Chesham United Football Club

Chesham:

 

 

1.    Richard Hayward

 

2.    Mark Lambert

 

3.    Sam Ledger

 

4.    Kieran Allen-Curry

 

5.    Danny Brown

 

6.    Danny Talbot

 

7.    Carl Bruce

        (booked 76 mins)

8.    Dave Fotheringham

        (booked 58 mins)

9.    Danny Burnell

        (goal 62 mins)

10.    John Lawford

        (goal 32 mins)

11.    Adam Parker

        (booked 15 mins)

 

 

12.    Dom Marsala

        (for Lawford 74 mins)

14.    Tommy Higgins

        (for Bruce 90 mins)

15.    Michael Sharman

 

16.    Matt Skinner

        (for Fotheringham 84 mins)

17.    James Beasant

 

 

Chesham provided some cheer for those fans who turned out in awful weather, with a well-deserved victory over a Leighton side whose only defeat in 13 matches this season came in the Errea Cup.

 

Chesham made three changes from the team that won at Malvern, Sam Ledger returning from illness and Dave Fotheringham from suspension in place of Matt Skinner and Dom Marsala, and with Andy Keepence still suffering from flu Kieran Allen-Curry made his first full appearance.  Leighton have a strong Chesham connection with former assistant manager Keith Scott in charge and Peter Clifford, Ashley Higgins and James Gray in the team.  In persistent rain Leighton started strongly but Chesham had done their homework and soon came to terms with their tactics of playing the ball down the flanks for the forwards to run onto.  Leighton keeper Nigel Maarman nearly allowed a left-wing cross from Dave Fotheringham to slip through his legs, but apart from that Chesham rarely threatened and the game became a stalemate with neither side winning a corner in the first half.

 

On the half-hour the game came to life when Bruce Wilson's pass found Ashley Higgins in space on the left, but Richard Hayward came out to block Leighton's only worthwhile effort of the game.  Chesham went straight down the other end and Wilson earned a booking for bringing down John Lawford on the edge of the area.  Leighton lined up a four-man wall but left a space for Lawford to bend the ball into the corner of the net to the keeper's right to give Chesham the lead.  In the opening minute of the second half a long-range effort from Lawford clipped the top of the bar, as Chesham played with greater belief and took control of the game.  On 62 minutes Chesham pressurised Maarman into a hasty clearance straight to Danny Burnell 40 yards out, and Burnell had time to look up and plant the ball into the unguarded net to make it 2-0.

 

Leighton responded by taking off Gray and Higgins and pushing central defender James McNulty up front, but still did not win a corner until the 73rd minute.  Dave Fotheringham and Carl Bruce were both booked for kicking the ball away - Bruce's booking being particularly harsh - but otherwise Chesham were untroubled.  Five minutes from time Danny Talbot's left-wing corner was cleared back to him, and his return cross found the head of Sam Ledger but Maarman acrobatically turned the ball behind.  Belatedly Leighton began to put some pressure on the Chesham goal but Richard Hayward had little to do apart from deal with a few crosses as Chesham's defence ended the game well in control to clinch a third consecutive win