Camberley Town 2 Chertsey Town 0 (From Croydon Guardian)

Camberley Town 2 Chertsey Town 0

10:07am Monday 6th September 2010 in

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Chertsey Town suffered their first setback of the season, failing to register Combined Counties League points and even any goals, against a well drilled Camberley Town side.

There has been a pattern set over the past seasons whereby Camberley take early honours on their own patch but then Chertsey redress the balance late in the campaign at Alwyns Lane.

Manager Spencer Day will be hoping that this sequence will be repeated this season if his side are to realise their championship ambitions.

A previous near invincible looking defence had just three lapses but were punished for two of them.

The attack looked stale in the first half but adapted better after the break but without finishing off their job, having created at least two golden opportunities.

The side has almost been picking itself with only thirteen names being featured in the Chertsey starting line up. With Trevor Charlery still a missing face, being unavailable, Mark McGibbon resumed in his number two shirt at the expense of emerging Tom Hayden.

Chertsey began brightly enough, creating a couple of half chances and winning a number of corner kicks but lapsed into pumping the ball forward, high, from midfield positions, into the Camberley penalty area.

This proved to be meat and drink to both the central back line and goal keeper Chris Foster who was give a string of confidence boosting handing opportunities off less than penetrative crosses.

Camberley looked settled when on the ball and their advanced placing in the league table looked fully justified but they too had difficulty in breaking down their opponents defensive lines and a midfield stalemate developed.

This situation was broken just before the half hour when a free kick was awarded to them deep on the right.

The flighted diagonal cross caught the glancing head of George Hardy who directed the ball into the bottom left hand side of Chertsey’s net.

This rare Chertsey lapse proved not to be a fluke for, seven minutes later, the same Camberley defender turned attacker headed his side into a two goal lead, this time at full force in front of goal off a corner from the left.

Again the striker was uncharacteristically left unchallenged to do irreparable damage to Chertsey’s quest.

Chertsey continued to forlornly lump the ball up field in frustrating fashion for their followers.

Only one opportunity arrived through this staid tactic. That came moments before the break when Steve Tyson reached the ball before the advancing Foster but hooked the ball wide of goal.

Chertsey wisely kept the ball short and low in the second half and looked far better for it despite the change of approach not reaping any rewards.

The incisive passing and generous helping of possession should have at least produced a closer result but point blank failures to finish off was Chertsey’s undoing. Matt Baxter and Dean Papali both had great chances at either ends of the second period in this respect.

It would have made for quite a tense finale had one of these golden opportunities been taken. Both full back McGibbon and Treacher linked well with their forays upfield on the flanks, normally fertile hunting grounds for Tom O’Regan who attracted double markers, an increasing phenomena that should open up gaps elsewhere.

Camberley Town may have not looked potent after the break but they did all that was needed with blanket defending, keeping a firm grip to what they earlier won.

The odd attack never looked menacing except for one self induced blunder when a lose Treacher pass was intercepted but goalkeeper Craig Bradshaw made a magnificent save when goal number three looked certain.

Chertsey’s cause was not helped by some unpredictable refereeing decisions. Had a first half penalty kick appeal when a Camberley defender handled on the line been deemed deliberate been successful then who knows how the game would have turned but it would be trite to complain about the officiating when the empty handed visitors had plenty of time, almost an hour, and opportunity to at least put irresistible pressure on the Camberley goal and perhaps a draw to maintain their previously unbeaten season.