Field squeeze home on Football Friday

Friday nights are always better with football, and on this particular Friday night the football looked rather an attractive proposition. We were off to Colston Avenue, home of Carshalton Athletic, to watch Sutton Common Rovers ‘host’ Westfield in Pitching In Isthmian South Central- seventh v second.

Both sides had positive starts to the season. Westfield, last seasons Play Off Semi Finalists, lost their manager to Leatherhead soon after the end of the campaign, but that seemed not to have hampered them one bit- four matches had brought ten points and no defeats, which left them…six points clear of Leatherhead, who they defeated on Bank Holiday Monday. We suspect that tickled the Woking Park faithful, no matter how much affection remained for former boss Ian Selley.

Rovers started the season with no manager. Sam Morgan saw his charges play one match in the FA Cup and then departed, shortly before the league campaign kicked off. That kind of upheaval would shake any club, and it was no surprise that opening day defeat followed, but the ship was soon steadied, former boss Darren Salmon stepping back down from the boardroom and his former co-manager, Lee Flavin, returning to the club as his right hand man. Results since had included wins over Met Police and, on Tuesday night, an impressive win at highly fancied Raynes Park Vale. That victory showed some real resilience, too, Rovers recovering from the disappointment of conceding a ninety first minute equaliser to go up the other end and score a winner five minutes into added time. Field would start as favourites- they were hammering Horndean as Rovers were winning at Vale- but nobody expected anything other than a close, entertaining encounter. A home win would see the sides tied on points. A thumping home win, however unlikely, could see Rovers into second. 
 

As the turnstiles opened the sun was beginning to set behind the goal at the far end of the stadium. At the other end, a half moon was rising in the sky. The weather, perhaps for the first time this week, was reasonably warm, with virtually clear skies and hardly a breath of wind. The stadium was filled with energy and high pitched shouting, most of it coming from the mass of children on the pitch, all of whom were in single digits. 

Colston Avenue is a nice place to watch football. It has, of course, that iconic covered terrace running end to end down the right hand side of the pitch, a large grandstand, a fabulous bar, and, when Athletic are at home, an excellent snack bar. The problem for Rovers, of course, is that it isn’t their permanent home, and it shows. A lack of presence is a perennial problem for clubs who have to share, and if you’d arrived at the ground unaware of who the hosting club were, there would have been nothing to tell you. The fixtures board outside promoted Athletic’s forthcoming fixtures, as you’d expect, and there was no visible Rovers signage- barring a poster near the bar advertising their Bank Holiday Monday fixture with Guernsey (and to save you from hiring a Tardis, it was a two-two draw). Rovers had brought in their own snack bar, and it served fine fare, but that perhaps exemplified why clubs on the receiving end of ground share arrangements generally tend to be underdogs most of the time. When you don’t own your own home there is no bar income, no income from the hiring of facilities or secondary use of your pitch, just the takings from the turnstiles to cover your outgoings unless you’re lucky enough to have a wealthy benefactor. That Rovers reached our level despite such handicaps, and that they’ve successfully stayed there, means we should give great credit to their coaching team, who continually do a fine job- and their volunteers, who keep the club alive. They’re a nice bunch, too. 

Anyway, onto matters confined to the pitch!

Westfield, in blue, got us underway, and managed the first shot within a minute, although it was an effort hardly worthy of the name and caused no difficulties for Kacper Orlowski in the home goal. The opening stages were rather even, with no shortage of endeavour, but both sides were missing a final ball- indeed the hosts, in yellow, overhit a forward pass three times in the first six minutes, causing much exasperation on their bench- and indeed on the pitch. 

On twelve minutes a foul on Dan Iqbal gave Rovers the chance to put the ball in the box, and up went skipper Bertie Lloyd, but his header didn’t trouble Hugo Sobte, who held easily. That said, it heralded a period of Rovers pressure which led to another free kick, twenty yards out. The four men in the wall weren’t troubled by Tyrese Osbourne’s effort, and neither was Sobte, the ball clearing wall, goal and stand. 

On twenty one minutes Westfield had the best chance so far. Lucas Sinclair ran at the home defence, wormed his way into the box showing good speed and balance, and fired low and hard towards the bottom corner- but Orlowski was his equal, diving full length to his right and making a decent save. A couple of minutes later it took three Rovers defenders to halt the visiting number nine, but halt him they did. 

On thirty four minutes the hosts thought they were ahead. A long ball reached Nahum Melvin- Lambert , and his header looped over the keeper and headed for the net, only to be hooked off the line by Caleb Wright. “It’s over the line” yelled the home bench, but the referee and his assistant thought otherwise, and the ball was cleared, a period of Westfield pressure the result. 

On thirty nine minutes Rovers had another chance, and again it was Melvin- Lambert. A free kick was fired into the box, headed partially clear, and the strikers first time effort curled wide of the post, with some suspicion that it might have taken a deflection- although it must be said that this suspicion was only in the head of the player and his managers! 

After two added minutes a frantic half came to an end without a goal. On Tuesday night against Horndean, Westfield were four goals up at this point. Tonight they were perhaps lucky not to be behind, but both sides had created chances. Would someone take one in the second half?

Half time: Sutton Common Rovers 0 Westfield 0

The interval brought no changes, but the visitors looked newly determined and quickly won a corner. There were ten players within a yard of the goal line, and the ball was headed out for another corner, but the second one didn’t beat the man at the front post and the chance came to naught. 

The pattern of the game remained the same, end to end, without either goalkeeper being called upon too much. Sinclair had the first shot of the half, high and wide, and that was quickly followed by another chance for the visitors but a similar outcome, Lui Edwards firing wide on this occasion. 

Rovers made a change. Jayden Smith departed to be replaced by new signing Jeffrey Cobblah, an attacking move for the hosts, perhaps concerned that the visitors were beginning to dominate. Field then had their best chance so far, a free kick meeting Luke Elliott at the back post, but the skipper couldn’t keep his shot down with the goal gaping. The pressure continued, and Orlowski had to make a full stretch save from Edwards. 

Another change, Nahum Melvin- Lambert off, Timmy Obisanya on for the hosts, quickly followed by two for the visitors, Elliott and Sam Balogun off, new signing Dylan Merchant and Sid Cannon on. The new arrivals had twenty five minutes to make an impact. For a while it seemed as if we had more changes than action, Francis Sey for Cam Dobell the latest for the hosts.

A quick break for Rovers, advantage played twice after two fouls, and a shot from Iqbal deflected for a corner. It was Iqbal’s last action, as he was replaced- and then, goal. It came to Westfield. 

Sinclair had two players closing him down as he looked to cross, but he got the ball over anyway, driving it across goal. In came Sekou Toure at the back post, and he made no mistake.

Goal: Sutton Common Rovers 0 Westfield 1, Sekou Toure, 72 minutes.
 

Within a minute, another chance for the visitors. Edwards controlled on his chest and volleyed goalward, but his effort was slightly too high, even if the technique deserved applause.

Rovers looked to respond. Obisanya seemed to be their greatest threat, and he was certainly occupying the thoughts of the visiting centre backs, but Rovers pressure wasn’t creating any clear cut chances. We moved into the last five minutes, and a shot from Osbourne was deflected wide- luckily for the visitors, as the deflection could have gone anywhere and Sobte would have struggled to get near it. 

Into added time, which was indicated as five minutes. Rovers in a hurry, and suddenly threatening. Cobblah forced a save, then another, as Westfield scrambled and stretched, desperate to keep their hosts out, Sobte finally being forced to earn his keep. At the other end, with the visiting bench and half his team mates yelling for him to take the ball to the corner, Sinclair shot, saved. But it mattered not. The final whistle went, and the visitors were able to celebrate. 

Final score: Sutton Common Rovers 0 Westfield 1

It was a fairly even match, and the hosts will be a little disappointed not to have taken a point from it. The difference between the sides was minimal for the most part, but- that chance in the first half apart- Rovers didn’t really threaten the Westfield goal until added time. They could have easily drawn level at that point, and it wouldn’t have been a travesty had they done so, but the Westfield attack carried more threat overall so it was no surprise they claimed the points.

All that said, this looks to be the best Rovers side we’ve yet seen at our level. There was no shortage of effort and no little skill. Field? It seems that last seasons success was no flash in the pan, as they move to within two points of leaders Harrow Borough.