Chertsey Town

With the strengths of our opponents well documented, our shape was changed slightly to deal with the obvious threat of their wide players.

Although just two minutes in it appeared that defensively we had not taken note of this as Dan Fisher was called upon to make a smart save. With wave after wave of attacking football from our hosts the defensive qualities on show by Chessington & Hook United was a credit to the game plan, as despite Chertseys possession they rarely troubled our goal.

Gradually and with a strong defensive showing providing a platform, we began to get more of the ball, and the tireless work of Zak Graham and Malik Buari was allowing us game time around the Chertsey penalty area.

As the first half entered its last ten minutes one such foray into our attacking third resulted in sufficient pressure being applied on the Chertsey defence forcing the defender into a hurried clearance that gave us a throw in level with the penalty spot.

Danny Lawrence’s long throw towards Cheadle evaded everyone and the quick reaction of Zak Graham allowed him to head intelligently into space before volleying home. Although this came from a rare attack we had earned the lead through shere hard work and the will to win.

At half time Zak Graham suffering from a slight back injury was replaced by Robbie Burns. Within five minutes of his introduction his clever chest pass to Malik Buari allowed him to slot confidently home to double our lead.

With a two-goal lead it was inevitable that a lot was going to be asked of our defence to preserve the advantage. However despite Chertsey pressing hard they appeared to lack ideas as a barrage of long balls into the box were dealt with by the back line ably supported by the hard working midfield three.

As the game neared its completion and having avoided any real dramas a scramble around our six-yard box resulted in Chertsey reducing the deficit. With the watch being stopped regularly we had to endure a good ten minutes before the final whistle although we got there in the end. Just about.

The one sour taste left with us was the decision of our hosts to attack our goal rather than return the ball to us when Fisher had thrown the ball out to allow treatment for Cheadle.