Marine 1 Chertsey Town 0

Match Report from Pete Crockett

LAST MINUTE MARINE BOMBSHELL SINKS CHERTSEY

As the encounter approached injury time the match seemed destined for a goal less draw. However, on 90 minutes a deep Nick Peare cross from the left flank found Marine’s Olly Mehew on the right side of the Chertsey penalty area. He in turn knocked the ball into the path of HARRY WILLIAMS who drilled his shot home from ten yards.

Marine will feel they deserved their victory with Olly Mehew twice breaking clear of the visitor’s defence. The first in the 5th minute was well saved by the Curfews keeper Josh Strizovic. The second opportunity five minutes before half time took an unfortunate but discernible bobble that resulted in his dragging his effort wide of the far post.

The Curfews best chances both occurred in the second half with Connor Lee hitting a thirty yarder that stung the palms of Fiachra Pagel in the Marine goal. This was closely followed by a forceful header from Ollie Knight clearing the bar. On 80 minutes Marine were surprised not to be awarded a penalty when the ball struck a defender’s raised arm from close range. The officials were unmoved and the visitors felt relieved.

This was not Marine’s only disappointment with penalty claims - the referee also declined to award a spot kick when some of a Marine disposition felt Michael Fernandes was fouled in the later stages of the second half.

Chertsey will undoubtedly feel disappointed not to have held out for those final few minutes for a point. Their two centre backs George Milner-Smith and Callum Duffy put in strong shifts to repel a deluge of Marine attacks. The Curfews struggled to create many openings of their own - it was hard to judge how much of this was down to Marine playing very well; how much to the visitors being overly cautious; and how much to their losing leading scorer Jack Mazzone halfway through the first half.

From a Marine perspective there was an abundance of positives. The three centre backs were impressively solid – Jake Lee assured and composed throughout; Ioan Richards commanding in the air and strong in the tackle; and Nick Peare tenacious defensively whilst also pinging probing long passes that turned the visiting defence. Keeper Fiachra Pagel did all that was asked of him but it was, by recent standards, a quiet day.

The two wing backs put in excellent shifts. Liban Ibrahim fulfilled the Ryan Campbell role. He undertook defensive duties very efficiently and was a high energy threat going forward. Similar can be said for Sam Turl who also got in to goal scoring positions twice. The first was a header from a Nick Peare cross and the second a shot that went over the bar. Glass half empty merchants will rue that he missed both chances – glass half full proponents will give the player immense credit for making the lung busting runs to get into those positions. I tend to go for the second option.

In midfield Jamie Edge was excellent snuffing out counter attacks expertly and using the ball wisely. Meanwhile Anton Dworzak got up and down the pitch with a zestful performance. His composure on the ball is impressive.

Attacking wise Olly Mehew missed a couple of chances but deserves credit for timing his runs to perfection. Harry Williams had two shots on goal – one on target effort was blocked and the one in the final minute of normal time was the decisive clinically finished goal. Once again Michael Fernandes showed some moments of high quality. At times he had defenders in a state of stupefaction as he left opponents sprawled on the turf with his scampish dribbling wizardry.

This was a hard-fought victory where Marine showed admirable tenacity to keep going to the final whistle.

Marine Star Man: Liban Ibrahim
Chertsey Star Man: George Milner-Smith
Attendance: 266

Come on Marine!

Line Ups

SWINDON SUPERMARINE
Head Coach: Stuart Fleetwood
Colours: Blue & White Hoops
Line-up: 1. Fiachra Pagel 2. Sam Turl 3. Liban Ibrahim 4. Jake Lee 5. Ioan Richards 20. Nick Peare 6. Jamie Edge (16. Zack Kotwica 90’) 7. Anton Dworzak 9. Harry Williams 10. Michael Fernandes 11. Olly Mehew
Subs not used: 12. Cheldon Valere, 13. Dan Brabham, 15. Gabe Reivers, 16. Oludayo Sonoiki
Goalscorer: Harry Williams 90’
Cards:
Anton Dworzak 42’, Liban Ibrahim 53’
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CHERTSEY TOWN
Colours: All Yellow
Manager: Mark Harper
Line-up: 1. Josh Stitzovic 2. Isaac Olorunfemi 3. Alex Fisher (c) (15. Louis Birch 61’) 4. Oliver Turner 5. Callum Duffy 6. George Milner-Smith 7. Cole Brown (14. Toby Little 71’) 8. Wayne Ridgley (17. Conor Lee 61’) 9. Jack Mazzone (16. Dan Rowe 30’) 10. Oliver McCoy 11. Ollie Knight
Subs Not Used: 12. Reuben Collins
Goalscorers: None
Cards:
Callum Duffy 39’, Connor Lee 83’
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Match Gallery

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Courtesy of Alex White Photography

Match Vlog

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Post Match Team Sheet

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Courtesy of Southern Football League

Match Officials

Referee: Sam Olhausen
Assistant Referees: Tom Hood, Adam Jackson