4 Wins On The Spin

We were fortunate that our game went ahead this morning, with the West Byfleet pitch holding up surprisingly well after torrential rain throughout the night. Nevertheless the conditions were tricky and our opponents Chertsey Harriers were seeking revenge for our 0-1 win a week earlier.

Despite the horrible weather, both teams made the match a decent spectacle throughout. We made a very bright start with Giles Smith's free kick testing the keeper and Robbie Wilson was unlucky to see his flicked header from a corner hit the far post.

The first 10 minutes were definitely ours, but Chertsey were next to go close as Damian Lynch made a smart save from their left winger who had bundled his way through to the byline.

Then the visitors took the lead in controversial circumstances. Richard Crosby was very unfortunate to have been adjudged to concede a handball when a cross from a few yards away struck his hand. The resulting penalty was well taken despite Damo going the right way.

For the next 15 minutes or so Chertsey grew in confidence and were popping the ball around well as they normally do, but we defended solidly and prevented any chances.

Just shy of the half our mark we equalised. Wils' vision found Oli Cochrane's run in the box. His initial touch got away from him, but Joey Stevens kept the ball alive and when the ball looped up Oli reacted first and headed over the keeper to continue his 100% goalscoring record against this opposition.

Alex Zammit could have given us the lead just before half time when he was found by Gio Marinaro's accurate long pass, but Zam dragged wide.

We knew the next goal was key and we started the 2nd half quickly, winning a corner in the first minute. Joey's cross was well flicked on by Richardy and Zam was on hand to poach his 7th of the season.

The visitors responded well and put us under pressure briefly, but it wasn't long before we got the 3rd gol that effectively killed the game. After patient passing between Gio and James Bauldry, the latter passed incisively to Wils who turned and found Zam. He passed to Joey who's low shot hit the upright, but the ball went straight to Luca Mortellaro who tapped home the easiest goal he will score this season.

Zam should have made it 4-1 with an almost exact replica of the 2nd goal. This time Wils flicked it on, but Zammo fired over a miss of the season contender.

Chertsey went close twice with Damo making a good low save, while they also nearly took advantage of a defensive mix up that owed as much to the conditions as anything else.

With just under 15 minutes remaining they pulled one back when a good cross was well headed into the bottom corner.

However a few minutes later they undid their work as their left back dwelt on the ball and Zam worked hard to steal it before beating the keeper clinically at the near post.

Last week was a tight encounter that we did well to win narrowly 0-1, but this time I felt we were superior and should have won by more goals. Our second half display was dominant and 4-2 flattered Chertsey.

We have now played half of our league matches and currently find ourselves in 2nd place. Those around us have games in hand, but having the points on the board at just under 2 per game with 6 wins from 10 is very pleasing indeed. Our last 4 games have been tremendous and hopefully we can continue to flourish in the tough games ahead.

MoM: Wils - Some fine performances down the spine of the team, but Wils turned in a classy display, especially in the 2nd half when he ran the show. Great way to mark his 50th appearance for the club. Zam pushed him very close with his brace and quality leading of the line plus our centre backs also excelled again.

Huge thanks to Harwood for filming in such awful weather. A great job that is massively appreciated. Thanks also to those who came to support. I think our substitutes also need praising on such a woeful morning aswell, especially Ads who ran the line for 50 odd minutes.