ISUZU FA VASE FOURTH ROUND
SATURDAY 18 JANUARY 2025
EGHAM TOWN 3 (1)
Nathanael Boakye (18), Reece Mitchell (87), Excellence Muhemba (89)
LONDON LIONS (1)
Mikey Perkins (42)

It was when the ball sat up nicely for Excellence Muhemba to wallop the ball into the far corner, in the 89th minute of a very tense match, that Egham Town’s players and supporters exploded into one joyous, loud, celebration, safe in the knowledge that the Sarnies had reached the fifth round of the FA Vase for the first time.
The delight was tempered with a general feeling of relief. Egham had welcomed back Tyler Tobin in goal, and new signing Nathanael Boakye had made an instant impact, but early dominance had not seen off determined opposition.
Egham started well and got better, sloughing off any bad vibes from the loss at Broadfields United two weeks ago. This tie, scheduled for last weekend was not alone in being staged seven days late, which meant that both sides knew the who, and where, awaiting the victors in round five. For this tie the outcome meant not just club history, but also a trip to AFC Whyteleafe, who had destroyed Dereham Town 5-0 in round four and followed that up with a 1-0 win at Jersey Bulls, inflicting on the Channel Islanders their first league loss this season, thus cementing their position as contenders, with Redhill, for the Combined Counties Premier title.
Early Egham pressure gave Tyrique Tekasala two opportunities to test Tiernan Parker in the Lions goal. One early chance at the other end saw Kyle Watson clear the danger. Yoav Sade-Lichtenfeld had been sin-binned by referee Joseph Casey for dissent when Egham took the lead, Boakye taking a pass from Connor Cullum just inside the penalty area and cleverly delaying his shot just long enough to be able to fire past Parker. The referee saw nothing amiss as Jordan Brown clearly had his shirt tugged in the box, and Cullum fired a half chance over the bar as the home team pushed forward, but failing to open up the Lions’ defence. Three minutes from half time the scores were level as Mikey Perkins got his head to a corner, directing the ball into Tobin’s bottom right corner, where a man on the post would have been decidedly useful.
The equaliser gave the Barnet-based side a lift, and Tobin was forced to clear just three minutes into the second half. Once Callum Webb had recovered from being fouled by Felix Shalom, he whipped in a free kick that, via a cross from Harlem Hale, Ben Peden headed wide of the target. Egham were generally in control, but there was the feeling that one slip could lead to it all going wrong. Watson’s unnecessary foul, in the 39th minute, was nearly that slip, Tobin having to be at his athletic best to pull off one truly magnificent save, followed by another nearly as brilliant, within five seconds. Those blocks were crucial. Three minutes later Muhemba powered his way down the right and drilled in a low cross. Parker could not prevent Reece Mitchell converting. Lions had no chance to make another recovery, Muhemba’s superb cross shot arrowing past Parker. (Remarkably, that was his 6th goal against the Lions in three games, as he scored twice in the 4-2 win at Rowley Lane, and a hat-trick as the Sarnies strolled to a 6-1 win, two seasons ago.)
While all this was going on, CCL Premier North title rivals Amersham Town unexpectedly dropped points with a 1-1 home draw against Holyport. They face more tricky opposition next week with a visit to Virginia Water, who play at Slough Town. Egham face Burnham, at home, next Saturday, looking for another double after a 3-1 away win. Then comes the chance to extend this FA Vase run, albeit against an AFC Whyteleafe side who are bang on form, on their own, plastic, pitch.
EGHAM TOWN: Tyler Tobin, Callum Webb, Ben Peden, Reece Yorke (C), Ayoub Igozouln, Nathanael Boakye, Tyrique Tekasala, Harlem Hale, Connor Cullen, Jordan Brown. Substitutes: Samad Kazi, Excellence Muhemba, Ronan Hutchins, Reece Mitchell, Luke Heneghan.
60' Excellence Muhemba replaced Jordan Brown, 64' Luke Heneghan replaced Nathanael Boakye
80' Reece Mitchell replaced Connor Cullen, 88' Samad Kazi replaced Harlem Hale

Isuzu FA Vase Fourth Round
Atherton Laburnum Rovers 3 2 Hallam
Crawley Down Gatwick 1 2 Fleet Town
EGHAM TOWN 3 1 London Lions
VCD Athletic 1 0 Epsom & Ewell
Walsham Le Willows 1 1 Whitstable Town
Whitstable Town win 3-2 on penalties
White Ensign 1 1 Erith & Belvedere
Erith & Belvedere win 4-2 on penalties
North Shields 2 1 West Didsbury & Chorlton
Albion Sports 0 2 Crook Town
ISUZU FA VASE FIFTH ROUND 1ST FEBRUARY 2025
NORTH SECTION
1 North Shields v Whitchurch Alport
2 Atherton LR v Bourne Town
3 Heanor Town v Crook Town
SOUTH SECTION
1 VCD Athletic v Hartpury University
2 Roman Glass St George v AFC Stoneham
3 AFC Whyteleafe v EGHAM TOWN
4 Erith & Belvedere v Daventry Town
5 Whitstable Town v Fleet Town