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Combined Counties
Premier League HORLEY TOWN
1 O’Sullivan, 64 GUILDFORD CITY
1 Carnegie, 32 TWO points most
definitely slipped out of City’s grasp in this frustrating encounter with CCL draw
specialists, Horley Town. City forged more
chances than their opponents and looked to be cruising to a second successive win and yet
another clean sheet before Tom Penson was harshly sent off for a second bookable offence. Horley equalised soon after with a strike of
supreme quality but after weathering a short period of Clarets pressure, Guildford
continued to look the better side, even with 10 men.
Several chances came and went but City had to be satisfied with just a
point. After a break of 6
weeks, we were positively chomping at the bit to get this game played. Hence you could feel the relief when the call came
through that despite some rain on Friday, the match could go ahead. Kevin had pretty much a full squad to call on
– one benefit of such a long break – but frustratingly could not track down
centre half Simon Cooper. The solution was to
draft Elvis into the starting eleven. The
City defender had intended to watch the match from the sidelines with his baby son, so
Elvis junior had to sit next to the dugout under the watchful eye of Lance who even served
him his lunch there!! Guildford had not
skimped on training during the big freeze and the sharpness showed on the pitch. Within the first minute James Brown almost latched
onto an excellent defence-splitting pass but the ball was just beyond him and was gathered
by Dean Cupit in the Horley goal. This was
followed by two corners for the visitors which came to nothing. City continued to press and in the 12th
minute came another opportunity – the impressive Elvis Defreitas advancing from
defence and hitting a perfect long ball towards James Brown. The City striker could not get away from his
marker sufficiently to do anything but head the ball and it was well held by Cupit. There followed chances for Jack McLeod and
Harrison Carnegie but neither could trouble the keeper.
The home side
finally woke up on 22 minutes and a won a freekick inside the City half. Luke Ragetti fired a decent effort on goal but
Antony Hall was equal to it, catching the ball confidently.
The Clarets won another freekick a few minutes later and a lot closer to the
goal but City’s defenders were able to clear. A
further chance presented itself to the home side after some good work from Norris and
Pullen, but the shot went well wide. Guildford
responded strongly with some impressive one-touch passing – Jack McLeod being put
through but seeing his shot blocked – before Guildford pulled ahead in the 32nd
minute. Another great cross from the right
wing found James Brown on the edge of the box but just as he was about to pull the trigger
the ball was cleared by some exceptional defending. The
rebound fell to Carnegie who threaded a shot through the penalty area, past two defenders
and the despairing stretch of the keeper into the back of the net – a seamstress
couldn’t have done better! Guildford continued
to look dangerous but they could not forge any more clear cut chances. A bizarre drop-ball decision was made in the 35th
minute after Danny Elgar appeared to have been brought down on the edge of the box
(although from our view the claim was admittedly speculative). A minute later Jack McLeod, who had used his pace
and control to good effect so far, passed to Carnegie who opted to shoot rather than pass
– a weak shot being easily gathered. The
home side started to come back into contention however and in the 40th minute
Jones put Death (no, not the Grim Reaper!) through, whose shot was deflected behind for a
corner – the resulting kick being easily cleared. The final action of the half was a
controversial decision not to book the Horley captain after he comprehensively took out
Jack McLeod. The Clarets started
the second half far more strongly and in the 49th minute Michael Death should
have done better – shooting weakly at Hall from a good position. Moments later the Horley fans were calling for a
penalty after Guscott appeared to be upended in the box but the referee waved play on. The visitors started to get back into their stride
and Elvis once again looked dangerous – beating players with his pace and skill. The back four were getting far more of a work out
however and in the 56th minute Tom Penson picked up a yellow card for, as far
as we could see, exactly the same challenge that Guscott had been allowed to get away with
in the first half. They did have another
opportunity to test the Clarets keeper on the hour mark but Danny Elgar miscued a volley
from a freekick taken by Carnegie. A minute later came
the turning point of the game. The clarets
caught City on the counter attack and Adam Pullen latched onto the ball down the Guildford
left wing – Penson managing to track back and tackling Pullen on the edge of the box. The referee had no doubt about the incident and
controversially sent Penson off for a second bookable offence – a decision viewed as
harsh by both sets of fans, as it appeared he got the ball.
One could sense the confidence surging into the home side at this point and
they started to put their opponents under real pressure.
A freekick was won in a dangerous position near the byline but luckily for
City the rebound was blazed over. Their luck
ran out in the 64th minute however, Horley substitute O’Sullivan volleying
a perfect delivery into the bottom corner of the net from the edge of the area with pretty
much his first touch of the game – even Moaning Tone had to applaud that! From being
comfortably in control, it now seemed very possible that City might leave the New Defence
with nothing. To their credit however, the
players gathered themselves and looked to get back into the game. Danny Elgar went extraordinarily close in the 69th
minute, chipping the ball towards the goal – Cupit just getting enough on it to turn
it over the bar. Guildford could not exploit
the corner however and from the resulting freekick Death broke down the right wing and
unleashed a powerful shot from 10 yards out which Hall did superbly well to turn behind
with a reflex save – Guscott heading into the mitts of Hall from the corner kick. This was the last
good chance of note for the home side however and as they took their foot off the gas it
was City who looked the more dangerous for the remainder of the game. In the 78th minute some good passing
put Lance through but he could only fire weakly into the arms of Cupit. The home side responded but Norris’s long
range effort was well over the bar. Back
came City and in the 84th minute came their best chance to take the lead once
more. Carnegie received the ball on the right
hand side of the box and skilfully beat his man to go through on goal. With just the keeper to beat Harrison had options
but he opted to go for glory – blazing his shot over the bar when a simple chip
across the keeper would probably have got him a goal.
The home side started to push forward once again and in the 88th
minute they won a freekick which Hall did well to punch clear – the ball appearing to
be on the verge of looping over him and into the net.
City then had a good penalty shout turned down. The final chance of the game fell to the visitors
– Lance being put through and curling a good effort round the keeper. The ball was moving in the air but it didn’t
have quite enough on it to hit the target, missing the post by millimetres. HORLEY TOWN: D, Cupit; B.
Herdman; D. Medhurst; L. Bryant; D. Guscott; M. Norris; A. Pullen (C. Weller); M. Smith
(J. O’Sullivan); M. Death; L. Jones (J. Mills); L. Ragetti Subs not used: C. Smith; A. Jupp GUILDFORD CITY: A. Hall; E.
Dereitas; C. Knight; T. Penson; J. Thoroughgood; J. King; J. McLeod; B. Rayner (L.
Banton-Brown, 75); J. Brown (T. Arnold, 63); H. Carnegie; D. Elgar (A. Greenland, 85) Subs not used: L. Bradnick; S.
Cooper Referee: C. Readett Attendance: 98 Surrey Senior Challenge Cup Round 3 GUILDFORD CITY 0 SUTTON UNITED 2 Dos Santos, 19; Gargan, 22, pen
We had been looking forward to this encounter for some time – especially given Kevin and Roly’s association with Carshalton Athletic. The U’s, perhaps with Carshalton’s experience here two seasons ago in mind, were not taking any chances and fielded a strong side with only a few reserves. Most notable of all, taking his place in goal, was Kevin Scriven, a former member of the Havant & Waterlooville side which reached the FA Cup 4th Round in 2007/08 before bowing out to Liverpool. Surprisingly it was Guildford who started the stronger and in the 4th minute came a chance which should have resulted in a goal. James Brown was put through and with just the keeper to beat, shot low at the open net only to be denied by Scriven who not only dived to his right to keep it out but saved the rebound with what seemed like superhuman reflexes. Two minutes later Brown found himself clear again but this time, with little support he tried his luck from the edge of the box and his shot went well wide. The visitors finally regained their composure and started to use their pacey forwards to good effect. Two freekicks followed – the first having to be pushed over the bar by Hall but luckily the corner came to nothing. In the 16th minute Sutton again went close – a shot from an extreme angle inside the box going just over the bar. City’s luck did not last for much longer – finally running out in the 19th minute. A long ball was pumped up the pitch to Jerson Dos Santos who turned Cooper inside out before advancing into the box and beating Hall at his near post – the City keeper able only to watch helplessly. Before Guildford could catch their breath, they were 2-0 down courtesy of what looked to be an extremely fortuitous penalty decision. Later discussion with Simon Cooper indicated it had been a fair cop although in that case did Dos Santos have to dive quite so theatrically?! U’s striker Sam Gargan stepped up and fired home confidently to give the Ryman Premier side a strong hold on the tie. With the wind well and truly out of Guildford’s sails, it was surprising that Sutton did not go on to extend their lead. As it was the match settled down into rather a tedious midfield encounter with both sides earning bookings for fouls. The match came back to life in the 38th minute – Dos Santos being put clear by a neat ball from Gargan but his effort was a huge anti-climax, a poor attempted chip being easily caught by the City keeper. The home side started to have a little more of the ball after this but could not make anything of their chances – Kevin Scriven dealing easily with a corner in the 40th minute and a powerful but straightforward Simon Cooper freekick two minutes later. Little more happened of note before the ref blew for halftime. Guildford had come back from 2-0 deficits before but one sensed that this would not be the case in this encounter. Sutton came back after the break clearly content to conserve their energy and soak up the Guildford pressure, whilst occasionally catching them on the counter-attack. The visitors definitely had the better of the first twenty minutes of the second half – firing wide in the 48th minute and putting the ball in the net a few minutes later only for Guildford to be awarded a freekick for a foul. As their chances of victory become more and more slim, however, Guildford started to get more time on the ball and at last they started to cause their opponents some problems. In the 74th minute Danny Elgar skilfully beat his man down the right before unleashing a cross which beat the keeper and would have been perfect had there been anyone on the end of it. A minute later Harrison Carnegie used his pace to good effect to get into the box but yet again he was unable to get his shot past Scriven. Sutton responded with a shot over the bar but City now had the bit between their teeth and in the 80th minute came their best chance of the half. Another wonderful cross came in from the right hand side and Anthony Bridgeman rose to head what seemed a certain goal against his former club. Once again Guildford had reckoned without Scriven though and the U’s keeper dived low to his left to push it behind. Jamie King should have done better from the corner – rising unmarked but heading wide. There could be no doubt now that Sutton were going to progress and the match tailed off for the last ten minutes or so. A U’s freekick went narrowly wide in the 84th minute and moments later Danny Elgar tried to curl a shot over the keeper – the ball being easily cleared. GUILDFORD CITY: A. Hall; E. Defreitas; T. Penson; S. Cooper; J. Thoroughgood; J. King; J. Brown; J. Brown (T. Tydeman, 64); B. Rayner (A. Bridgeman, 74); L. Banton-Brown (H. Carnegie, 64); J. McLeod; D. Elgar Subs not used: C. Knight; L. Bradnick Booked: B. Rayner; E. Defreitas; S. Cooper; SUTTON UNITED: K. Scriven; B. Hawes; A. Bray; S. Cubbs; S. Perkins (S. Watts, 61); K. El-Salahi; D. Phillips; F. Quarm (J. Hawes, 61); S. Gargan (C. Taylor, 61); J. Dos Santos; S. Young Subs not used: S. McKimm Booked: A. Bray; D. Phillips; J. Dos Santos; C. Taylor Referee: C. Hicks Attendance: 90
Combined Counties Premier League GUILDFORD CITY 1 Cooper, 50 HANWORTH VILLA 0 Photos available The first question for all involved was would it actually go ahead? A heavy frost had formed overnight and even with the sun on the pitch for the whole morning there was still doubt as to whether it had thawed properly. Mr Pegman and I spent well over an hour lovingly tending the pitch with forks and rakes to ensure it passed the referee’s inspection – “we’re not having yet another flippin’ midweek home game” declared Chris, and then with a note of alarm, “Andy we’re not growing potatoes!” He obviously doesn’t know about aerating the soil, although I agree planting those marigolds along the touchline was a little over the top. Anyway, needless to say the referee arrived and we got the go-ahead. Kevin had to do a little chopping and changing for this match. Neither Tom Penson nor Elvis were available and Jamie Thoroughgood had just played a rugby match, earning him incidentally his only appearance on the bench as an unused sub in his City career. None of us would have selected Bridgey at right back but he actually did really well and still managed to get forward at points. After a lively start by the home side, it was City’s makeshift fullback who notched the first effort on goal, shooting wide from the edge of the box. Guildford continued to pour forward and in the 18th minute Lance had the first of numerous chances, heading wide from a good cross. A minute later Guildford had a freekick on the corner of the area which James Brown sent just wide of the far post. Hanworth were really on the back foot at this point but did well to clear a goal bound header from Jamie King after Danny Elgar sent in one of his trademark crosses. Villa mounted their first meaningful attack around the half hour mark – a forward advancing as far as the City penalty area before being dispossessed. Guildford responded and after Harrison Carnegie had driven wide, a counter attack in the 34th minute resulted in a cross from the wing deep to the far post where Jack McLeod was lurking. The Guildford midfielder headed the ball across goal but Jamie King could only volley it over the bar. An even better chance arrived a moment later – McLeod dribbling down the right wing and beating a defender several times before firing in a perfect cross from the byline which Lance met with an equally perfect header – the ball heading like a bullet for the back of the net. Somehow Terry Buss, the Villa keeper, managed to launch himself across the goal and palm the ball away with a save which rivalled or even exceeded that of the Sutton United keeper in the week. Hanworth must have thought someone up there was looking out for them and they had the ball in the net three minutes from time only for it to be ruled out for offside. Not surprisingly though the last chance of the game fell to City once again – Lance making a pacey run down the left wing but letting himself down with his touch and the ball going behind for a goalkick. Half time allowed some entertaining banter with the Hanworth Villa fans who, it has to be said, seem like a good lot, although they did give me a bit of an ear-bashing for mispronouncing Adam Piggott’s name and moaned that parts of the running track were covered in frost! Apparently there is nothing that Villa fans like more than a bit of a training session during a football match. Meanwhile in the stands Lofty was positively rupturing the peace and quiet with numerous blasts on his air horn. For the love of God man..... The second half started with all of us hoping that aside from not dying of hypothermia, we might actually see some goals. We did not have to wait long and in the 49th minute City won a corner which was curled in and cleared but only as far as Simon Cooper who was lurking some 25 yards out. We expected the Guildford defender to put the ball back in the mix but he let fly with an unstoppable shot which screamed into the top corner of the net. Arguably it was going to take something special to earn Guildford a win and so it proved, although the Villains were extremely fortunate some six minutes later. Lance was yet again sent clear with the flag down; advanced round the keeper and rolled the ball towards the met – a goal surely? Nope because at that moment a Hanworth defender slid in, missing the ball with his feet but, it seemed, certainly catching it with his hand, before it rolled behind. Frustratingly the ref ruled no penalty and Lance’s luckless streak continued. The visitors had some respite at this point and started to make some inroads, although a promising move on the hour mark ended with Hall easily claiming a cross from the byline. After several Villa substitutions, Kev decided it was time to shuffle the pack and threw on Adrian Greenland for McLeod. In fact Greenland’s first touch almost resulted in a goal as he put Harrison through about 25 yards out and, with Terry Buss advancing, Harrison tried a cheeky but well judged lob. Yet again Hanworth had much to thank their keeper for as he frantically backtracked and pushed the ball over the bar. More chances came Guildford’s way – Jamie King firing disappointingly wide in the 69th minute before Lance once again went through but saw his shot held. This was not champagne football by any stretch of the imagination and it got worse in the 75th minute – Harrison earning himself a second yellow card for allegedly using foul and abusive language – a charge he denied. Now was the chance for Villa to get back into the game but they just did not have the firepower to cause problems, despite winning a freekick in a dangerous area in the 79th minute. Guildford continued to make chances and waste them - Simon Cooper firing a freekick straight into the arms of Terry Buss, Bridgey firing a good effort wide of the post and Lance failing to convert two more good opportunities when one on one with the keeper. The match concluded with James Brown and Danny Elgar going close whilst Hanworth fired wide from the edge of the box with the last kick of the game. GUILDFORD CITY: A. Hall; A. Bridgeman; C. Knight; S. Cooper; T. Tydeman; J. King (J. Brown, 74); J. McLeod (A. Greenland, 65) ; B. Rayner; L. Banton-Brown (L. Bradnick, 85); H. Carnegie; D. Elgar Subs not used: J. Thoroughgood; Rob McCarry Booked: L. Banton-Brown; D. Elgar Sent off: H. Carnegie HANWORTH VILLA: Terry Buss; C. Hare (Tony Buss, 46); Daryl North; C. Byron; Darren North; M. Baines (A. Piggott, 67); G. Jenkins; M. Buss; L. Higgs; B. Reed (L. King, 56); S. Loveridge Subs not used: L. Stevenson Referee: L. Smith Attendance: 39
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DESPITE the scoreline, Guildford
comfortably brushed aside CCL Premier League new boys Hanworth Villa in this scrappy
match. In fact, aside from Harrison Carnegie’s dismissal for a second bookable
offence, the only worry was the sheer number of chances City wasted. The match was
not a classic and the first half, an outstanding save from Hanworth’s Terry Buss
aside, was characterised by errors and wasted opportunities. It took another moment
of class from Simon Cooper to break the deadlock and ensure City took away the three
points their dominance deserved.