When this match was scheduled for 18 December the playing records of these two sides had a strange symmetry, South Park having lost all their home games and Egham Town all away. That night the heavens opened, allowing newly installed Sarnies’ boss Dickson Gill some breathing space to build an entirely new squad. Since then Egham have picked up one point, last Saturday at home to Chalfont St Peter. Meanwhile South Park have beaten Molesey and drawn at Tooting & Mitcham United before losing narrowly at home to Marlow and at Bracknell Town. The win that separates last night’s contestants moved the Sparks to 19th place, level with the Sarnies on points, nine, but with a much superior goal difference. The Reigate side have, like Egham, changed manager. The winners would move out of the bottom two and drag Molesey back into a relegation slot. The question was which side would be able to win this potentially vital encounter. The answer became fairly clear fairly early. Egham had played well at Ashford Town (Mx.) and against Chalfont St Peter, but from the off it was evident that they would have to play even better against their fellow candidates for the drop back to the Combined Counties League.
The home side were ahead just 12 minutes in, a long punt by keeper Michael Eacott running through for Great Evans (no, really) and he did what he, as a striker, was meant to do, getting enough on the ball to divert it past Yannick Makiese in the Egham goal. Neither side did much to keep a crowd of 97 entertained until Egham sprang into life in the 34th minute. Brendan McCarthy battled his way through from midfield, nearly lost the ball, played a one- two with Sean McCormack and off his team-mate’s back heel fired in a shot that Eacott had to dive full length to turn away for a corner. It was a rare Sarnie highlight.
Levi Shango had given way to Gilberto Abril just before half time. Egham clearly could have done without experienced former Staines Town midfielder Howard Newton not breaking a bone in his right foot in his debut on Saturday, and subbed Declan Nche for Samir Bajja in the changing room. The changes did not signal a change in fortunes as Makiese made the first of a series of important interventions, denying Evans. Charlie Pitcher’s cross found the head of Andrew Herring, who hit Egham’s bar with a thumping header. Egham broke, but did nothing with the corner they forced. Central defender Luke King gave way to Ibrahim Kehinde and Egham began to put some decent moves together in the gap between the edge of their penalty area and thirty yards from South Park’s goal. However, loose control and the Sparks’ determination to hold on to what they had meant Egham were not threatening, the best they managed being Danny Campion’s rising drive from 20 yards. Makiese made another good save, this time from Pitcher, before the home side’s No. 10 walloped in the second goal of the game after Evans had won the ball and played in a square pass to his colleague. It could have been worse for Gill’s men. Matt Males’ cross shot hit the face of Makiese’s right post, but Egham did not do enough to clear their lines and a foul on Ryan Richefond in the box led inevitably to a spot kick. Richefond took it, and drove the kick against the right post. It was a reprieve which Egham never looked like using as a platform for a fightback. Passing from back to front was abysmal, wrong choices were taken all over the park, once again the opposition keeper had nothing like enough to do and, of these two relegation candidates, South Park look considerably better equipped to move away from danger. If it were not for the excellence of Yannick Makiese and, perhaps, the first signs of luck they have had in recent matches, this could have been an even more sobering defeat. It is Egham’s 11th straight away league loss. They have an opportunity to change that with a trip to Waltham Abbey on Saturday. They follow that with home games against Ware and then entertain Woking in the Specsavers Surrey Senior Cup Second Round on 29 January.
EGHAM TOWN: Yannick Makiese, Tom Penson, Guled Ahmed, Luke Randall, Luke King, Declan Nche, Sean McCormack, Tristan Toney, Brendan McCarthy, Daniel Campion, Levi Shango. Substitutes: Ibrahim Kehinde (King, 57), Temi Oladejo, Keanu Williams, Samir Bajja (Nche, HT), Gilberto Abril (Shango, 42).