Pressure builds as Webb's men fail to hit target (From Croydon Guardian)

Pressure builds as Webb's men fail to hit target

11:02am Monday 2nd November 2009

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Chessington 3 Molesey 1

Under-pressure manager Steve Webb took his Molesey team to Chessington on Saturday as they searched for the three points that would give Molesey the 15-point target for the month.

Molesey were forced to bring on the inexperienced Tony Fernaux in place of the injured Lewis Ackerman and Phil Dexter came in to replace Rob Lewis, who was dropped to the bench despite his goal the previous Tuesday against Hanworth Villa.

Molesey did all of the early work, with a nice passing move that ended with James McShane firing well over and, then, just a couple of minutes later, the same player took a short free-kick that Andy Graves powered straight into the hands of the Chessington goalkeeper.

But Molesey were soon found they were predictably behind, when a long punt forward caught Luke Elliott out of position and saw Scott Todd fire a great cross in that was superbly headed home by Malik Buari.

It said a lot about the confidence the fans have when there was nothing said - just a collective feeling of inevitability.

It was only a minute later when Molesey found themselves two goals down.

Admittedly, this reporter was still taking notes from the previous goal but, apparently, a free-kick on the wing was swung in, and Colin Harris in the Molesey goal ventured too far out into the penalty area before slipping allowing Buari to score his second header in a minute.

The Moles had their only other chance of the first half in the 28th minute, when a good flick-on by Tony Fernaux saw Owen Bent racing on to it but his lob was just wide of the target.

Molesey were forced into a change at half-time, with the impressive Elliott Thompson being forced off through injury to be replaced by another youngster, Billy Pamment.

However, the Moles managed to find their way back into the game just five minutes after the restart, when a deep corner was swung in by McShane found Joe Yeates at the back post. His header hit the bar but rebounded kindly for Bent, whose initial header also hit the bar before he could bundle home on the second attempt.

This unexpected lifeline was Bent's first goal in 12 games.

Molesey now looked to crank up the pressure on Chessington and began to start passing the ball around.

Nine minutes after the goal, Bent saw his sharp swivel and shot fly just wide of the far post.

Then after a Mickey Hughes shot straight at the keeper, a low corner was flicked by Pamment but his effort was blocked on the line to safety.

Molesey had their best chance to equalise with 80 minutes on the clock.

A loose ball in the area was pounced on by Andy Graves who had his one-on-one effort blocked by the keeper's legs before Bent headed the rebound straight into the keeper.

It was to prove costly as, a minute later, Chessington broke up the pitch and Scott Todd was on hand to lash home from close range following a goal mouth scramble.

This killed the game and, despite bringing on Ross Defoe and moving Yeates up front, Molesey were unable to craft another chance.

This defeat for the beleagured Moles could prove a costly one, with manager Webb asking to be judged by results by the end of this month.

He has fallen short of his points target for the month and you don't need to be an eagle-eyed supporter to see things just haven't worked for the Moles in the first two-and-a-half months of the season.

With every defeat, supporter unrest grows and pressure must be building for everyone around the club.

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