Bexley Blues

It didn’t take long for the Menace to assert themselves on the game. There was only five minutes on the clock when Kladji Cani beat the off-side trap and rolled the ball past the advancing goalkeeper. Peckham made it a quick-fire double, as barely a minute later, the ball was played over the top for Adrian Butler to beat the last man and make it 2-0 to the away side. Peckham had a chance to make it 3-0 after fifteen minutes, but Butler was not quite able to finish following a quick break and cross from Cani. This was as good as it was going to get for the Menace, as the remaining seventy-five minutes was filled with disappointment.

The host were handed a lifeline half-way through the first-half, as they were awarded a penalty, but McArdle in goal kept out the resulting spot-kick. There were no protests from the home-side, but the linesman flagged for an infringement that nobody else could see in the ground. The kick was retaken and Bexley halved their deficit. Ten minutes later, the game was level, as Bexley were awarded and converted another penalty. Mbongue had a chance to restore Peckham’s lead shortly before half-time, but the home-side ‘keeper made a sharp stop.

There were chances for both sides in the early exchanges of the second half, but neither team could get their noses out in front. The Menace decided to roll the dice just past the hour mark; as they made a triple substitution with Traore, Bouimane and Barry all coming off the bench. The changes had the opposite of the desired effect, as poor defending led to the Menace conceding twice in five minutes, as Bexley took a 4-2 lead.

Peckham should have been awarded a penalty in the final minutes of the game, as Cani was felled in the box, but the referee inexplicably failed to see it. The frustration was clearly getting to Town, as Meta was sent to the sin-bin for dissent in the final minute. The whistle was blown shortly after for full-time, condemning the Menace to their fourth away defeat in five and having zero points to show for their efforts on the road in 2019. The team will be looking forward to the remainder of February, as home comforts beckon for the next three weekends at the Menace Arena.

Bryan Hall, Chair and Founder, said “We were way below our usual standard of performance, as too many players had an off day. It did not help that Larry in goal picked up a groin strain in the second half. The important decisions that contributed to the change in their fortune, and our mentality, saw them take the 3 points.”

The Menace are back at home on Saturday, as they take on Metrogas (KO: 2.45pm). You can keep up with all the Menace news on Twitter and Instragram by following @PeckhamTownFC, as well as the club’s website at http://www.peckhamtownfootballclub.com.

Peckham Town (4-4-2): Larry McArdle; Alfie Ball, Adam Toubal, Hiram Laud - Anderson, Benson Aderibigbe; Kevin Dance, Lukman Mojeed (c), Adrian Butler, Nicky Meta; Herve Mbongue, Kladji Cani. Subs: Hady Traore, Youssef Bouimane and Yaya Barry

Bexley: information not available on League website

Officials: Barry Jeal, Steven Page and Keith Taylor