Marine 0 Walton & Hersham 3
Pitching In Southern League Premier South | Tuesday 4th March 2025
Match Report from Pete Crockett
SWAGGERING SWANS SINK MARINE
Faced with an opposition in such good form Marine would need some good fortune with injuries, to hope the opposition have an off day, and to have the whole team put in eight out of ten or above performances. In reality injuries meant Marine had to change their shape, the opponent did not have an off day, and Marine, whilst playing well, were beaten by an impressively in-form opponent.
The visitors came close to taking the lead in the 2nd minute when Bobby-Joe Taylor cut a ball back to Ralph Vigrass who fired his effort over the bar when he should have at least hit the target.
On 12 minutes the visitors came close again with a swift break into the Marine box which saw Ralph Vigrass fire wide of the post. Further efforts from Johl Powell and Bobby-Joe Taylor were thwarted by Fiachra Pagel.
Between these efforts Marine came close to opening the scoring when an Anton Dworzak shot went just wide of the post after some excellent Marine pressing saw the visitors surrender possession. The home team also forced a save from the visiting keeper when a Gabe Reivers cross from the left flank was half cleared and from the edge of the area Michael Fernandes hit the target.
Both teams were passing the ball well but in reality, the visitors were proving to be the more incisive in the final third of the pitch. On 31 minutes a deflected Johl Powell effort was well saved by Fiachra Pagel who got down low to parry the ball away from goal.
Then with 34 minutes elapsed the visitors took the lead. A corner from the right was punched clear by the Marine keeper. However, the punch lacked power and fell to the Swans Kai Jennings on the corner of the box.
He passed to Joey Jones who ran at pace to the goal-line whipping in a low cross into the front post. The ball rattled around and Marine will feel they had chances to clear. However, eventually it was controlled by Dawid Rogalski who, in a tight space, slotted the ball into the back of the net. There was an incongruence that in a match with excellent passing and build up play the opening goal was such a scrappy affair.
At half time it would be hard to argue that Walton and Hersham were unworthy of their lead. However, Marine played some decent passing football and could, rightly, feel they were still in contention.
In the first ten minutes of the second half Marine started well. They were winning more possession and, whilst struggling to create clear opportunities, were working the visitor’s back four. This was probably the home teams best spell of the match.
It was thus harsh that on 56 minutes the home team fell victim to an abject piece of bad luck. The visitors Bobby-Joe Taylor broke down the right flank. He passed to Kai Jennings who was in a central position 25 metres from goal.
He in turn found Ralph Vigrass who picked up the ball on the left edge of the area. He fired an effort that was going to Fiachra Pagel’s right and seemed covered. However, the ball cruelly deflected off a Marine defender and finished up entering the net to the left of the wrong footed keeper.
On 70 minutes Marine hoped they had secured a lifeline in the game. An excellent Michael Fernandes cross from the left was met by Harry Williams who finished his effort well with a crisp half-volley into the roof of the net. However, his celebrations were instantly curtailed by a correctly raised offside flag.
In all honesty the visitors played out the final quarter of the game with relative ease. They also scored their best goal of the evening when following a surging run into the box Mason Obeng fired a powerful effort into the roof of the net from a tight angle.
At the final whistle the cold reality was that Marine were beaten by a very good Walton & Hersham team. It was an impressive performance – they were solid at the back, retained possession well, and attacked with vim and vigour. They produced one of the best away performances we have seen at the Webbswood this season.
This was a tough night for Marine but there were positive aspects to their performance despite the 3-0 defeat. Some of Marine’s passing and possession football up to the second goal was impressive – although, alas, lacking a cutting edge in the final third of the pitch.
Jamie Edge did well slotting into a centre back role; Zack Kotwica and Anton Dworzak put in good shifts in midfield both of them playing with tenacity and flair; and sixteen-year-old Dayo Sonoiki made a first team debut from the substitutes bench that showed immense promise for the future.
Some might opine that Marine were perhaps a little too genteel in their approach – that they should have been more robust and physical. Personally, I think that would not have posed a problem for a high quality Walton and Hersham team who would have counteracted such rash impetuosity with ease. They were frankly too good a side to be knocked out of kilter by such a luddite approach.
In his post match thoughts Stuart Fleetwood gave the following comments: “I think there is no discredit in losing to a side like Walton and Hersham…It was a fantastic game of football and anyone who came to watch that and is an admirer of that sort of system and style has seen a treat from both sides…First half we went toe-to-toe and possession was probably quite even – I was disappointed to concede the first goal in the manner we did – it was quite a scrappy goal for the type of game…“
_“Our overall play was good and it is quite hard to explain to a group of players who were disappointed to lose three-nil that you have actually played really well. We just lacked that cutting edge in front of goal – crosses going behind the goal and shots off target. When you play against a team who will be in the top three you need to create chances and take them”.
“Other areas he commented upon in his post-match interview were that the deflected second goal was particularly damaging; that several individual performances were impressive – citing Jamie Edge, Zack Kotwica, and Anton Dworzak in particular; he expressed disappointment that some of the players who came on did not quite “get at it“ right away; and expressed his delight at the first team debut of sixteen year old Dayo Sonoiki who he felt looked impressively “comfortable“.
Credit should be offered to referee Craig Davenport and his assistants who allowed the game to flow and handled the game in an unobtrusive manner.
In closing, there is no shame in being beaten by as good a team as Walton and Hersham. Marine now need to recover for another tough game against Merthyr Town. The players need to hold on to the belief that they are more than capable of holding their own against top of the table teams – as evident in the recent home draw with AFC Totton.
Marine Star Man: Zack Kotwica
Walton & Hersham Star Man: Joey Jones
Attendance: 148
Line Ups
SWINDON SUPERMARINE 
Head Coach: Stuart Fleetwood
Colours: Blue & White Hoops
Line-up: 1. Fiachra Pagel 2. Sam Turl 3. Ryan Campbell 4. Jake Lee 5. Jamie Edge 6. Anton Dworzak 7. Zack Kotwica 17. Gabe Reivers (12.Dave Sims-Burgess 60’) 9. Harry Williams (15. Lucias Vine 81’) 10. Michael Fernandes (16. Dayo Sonoiki 85’) 11. Henry Spalding (14. Olly Mehew 74’)
Subs not used: 8. Nick Peare
Goalscorers: None
Cards:
None 
None 
None 
Walton & Hersham .png)
Manager: Billy Rowley
Colours: All Red
Line-up: 1. Laurence Shala 3. Eoin Bolger 4. Joey Jones 5. Julian Eccleston 7. Ralph Vigrass (14. Anis Nuur 78’) 9. Dawid Rogalski (16. Alex Body 68’) 10. Johl Powell (8. Mason Obeng 61’) 12. Bobby Taylor 17. Karl Jennings (6. Lucas Defise 80’) 18. Elliott Bolton (15. Kyron Horsley-McKay 81’) 20. Thabo Kuaho
Subs not used: None
Goalscorers: Dawid Rogalski 33’ 
, Ralph Vigrass 56’ , Mason Obeng 81’
Cards:
Johl Powell 40’
None
None
Match Gallery
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Courtesy of Alex White Photography
Match Highlights
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Courtesy of Walton & Hersham FC
Post Match Teamsheet
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Courtesy of Southern Football League
Match Officials
Referee: Craig Davenport
Assistant Referees: John Mowatt, Andy Wertheim
