Guernsey 1 (K Mahon 20’)
Hanwell Town 4 (Rush 26’, 30’: Obi 81’; Siemienczuk 90+5’)
Guernsey put up another good fight against promotion chasing opposition but were beaten 4-1 by Hanwell Town on Sunday afternoon.
The Green Lions battled hard and were still in the contest late on but struggled to make the final ball count in attack, and were eventually put out of site by two late strikes from visiting substitutes, which made the game look more one-sided than it actually was.
Hanwell very much merited the win over the course of the 90, but Tony Vance’s side were left frustrated by the inconsistency of some of the officiating, and a stonewall penalty for a clear foul on Ross Allen was ignored with the score poised at 2-1.
The game took a while to spring into life, with just a couple of testers from the visitors blocked in the opening 10 minutes. Jacob Fallaize had GFC’s first sight of goal on 13 minutes as he got his head to Dave Rihoy’s free-kick, but could only direct it at Hugo Sobte in the visitors’ goal. Sam Saunders then blazed wide at the other end after getting on the end of Gareth Chendlik’s knockdown.
Guernsey took the lead on 20 minutes. Several attackers were offside as Charlton Gauvain knocked the ball over the top from the right touchline, but the Hanwell defence weren’t paying attention to the late run of Kieran Mahon, who burst through and slotted past Sobte into the far corner.
There was almost an instant reply as Chendlik was given time to turn on the edge of the area. His effort had Lucas Hanley beaten but the foot of his left-hand post came to his mercy.
GFC then squandered a glorious opportunity to double their lead midway through the half with a triple chance. Gauvain beat his man on the right and pulled the ball back for Allen. His first-time shot was kept out by Sobte, Ben Acey got to the rebound but hit it straight at the Hanwell stopper, and Glenn Le Tissier couldn’t force the loose ball home from close range, although the defence were eventually saved by a raised offside flag against the latter.
There was a little indecisiveness in the Guernsey defence, perhaps without the leadership of skipper Jamie Dodd. On one such occasion, they let a free-kick bounce in the area, but were saved by the crossbar as Dernell Wynter stretched to get his head to the ball.
Similar indecision led to the equaliser a minute later as the defence let a ball drop to Hanwell captain Harry Rush, who controlled it before tucking it past Hanley.
Rush doubled his tally just four minutes later, given space to turn in the box and hit a rising shot past Hanley, after Dan Carr had done brilliantly on the right touchline to keep a raking crossfield ball in play and beat Ben Le Tocq.
Hanwell certainly had the momentum now and finished the half stronger, with Hanley blocking a far post volley from Massimo Giamattei and from Chendlik from six yards out. Saunders also smashed another one well over the top.
Vance had stern words for the referee as the teams went in at half-time, feeling an injustice at the official’s unwillingness to clamp down on the visitors regularly preventing quick free-kicks, and he certainly wasn’t popular with the home fans either.
Hanwell sought a third early on in the second half, with Dwayne Duncan heading a corner over the top and Saunders again firing well off target
A rare effort for Guernsey saw Tom Jackson swing at the ball and miscue after Gauvain had worked the ball into the box following good work at a throw-in.
Rush was denied his hat-trick by a block and Carr drilled the follow-up wide, before Wynter cleared the crossbar on the turn.
Chendlik should have made things more comfortable for this side just after the hour after a GFC free-kick had broken down and the visitors broke, but he pulled his shot wide of the near post.
Hanley’s latest save came two minutes later as he got down to his left to turn wide after an early shot from outside the area from Wynter. Rush also came close again as he collected a loose ball and sent a shot whistling just over the top.
Guernsey should have been handed the chance to level it up in the final 20 minutes as one of their classic set-piece routines saw Allen bend his run out to the edge of the area to meet a low delivery. He knocked the ball out of reach of the defender tailing him, who got nowhere near the ball with his challenge and brought down Allen in the process. The Garenne Stand were bewildered when the referee waved away the protests.
Allen did get another promising opening on 79 minutes after miscommunication in the visiting back line allowed a ball to drop his way. He opted to take it early on the volley but dragged it wide.
In between then, substitute Tom Strawbridge and Hanley both made vital interceptions to prevent Hanwell scrambling home a third from close range.
But those two could-have-been moments proved to be crucial at the game was put beyond the hosts three minutes later. It was preventable too, as they allowed a loose header back into Hanwell’s possession. The ball was played across the edge of the box to Ogo Obi, who stoked it first time across Hanley into the far corner.
The Guernsey stopper was still required to keep out further chances, sticking out a leg to deny Ogi after Seb Skillen’s loose pass. Hanley then got down to his left to push the ball away as Obi bent a low free-kick around the wall. The rebound was blazed over with the goal gaping.
Hanwell added gloss to the score in the dying moments of added on time. It was inevitable they counter-attacked in numbers after Guernsey had piled almost everyone forward for a free-kick, leaving Thomas Dodds as the sole defender. Substitute Tomasz Siemienczuk applied the finishing touch to make it 4-1.
It was a frustrating afternoon for the Greens, but their attention immediately shifts to a more important game on Tuesday at Chalfont St Peter, when they will hope to increase the gap on the relegation zone.
Guernsey remain 14th in Isthmian South East with the weekend’s other results as follows: Bedfont Sports 4-1 Marlow, Chipstead 3-0 Westfield, South Park 3-1 Northwood, Sutton Common Rovers 4-2 Chalfont St Peter, Thatcham Town 0-1 Binfield, Tooting & Mitcham United 0-1 Basingstoke Town, Uxbridge 1-3 Chertsey Town.
Guernsey: 1 Lucas Hanley; 2 Dave Rihoy (16 Seb Skillen, 80’); 3 Thomas Dodds; 4 Tom Jackson; 5 Jacob Fallaize; 6 Kieran Mahon; 7 Charlton Gauvain; 8 Ben Acey; 9 Glenn Le Tissier (15 Keene Domaille, 68’); 10 Ross Allen (c); 11 Ben Le Tocq (12 Tom Strawbridge, 80’). Not used: 14 Tyler McKane; 17 Liam Mahon.
Booked: Le Tissier.
Hanwell Town: 1 Hugo Sobte; 2 Dan Carr; 3 Romario Jones; 4 George Nicholas; 5 Calum Duffy; 6 Dwayne Duncan; 7 Sam Saunders (16 Jack Hutchinson, 83’); 8 Harry Rush (c); 9 Gareth Chendlik (12 Ogo Obi, 76’); 10 Dernell Wynter (14 Tomasz Siemienczuk, 80’); 11 Massimo Giamettei. Not used: 15 Mark Bitmead; 17 Callum Woodcock.
Booked: Wynter, Giamettei.
Attendance: 749.
Highlights will be available on GFCTV soon.
