So Glad To See You

When Peckham Town visited Cuxton 91 a little under a month ago they were third in the table, three points above their hosts. At kickoff today, after a four game all competitions winless run that started with that 1-0 defeat, the Menace sat fifth, two points behind the visitors.

Peckham followed that 1-0 reverse (which saw them end the match with nine men) by slipping out of the London Senior Trophy on penalties at home to Thamesmead, and then picking up just one point from six in two League away games – a 0-0 draw and 3-2 loss away to Bexley and Ide Hill respectively. Cuxton on the other hand won their Cup game, and took three points from two League matches, dispatching Ide Hill 4-2 at home but losing 3-1 away to Tenterden Town.

One thing the sides have in common this season is a tight defence. Peckham’s pre-match total of 11 goals conceded in ten games was bettered only by Cuxton 91’s nine (in a game fewer). But while Peckham are among the lower scoring sides in the division – their 13 goals ranks 15th out of 17 sides – Cuxton had 19 goals to their credit, the seventh highest in the league. Dave Thomas (6) and Danny Rowe (4) had combined for over half of those, and with Cuxton having scored in every game this season prior to kick-off, the Peckham defence would likely need to be at its best to keep the home side in the contest.

The Warning

At least the Peckham side that took the field would be closer to full strength than in recent weeks, as Mary Philip welcomed back several absentees. Nelson Nunes continued in goal. Ahead of him were a central defensive pairing of Duah-Danso and Meite, with Carrick and Majekodunmi at left and right back respectively. In midfield, Agyemang operated slightly deeper with Kemp and Barry either side. Up front, wingers Meta and Dowding supported central striker Evaristo Mendes. On the bench, there was the return of a familiar face in David Gabor. Tarrant, Armes, Bah and Nieva completed the substitutes – a welcome level of quality and depth.

There was a very fine rain falling as kick off approached, and the surface looked extremely slick. Indeed, the opening five or ten minutes of the half suggested that it would be tricky to play on. Players weren’t losing their balance as such, but controlling the ball looked challenging and sharp changes of direction were hard to pull off – quick, intricate build-up play was going to be tough.

In fact, the first half of the half set the tone for what we would see for much of the rest of the game. Going forward, Peckham were industrious but attack after attack foundered on the solid back three-cum-five that Cuxton lined up in. On the odd occasion a winger beat the double coverage out wide and threatened to get in behind, they were pulled back. Meanwhile Cuxton threatened at the other end, often from openings given them by Peckham – Nunes made the first of several excellent saves on the day in diving low to his near post to keep out a fierce shot after a Dowding clearance had gone awry. And when they did find the back of the net, Cuxton saw the offside flag go up.

Over and Over…

The opening goal came on 25 minutes and it fell to the away side. Those of us in attendance at the away fixture a month ago could be forgiven for a sense of déjà vu; that game’s only goal came from a defensive error by Duad-Danso leading to a one on one, and the same thing happened here. Peckham attempted to play across the back, Duah-Danso’s pass on fell short and was intercepted by a Cuxton player pressing high. Nunes did his best to narrow the angle, but couldn’t keep out a well-drilled shot into the far corner.

The Menace’s initial response to going a goal down was encouraging, and Dowding and Mendes found a little joy down the left. The former managed to burst through and cut into the area; his dangerous cut back across the area from the byline just evaded Kemp, and the chance went begging. Then Mendes twice played the ball across the face of goal from the left only for there to be no one to meet it: powering through after receiving a Carrick throw, he was simply too fast for his teammates who couldn’t get into the box to meet his driven cross; then moments later a hopeful Majekodunmi cross from the right saw him unexpectedly win a header which he directed across goal, again for there to be no one following up. He had another chance a few minutes later, beating his centre back to a cross from Meta but directing the ball wide of the post.

The half finished with a couple of chances for Cuxton, as they threatened first from a corner and then on the break. Nunes was equal to them on both occasions and for the second time in a month Cuxton lead Peckham 1-0 at the interval.

Breakdown

The second half continued much as the first; Peckham really struggling to break through the robust, well-organised Cuxton defence, and Cuxton looking dangerous on the break – albeit that Peckham’s offside trap seemed to have the better of them as twice Nunes pulled off spectacular one-on-one saves only for the offside flag to be belatedly raised. But Peckham’s fans certainly had reason to be hopeful that a breakthrough might come. Agyemang came close with a drive from the edge of the box and a Mendes header rolled agonisingly just wide of the post with keeper and defenders lying stricken.

But the referee had other ideas. I was behind the goal at the end Peckham were attacking, so I can’t say whether Duah-Danso’s challenge on the Cuxton striker was unlawful, or whether or not he was the last man. What I can say is that the referee looked long and hard at the incident, then looked long and hard at his linesman – seemingly in the hope that he would flag. When the latter didn’t, the referee decided finally to blow up, and duly sent off Duah-Danso, his second red card against these opponents in a month. As with the away game though, one red card was apparently not enough, and Armes was sin-binned for a remark made to Carrick about his team mate. Déjà vu all over again – until the referee went one further and gave Mendes a red card for dissent.

The eight (and then, once Armes had served his ten minute ban, nine) men of Peckham acquitted themselves admirably in trying against all the odds to get something from the game. Nunes made two more splendid saves – the second of which saw a booking for the Cuxton attacker sliding in – as Cuxton had chances on the break, but Peckham were getting decent possession and territory, and threatening to make it count. Indeed, so concerned were Cuxton that the unthinkable might happen that at one point they took the ball into the corner to try and waste time – with a two man advantage.

And then at the death the chance came, the ball falling to Camilo some twelve yards out and to the left of the post. Maybe it was because he’d only just come on, but his shot was tame and the keeper gathered easily. Adding insult to injury, Cuxton immediately broke down the field and put the match to bed with a second goal deep into injury time.

The referee blew for time seconds after the restart, and then as the Menace faithful were serenading the players who had given their all, the referee made it a hat trick of red cards by dismissing Dowding.

Ready For The Floor

After seeing a game like that – low on quality and high on officialdom – it can be hard to draw any positives, but there were some. The defence has been much improved this season, even with the disruption of a change in goal and a number of personnel being unavailable at various times, and the spirit with which Peckham approached being down to eight and nine men was wonderful to see.

On the flip side though, Peckham’s struggles in front of goal continue. It is just 13 league goals in 11 games now, and it was noticeable how against a back three with wingbacks Peckham’s wide players struggled to create space. It’s not either of Carrick or Majekodunmi’s natural game to be flying up and down the touchline overlapping their wingers, but without that kind of outlet it was hard to overcome Cuxton’s numerical advantage. Mendes worked extremely hard and made everything he could of the limited opportunities he got, but too often he was lacking support, particularly when up against three centre backs. But the side is full of talent, and fans can be sure that players and staff will be working hard to get back into goalscoring and winning ways in the games to come.

Peckham’s next game two games are away from the Menace Arena. The first sees us travel on 2nd November to Greenfield Aces in the Bill Manklow Inter Regional Challenge Cup. The game will kick off at 130pm at The Ifield School, Gravesend. After that we are away to Stansfeld (O&B) in the League on 9th November before returning home to face Sporting Club Thamesmead Reserves in the League. Both League games kickoff at the default winter kickoff time of 2pm – so don’t be late!

Peckham Town: Nunes; Majekodunmi, Carrick, Meite, Duah-Danso; Barry, Agyemang, Kemp; Dowding, Mendes, Meta. Subs: Gabor (for Majekodunmi), Armes (for Barry), Nieva (for Carrick).