Chertsey Town 4 (Baxter 28’, 37’; Murphy 49’; Ndombe 90’)
Guernsey 0
Guernsey had an afternoon to forget in Surrey as they were seen off comfortably by Chertsey Town.
The Green Lions never really looked like getting anything from the game as they conceded twice in each half.
Luck was frustratingly against the Sarnians on the day. Tony Vance had been saying how pleased he was to have such a strong squad to pick, only for half the team’s luggage to be lost (and later make it to Alwyn’s Lane in the nick of time), and tailbacks on the motorway causing the team to having to get out and walk when they finally reached th enear vacinity.
The Curfews controlled the game from the off, with Magnus Abisogun blasting over the crossbar inside 20 minutes and Andy Crossley hitting the wall with a free-kick inside 25.
They found the opener before the half-hour mark as Crossley’s fine footwork took him into a dangerous position to square for Curfews top scorer Jake Baxter, who slotted past Lucas Hanley.
It was nearly two three minutes late as Connor Cullen rattled the crossbar after some neat passing from the hosts around the GFC penalty area.
A Jamie Dodd long throw earned the first chance for the Sarnians, as Will Fazakerley won the aerial battle with goalkeeper Nicholas Jupp before hitting the side netting from the angle.
Abisogun brought a save from Hanley on 33 minutes, but Crossley and Baxter combined again to double Chertsey’s lead on 37 minutes with the letter heading home from the former’s curling free-kick.
If it was not an already near-impossible mountain to climb, any hopes of a Guernsey comeback were killed off just five minutes into the second half as Sam Murphy curled an effort beyond Hanley.
Dodd then spared his goalkeepers blushes as he header clear when Ashley Lodge caught Hanley off his line.
The woodwork came to GFC’s rescure again midway through the half as Abisogun aimed for the far corner and beat Hanley, only to see his shot come back off the post.
Fazakerley drew a rare save from Jupp after good work through midfield by Kieran Mahon on 72 minutes, while Jacob Fallaize cleared off the line to deny substitute Didi Ndombe while Hanley rushed out at Baxter’s feet to deny the forward his hat-trick.
But Chertsey rounded off the result in the dying minutes as he found space down the left and fired past Hanley.
Certainly an afternoon to forget for Vance’s side, but they will be pleased to have got their run of games against the top six out the way and can focus on their run-in starting with South Park on Tuesday.
The Green Lions remain 14th in Isthmian South Central, with Saturday’s other results as follows: Ashford Town 1-2 Northwood; Basingstoke Town 2-4 Bedfont Sports; Bracknell Town 5-0 Chalfont St Peter; Chipstead 3-1 Thatcham Town; Hanwell Town 1-1 Westfield; Sutton Common Rovers 5-0 Staines Town; Tooting & Mitcham United 0-2 Binfield; Uxbridge 2-0 Marlow.
Chertsey Town: 1 Nicholas Jupp; 2 Manolis Gogonas; 3 Mason Welch-Turner (15 Bryan Taylor, 77’); 4 Ashley Lodge; 5 Darryl Harrison (14 Sam Hurrell, 49’); 6 Quincy Rowe; 7 Magnus Abisogun; 8 Andrew Crossley (16 Didi Ndombe, 59’); 9 Jake Baxter; 10 Sam Murphy; 11 Connor Cullen. Not used: 12 Jay Gasson; 17 William Montague.
Booked: Rowe.
Guernsey: 1 Lucas Hanley; 2 Keanu Marsh (16 Ben Le Tocq, 15’); 3 Jamie Dodd (12 Tom Strawbridge, 68’); 4 Tom Jackson; 5 Jacob Fallaize; 6 Kieran Mahon; 7 Charlton Gauvain (15 Matt Loaring, HT); 8 Liam Mahon; 9 Will Fazakerley; 10 Ross Allen; 11 Thomas Dodds. Not used: 14 Seb Skillen.
Booked: Jackson, Fallaize, Allen.
Attendance: 428.
Highlights will be available on GFCTV over the weekend.
