Ten man Menace halt visitors cakewalk

Played twelve, won twelve. Today’s opponents Red Velvet have sliced through the Kent County Football League this season like a knife through butter, rising to the occasion of their promotion last season and beating all in their path so far as they bid to make this the shortest possible of stints at this level of football.

Those home supporters looking for crumbs of comfort could perhaps point to second-placed Peckham having conceded the same (13) and scored just one fewer (39 vs 40) number of goals than the visitors. But with two more games played and a five point deficit to the leaders, in truth the gap to the top would be off the scales if they didn’t get something from today’s mixture. No two ways about it: Peckham kneaded a win, but on currant form - a draw, a loss and a win in the prior three games - it looked a sticky task.

A week of occasionally inclement weather had left the slow-draining Menace Arena pitch if not exactly sponge-like, but definitely something that would give anyone sitting on it a soggy bottom. Still, it looked like a surface that would aid a good passing game, and with the wind blowing up the slope, there was something for everyone in the conditions in each half.

Peckham’s last match, a 3-0 win at home to Bromelians, provided hope that Mary Philip had found the right ingredients for her side. There was one change from last weeks starting eleven. Legg continued in goal, with Carrick and Boakye providing the beefcake and cream of a central defensive partnership ahead of him. Defensively solid but adventurous going forwards, fullbacks Cobbina and Hashemi hoped to have their cake and eat it. A tough centre partnership in midfield of Thomas and Nzimbakany was complemented by sprinkles of flair in the shape of Dance and Facebook Meta on left and right wing. While up front Montella and Titre-Wilson would look to profit from anything in the mixer.

The opposition looked lean and oven ready. None of the roly polys or dough balls occasionally seen padding out sides at this level. From the off, the game looked like it would be a hard fought, fast paced affair befitting a top of the table clash. Harry Taylor, a Red Velvet legend in the baking with 16 goals from eight League games so far, looked certain to be no cakewalk to mark.

Prior to the match there was a minutes silence in memory of Don Walters, life vice-president of Peckham Town, who passed away at the weekend. May he rest in peace.

From the beginning, it wasn’t clear whether Red Velvet and their entourage thought the primary object of the game was putting the ball in the net or making their opponents a scone short of a picnic. Extreme verbal pressure was put on the officiating team at every opportunity, such that after twenty minutes had gone the referee seemed no more likely to see the Menace side of things than a lizard is likely to whip up an award winning Baked Alaska. This was to be decisive, but let’s not have our dessert before our main.

The early part of the half belonged more to Red Velvet. A shot whistled wide of Legg’s post within 30 seconds, while a questionable decision against Thomas lead to a free kick whisked into the box from which a few slices at goal caused alarm, before the ball was cleared. Just after 20 minutes came the first incredible save of George Legg’s afternoon; a dangerous cross from the Red Velvet right following sloppy play by Carrick was just too high for their man in the middle, but the ball came back in from the left and the resultant header was tipped superbly over the bar the Peckham stopper.

Peckham had had some early moments however, an early shot from Dance and a promising Titre-Wilson break showing their intention to compete. The best opening came from a breakaway after Red Velvet were awarded a free kick when a member of Peckham’s staff apparently touched the ball while still in play. It seemed a half baked decision, but a booking ensued and after a dangerous ball in was cleared by Boakye, Peckham’s initial break foundered when Montella found little support, but the subsequent passage of play resulted in a dangerous ball into the box from Titre-Wilson being cleared over his own bar by a covering Red Velvet defender who found himself in a jam, with Montella lurking behind.

There followed two Peckham substitutions before the half hour. First Barry came on for the injured Hashemi, and then, Red Velvet having finally got their wish after haranguing the referee into booking Thomas, the latter was replaced by Gabor. Red Velvet’s attention switched immediately to trying to get Nzimbakany in the book, the referee obliging five minutes later. The Peckham midfielder did well to keep his cool when, having been fouled on 37 minutes, the ball was hurled at him from the Red Velvet bench, who were clearly keen to join in stirring the pot. Nothing came from the free kick, except a lot of pushing in the box, but from the resulting corner Carrick had a good chance, peeling short to take the ball along the deck, his shot on the turn being deflected into the keepers arms.

After a needless light battering of Legg when claiming a high ball, Peckham Town finished the half in the ascendency. On 42 minutes a free kick on the right after the Red Velvet 11 had tried to get a rise out of Nzimbakany by taking him out from behind almost lead to a one on one for Montella. On 44 minutes a ball into the right channel found Montella who worked some space to deliver a good cross from the bye line that just evaded the heads of onrushing Peckham attackers. A free kick a moment later lead to a scramble in the box, including a handball missed by the referee, before Montella shot over. And then finally, the icing on the cake, the last kick of the half was a goal from Josh Montella, who scored with a shot low to the keepers left having been set free from deep. The fans behind the goal and around the ground went nuts, as Montella wheeled away in delight.

The first ten minutes of the second half had even more drama. Some great control by the Red Velvet 9 resulted in a shot inches wide in 47 minutes before on 50 minutes the equaliser arrived, via a shot from the left after a free kick had been only half cleared.

Peckham looked to reply immediately, and Montella seemed to be through on goal, chasing a bouncing ball. Looking to nod the ball through he was caught full in the head as the covering defender kicked him then ball, but despite the foul and clear head injury linesman and referee refused to do so much as stop play. Boiling and spitting like unattended jam left on the hob, Meta was dismissed for protesting the injustice, even though a lengthy stoppage for Montella’s treatment gave the officials plenty of time to cool down and get a flavour of what had happened.

With Red Velvet finally having the numerical advantage they had long craved, the recipe now seemed to be for possession and territorial advantage for the away side countered by Peckham’s attempts to hit on the break. And so it was, but not before an amazing two minutes for George Legg. Straight from the restart he pulled off a fantastic double save, before moments later giving away a penalty with a rash foul on the edge of the box that he subsequently saved diving to his right. He was to pull off two more stupendous saves on 70 and 85 minutes, on the latter occasion diving full length back across goal to his right to keep out a header following a cross from the left wing. He could do nothing however except watch as Red Velvet hit the post just after the hour mark, and was grateful for strong defence by both Boakye and Carrick who smothered chances on a number of occasions.

Peckham did rustle up some openings on the break, but often Montella suffered from being isolated, as when he worked space on the left on 58 minutes but found no support, and on 61 minutes when his shot from the right side of the area might have been put to better use squared to a fellow attacker, but none were to hand. In the final ten minutes two very poor offside calls, first against Dance and then Dowding - before the latter (on for Titre-Wilson in the 65th minute) was sin-binned for the duration of injury time after being almost moved to tiers by another refereeing decision - thwarted promising opportunities for the hosts.

It seemed inevitable that Red Velvet, now playing against nine men, would find a goal to preserve their 100% record, but in fact the game ended with Montella bursting through on the left of the Red Velvet area, crossing just behind Dance who, wrong-footed, was unable to capitalise. The game ended 1-1, the visitors collapsing, flat as pancakes as their winning - if not unbeaten - league record came to a halt.

Man of the match was George Legg, but everyone who pulled on the shirt was warmly applauded off by the 136 in attendance. The Menace faithful acknowledged that while a win would have taken the biscuit, not much went the home side’s way and to have fought for a point against such tough opposition was creditable indeed, and showed real character. After all, life is what you bake of it.

Peckham Town's manager, Mary Phillip, commented with a hoarse voice after the match "Nine-man Peckham holding out, and could have nicked it at the end, but when you are fighting against a team that is bossing the game [then it's a good result]. I hate to say it, but the referee hasn't given us anything - we had a man knocked down in the box with a cut on his head and the referee says he's ok. It's a head injury - you have to stop the game. And he then sends our captain off for telling the referee that 'he has a head injury, he needs to do his job and look after him'. It's not on. We also end up with four bookings today, and you got to question that. But to get a draw from the game is not bad a result when you finish with nine-men [due to late sin bin]. It's how it is, it's a good result for Peckham, the points are shared, and we can more forward."

Peckham Town (4-4-2): George Legg; Emmanuel Cobbina, Samuel Boakye, Adam Carrick, Mustafa Hashemi; Kevin Dance, Joe Thomas, Stephane Nzimbakay, Nicky Meta (c); Darren Titre-Wilson, Joshua Montella. Subs: Elton Romaku, Tidian Barry, Kieran Dowding and David Gabor

Attendance - 136

P.S. Sorry about the bakery puns for those not into it. But there’s only so much material you can get from K-Pop bands or gentleman’s clubs in Catford when you’re a native of neither.