With Amersham Town having cruised past Milton United the night before, and retaken the top slot, Egham Town needed to beat the only CCL side to have put three past the Sarnies this season. That September defeat, in the League Cup, was deemed as of no consequence by manager Jordan Berry, who from the off had his sights set on promotion. More annoying was a slack league defeat at home to the Sumas in August.
When the squad arrived at Lowther Road there was a problem with the lights, and a threat of a postponement. Happily, Tyler Tobin is not just a very fine exponent of the goalkeeping arts, he is also an electrician. With the illuminations back on, kick off was meant to be at 8pm, but somehow still started late. Egham had only three subs, with Callum Webb and Luke Heneghan unavailable, while Ronan Hutchings is in New Zealand for trials down under. Should he stay it will be their gain and Egham Town’s loss; he has made a massive impact at the club since his debut at Harefield United on 21 September. We wish him all the best.
The match did not start off well, with the first of several changes of the under-pressurised match balls. The home side, sitting just above the relegation zone, began brightly, working very hard to restrict Egham’s freedom of movement. Wokingham’s pitch was bumpy and did not give much licence to play the brand of football that sees the ball on the turf. Both sides were involved in several episodes of hoofing the ball skywards, and losing the flight in the glare of the floodlights. There was just one save for Tobin, and little more for his opposite number, Sean Woodward. I was challenged to find something positive to say about a pretty dire first period, but there was little to say. A comment by a fellow Sarnie that the best thing the referee had done in those 45 minutes was the closing whistle, was overheard by home skipper Sam Green, who said “I concur.”
One of the problems encountered by the assistant referees was making decisions that relied on line markings, the refreshment of which had obviously not been done in readiness for this match.
Slowly, but surely, the match started to turn in Egham’s favour. Ayoub Igozouln, injured in the first half, was replaced by Samad Kazi, a move that served to stiffen the defence. While it remained goalless there was always the danger that Wokingham might grab a lead that their first half display had shown would be difficult to get back. As it was, little troubled either keeper until the introduction of Excellence Muhemba in the 63rd minute. The first Egham goal had an extra cachet; it would be the 100th in the league this season. The question was, who would be the man to score it? Just as it began to look as if it might be a third game against the Sumas without an Egham goal, the breakthrough came. Connor Cullen, out on the left, played the ball in for Zac Hawker, who found a gap for a pass to “Ex”, whose first time shot skimmed past Woodward. Five minutes later Hawker again supplied the pass for Muhemba, and another clinical finish secured the points and regained the top slot.
Egham next play on Tuesday 18th, at home to Edgware & Kingsbury, another side finding themselves down the wrong end of the table and anxious to do something about it. The Londoners, rock bottom not so long ago, have recovered well, winning their last four games, scoring 12 goals and letting in just one. They travel to Reading City on Saturday, and finish their season with a trip to Amersham Town. On 22 March it will be Virginia Water who visit Runnymede Stadium.
EGHAM TOWN: Tyler Tobin, Ben Peden, Kyle Watson, Reece Yorke (Captain), Marley Anderson-Richards, Zac Hawker, Ayoub Igozouln, Tyrique Tekasala, Harlem Hale, Connor Cullen, Jordan Brown. Substitutes: Samad Kazi (Igozouln, 54), Excellence Muhemba (Brown, 63), Reece Mitchell (Peden, 81).