in a violent sense but in the sense that very little football was played, and both defences just started lumping the ball forward and hoping the forwards would get on the end of the long ball and infect it was Chessington who came closest when Nicky White had a good shot rebound back off the post with only 5 minutes to go. The best was saved for last when with only 2 minutes to go Elliot Mitchell picked the ball up out wide on the right and left two defenders sitting on their backsides on his run into the six yard box and then nutmeged the keeper, Chessington 3-1.This game was not the best game I have ever seen but the result was a lot better than the performance there was too much long ball and we gave the ball away too much when not under pressure we also never seemed to shut down quick enough and we looked a lot better side when we passed the ball on the deck. Anyway Boys well done another 3 points.
TEAM.
1. Mark Daniels.
2. Tom Tyler.
3. Dan Gurney.
4. Charlie Ottaway.
5. Tom Dilloway.
6. Frankie Green.(10th min)*
7. Andy Heath.
8. Jimmy Harding.
9. Elliot Mitchell.(88th min)*
10. Nicky White.
11. Dan Harding.
12. Armeid Huss.
14. Aaron Stevens.(89th min)
15. Darious Harain.
16. Andy Ellis.
17. Vic Martin.(89th min)

* Goal