FOOTBALL: Depleted City suffer defeat at Chesham

4:14pm Thursday 26th April 2007

Southern League South & West Division.

Chesham United 2, Winchester City 1.

Winchester City were without three key players for this end of season match on Saturday - Mark Jones (working), Lloyd Webber (back injury) and Ian Mancey (suspended). Manager, Steve Moss, recalled Jamie Musselwhite, James Davis and Dan Wakefield to the starting line-up.

The first half hour was fairly even on yet another dry, bumpy pitch in this exceptional spring. Mark Gamble had City's best early chance, getting clear and forcing a good save from the Chesham keeper, Matt Niedzwiecki. At the other end, Lyall Beazley performed similar heroics in the away goal, doing just enough when a Chesham striker was clean through to deflect the ball away for a corner.

The match turned on a single incident after 35 minutes, when Nathan Bailey was adjudged by the referee to have elbowed a Chesham player in the face, a decision which did seem very harsh. Bailey, who had been playing well at right full-back, was sent off and then United scored from the resulting free kick, swung in from the left and headed home by the unmarked Ed Chemlal.

City re-organised, leaving Musselwhite to operate as a lone striker, and saw out the opening half without further incident. However, Chesham doubled their lead eleven minutes into the second period, when a cross from the left was turned home by Matthew Hall.

The match became increasingly hard for City's ten men in the heat of a warm, sunny day, and they were forced back with little real opportunity for long periods by a home side who looked, nonetheless, happy to merely see out the match at this stage of the season.

When United did get through on goal, they were met be another in-form display from Beazley, beating out another one-on-one with his legs, and then holding on well to a far post header moments later.

The arrival of Luther Blissett as a substitute, on his last day as Chesham manager, enlivened the home crowd, but the former England striker showed his age and his one clear chance was beaten away by another fine Beazley save, when he really should have scored.

The game was fizzling out when it suddenly came to life as City pulled a goal back. Good interplay between Warren Bentley and Pete Smith down the left ended with Smith wriggling between two defenders and he threaded the ball beyond Niedzwiecki. Now it was all City as they went all-out for an equaliser, Sean Thurgood ending the match virtually as a striker.

In the last minute, Bentley broke into the box on the left and pulled the ball back for an unmarked Martin Beck, but the cross was well held by Niedzwiecki and City's final chance was gone.

City: Beazley, Bailey, Smith, Davis, Thurgood, M Thomas, Wakefield, Vavrecka (Bentley), Musselwhite (Flood), Gamble (Beck), Champion. Unused sub: Hook.

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