Match Report

Squad: 1. St John; 2. Pragnell; 3. Cleaver, L; 4. Davis; 5. Judge; 6. Clark; 7. Williams, L (12. Martin); 8. Perkins; 9. Harrigan; 10. Cleaver, B; 11. Williams, J.

Subs not used: 14. Wright; 15. Small

An important victory to give us our first away win of the season.

We travelled to Coldharbour Sports on Saturday to a relatively decent pitch and playing conditions which was a pleasant surprise given recent torrid weather. We had a very strong squad and selections were once again difficult which shows our strength and depth when we have a lot of players available.

We kicked off and started to dictate the play, their only danger coming from their tricky right winger. A slight tactical change to accommodate this managed to resolve the problem and from this point we started to dominate the match. We dominated the first half in terms of possession but did not have a very effective end result and did not have a great deal on goal. A couple of chances did go begging though and we had nothing to show for our dominance at the whistle for half time.

At the half we spoke about being patient and if we continued to play like we did, something would definitely fall our way. Within 5 mins of the restart a great move involving Harrigan and Cleaver left Williams (J) with a simple finish from 8 yards out. We definitely deserved the goal and looked as though we should have gone on and scored some more. However, Chislehurst were not going to roll over and continued to fight back coming more into the game as it progressed. A fantastic save from St John in goal kept the score level after we gave someone time and space to shoot. Martin replaced Williams, L on 70 mins. Around 10 mins from time Chislehurst were reduced to 10 men after an exchange of words between a player and the referee. The last 10 mins were played out with relative ease, but there is always a danger of throwing everything away when carrying such a slender lead.

In all I was relatively pleased with the performance but we do need to have an end result for all our good play. We do need more goals and need to hit the target more often than we do. We also looked a little tired in the later stages of the game. This is due to a combination of not playing enough games of recent times due to fixture clashes and the weather but also due to poor attendance at training which obviously takes its toll over the course of a few weeks. We need to attend training more often and put the work in. It was also good to see that we can at last win a game away from home, this should be a confidence boost for us and go on a little run here to boost our league position.

This Saturday we have Shoreham at home in the Sevenoaks Cup and I am expecting a decent performance as once again we have a strong squad. Kick off for this one is slightly earlier at 1.30pm so I expect everyone to be ON TIME for this one and in the club house for 12.30pm. We made a poor defence of the cup last season and need to redeem ourselves.

Don’t forget our Christmas drink is on Saturday 23rd December. Time and venue to be confirmed. Also don’t forget our New Year''s Eve Fancy Dress Party up at the club. Tickets are only £2 but please only attend if your intentions are to be present for the duration of the evening.