John Pomroy scored a late goal to seal a 2-1 win for Chertsey Town in their Combined Counties Premier League game against Cove at Alwyns Lane.
The visitors were the better side in the opening exchanges, but they were left to rue their erratic finishing when Chertsey seized the lead on 36 minutes. Midfielder Gavin Bamford scored his second goal in two games with a thumping header from Pomroy's left-wing cross.
However, Cove were gifted a route back into the match shortly after the interval, when Dean Inman was controversially penalised for an alleged foul in the penalty area. Cove forward David Johnston volunteered to take the spot-kick, but his strike rebounded off the post and the ball was hacked to safety.
Four minutes later, Cove's persistence was finally rewarded as Anthony Vine capitalised on hesitancy in the Chertsey defence to lash the ball home from close range.
Nevertheless, the hosts scored the critical goal on 80 minutes, when Pomroy hit a low-shot across the Cove keeper and into the bottom corner.
This result, and slip-ups from some of their nearest rivals, mean that Chertsey are up to second in the league standings.
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