Chesham v MERTHYR

Team:
Garner
Baggridge Tancock McDonald
Watkins Evans Wright Scotcher Barrow
McLaggon Reffell

Subs:
Davies, Clarke Williams, Traylor Prosser

Still 0-0 33 mins

H.T 0-0

H/t 0-0

1-0 Kayne

1 up Kayne 54mins

1. 1

1-1.

1-1

1-1 at the death

1-1 FT

Draw away, win at home....fine by me....Boz

What? Another last minute goal?
Need to start seeing these wins out lads.

Away from home we seem to be like a useless dog-walker, can't hang on to a lead!

We drop down one place to 11th but just 4 pts off the play offs with 2 games in hand
#MustWinHomeGames

I suspect the Mac- Ford Files will reveal yet another case of 'Ruff' Justice Nubs.....Boz

SwanseaJack wrote:What? Another last minute goal?

83rd minute apparently, so not quite as late as at Banbury last time.

In yet another Saturday on the road Merthyr gained one point at Chesham in a game of few chances and may feel that they should have come away with all three but a defensive lapse in the last 10 minutes allowed Chesham an equaliser.

Merthyr recalled Garner in goal and played a back 3 of Baggridge, Tancock and McDonald with Watkins and the returning Barrow on the flanks. Scotcher and Evans were joined in midfield by Jordan Wright (actually it was Jarrad but the club secretary’s writing strikes again!) and McLaggon and Reffell played upfront. The bench consisted of a not fully fit Davies along with Williams, Prosser, Traylor and Clarke.

Merthyr kicked off but their initial attack was easily repelled by the Chesham defence and with both sides failing to hold onto the ball in the early exchanges it was quite a scrappy start. Merthyr did manage to get the first shot on goal by McLaggon but it was charged down and cleared and Chesham retaliated with an attack down their right and the ball got into the Merthyr area and Roberts tried an overhead bit it was scooped high over the Merthyr bar. As the half wore on Chesham, as the home side, were seeing more of the ball but created little and relied on long balls and long throws hurled into the Merthyr area by Taylor. Merthyr did make one good break down the left when Barrow sent a good ball down to Reffell who put out wide to McLaggon who got down to the byline but his cross was too long and beat everyone. McLaggon was in the action again when he picked the ball up near the D and got past a couple of defenders and seemed to be brought down but Mr Vallance waved play on. Merthyr were trying to keep the ball but at this stage the final incisive pass was missing and Purse and Mitchel-King were clearing up well and Chesham were offering little. Scotcher required treatment on his left shoulder from Chubbs when near the halfway line he seemed to be brought down but the free kick taken by Barrow came to nothing.

Chesham had a good break down the left involving Wilson and Taylor and the ball came into the area and Baggridge got the ball away at the expense of a corner. Pearce sent it high into the Merthyr area and Mitchel-King got up well to head it down but Garner did well to get down low to his right to make a good save. A few minutes later, Hayles robbed Scotcher in midfield and got to the edge of the area but sent his shot wide of Garner’s right hand post. A few Taylor throws were being well dealt with by Garner and his defenders. Purse was good in the air and strong in the tackle but not averse to committing the odd foul and the referee had a word with him after he pushed Reffell in the back close to the halfway line but the free kick was cleared, ironically by Purse. Purse then hacked down Reffell who had picked up a knockdown from McLaggon after a Garner clearance and quite correctly earned a yellow card for his troubles. After treatment Reffell was fit enough to carry on and moved forward to receive Barrow’s kick but he sent it towards McDonald who had tried to sneak forward on the left but Blake got in to clear.

Merthyr then missed the best chance of the game when Barrow sent a good ball down the Merthyr left and found McLaggon who got past Purse and sent a low ball into the 6 yard area but Reffell contrived to miss the ball with the goal gaping and it ran through to Wright who sent it back to Watkins who shot under pressure from about 16 yards which went high over Jones’s bar. Chesham seemed to rely on long balls into the Merthyr half towards Hayles and from one of those, McDonald got the ball away for another Taylor long throw which was well punched away under pressure by Garner and away for another throw which was hurled into the Merthyr area and was headed on by Hayles and there followed a bit of head tennis in the 18 yard area before Tancock finally got it clear where it was picked up by Purse but Reffell exacted revenge on the big centre half and followed through and caught him with a poor tackle and joined Purse in the referee’s notebook. Just after Baggridge cleared the resulting free kick, Mr Vallance brought a rather disappointing half to an end.
The second half started with both sides treating the ball like a hot potato and not hanging onto it but Barrow did manage a good break up the Merthyr left and found Reffell in the 18 yard area who gave it back to the advancing Barrow but his shot across goal went safely into the hands of Jones in the Chesham goal. Chesham retaliated through Hayles who picked up a Baggridge miskick on the Chesham left and tried to get a cross in but Watkins got it away for a corner which was taken short to Wilson whose cross was met at the far post by Purse but his header was well saved by Garner in his 6 yard area.

Five minutes into the half, Merthyr took the lead. Baggridge took a throw on the Merthyr left to Tancock who sent it further left towards McDonald. He pushed it up to the halfway line towards Scotcher who looked inside towards Evans who passed it right towards Baggridge who sent a ball down the right which went over the head of left back Wilson who rather meandered back towards the ball and Reffell beat him to it near the byline on the right and put a low cross across goal and McLaggon gleefully slotted the ball home from 6 yards past a helpless Jones. Shortly afterwards a long cross into the Chesham area was aimed towards Reffell but this time Wilson was up to the task and got it behind for a corner on the Merthyr right. Barrow travelled across from the left to take it and gave it short to Watkins who under pressure from Pearce gave it back to Barrow who was flagged for offside much to the chagrin of the Merthyr attackers in the area and Barrow trudged back into position.

Chesham tried to get back into the game and as Merthyr passed the ball along the back, McDonald got onto a bit of a mess and the ball was sent forward into the Merthyr area but Evans did well to clear the danger. Crilley then got the ball on the Merthyr left and he got it back to Blake who got in a good cross which was well cleared by Baggridge under pressure from Pearce. Reffell then found McLaggon on the edge of the Chesham area but he took an extra touch and his shot was charged down out to Scotcher who got it out right to Wright and his cross was cleared to Watkins but again a Merthyr cross was intercepted.

As the half progressed Chesham started to put on a bit of pressure and made a few substitutions to freshen things up and were caught offside a few times which upset the locals but the decisions seemed correct to me. Merthyr were also trying to get forward and the game opened up but in the main both defences were holding firm. Chesham did have one chance when after Evans did well to intercept a cross at the expense of a corner which was taken by Pearce short to Blake who got back to Pearce on the left hand edge of the Merthyr area whose shot was charged down as far as Wadkins who gave it back to Pearce who sent in a far post cross which both Purse and Mitchel-King went for but seemed to get in each other’s way and the danger was cleared. Shortly afterwards, Scotcher was replaced by Traylor.

Blake was looking more and more dangerous but Merthyr were defending well and a couple of through balls from the Chesham midfield were overhit and rolled harmlessly over the byline. Then with about 10 minutes left a long hopeful ball aimed towards the left hand side of the Merthyr area which fell in between Barrow and McDonald was allowed to bounce and Blake latched onto it and from about 8 yards, Blake lashed a right footed shot into the roof of the Merthyr net giving Garner no chance and the scores were level. Blake was on his own in the area and Merthyr claimed in vain for offside but such claims were waved away and he looked onside to me as he escaped the attention of the Merthyr defenders.

Chesham found renewed energy and launched further attacks to nick a winner and Taylor managed to get past Wright but Tancock was on hand to clear but only as far as Pearce on the right near the byline and with Wright again in attendance he pushed it back to Wilson who sent it high into the Merthyr area and it was headed across goal and Pearce all alone in the six yard area went for it and put it wide but from an offside position. However Merthyr also tried to get a W and with a few minutes left on the clock, McLaggon was replaced by Prosser whose first task was to head on a long ball from the Merthyr half towards Traylor on the right and he moved inside with the ball and reached the edge of the 18 yard area but his shot rolled all along the ground and into the arms of Jones. A few minutes later Prosser headed forward a poor Chesham clearance towards Reffell on the left hand edge of the area and he tried to step inside but was brought down and at the death Merthyr gained a free kick just outside the area. Barrow’s left footed kick came off the wall and Chesham broke through Pearce down the right and although Barrow had got back to challenge he couldn’t prevent the cross which went over the head of Blake and into Garner’s hands and as the Merthyr keeper went to clear, Mr Vallance blew the final whistle with the score level at 1-1.

It was our 4th draw on the trot in our travels in the league over the last few weeks with the last 3 ending 1-1 and in all of those we had scored first and failure to hang onto the lead has cost us. Only in Hitchin did the balance of play probably merit a draw and with those extra 4 points we’d be sitting in the playoff positions now with games in hand. However injuries and constant away games involving many hours on a coach over the last month or so hasn’t helped and with a run of home games over the next month we can get back to winning ways. It’s great to see some of our injured lads on the way back to fitness. It was a scrappy game yesterday and picking a MOTM is difficult but Tancock did well in the middle of the Merthyr defence and probably deserves it this week.

Onwards and upwards to Dorchester at the Park on Tuesday!