Recap
Chesham claimed their second successive 2-1 win but had to come from behind to do so. This was a largely uneventful game until the home side took the lead early in the second half, after which Chesham made a double substitution and a tactical switch which eventually paid off. Jack Connors came in for the injured Steve Brown in the centre of defence in an otherwise unchanged side from Saturday’s win over Hungerford.
Hayes were the first to threaten with a seventh-minute shot from Sanmi Odelusi that Cian Moore dived to turn away for a corner. Six minutes later Chesham had their first effort on goal, a fine curling effort from Jordan Edwards that keeper Jacob Adams stretched to tip round the post. The remainder of the half was played at a lively pace but with little action in either penalty area. On 37 minutes former Chesham loanee Omar Rowe shot from just outside the area and the ball flashed just past Cian Moore’s left-hand post, but that was the sum total of the first-half action.
The game continued in the same vein until Hayes broke the deadlock on 52 minutes, Adam Liddle setting up Omar Rowe for a shot from the right-hand edge of the penalty area that flew into the far top corner of the net. Six minutes later Jerry Wiltshire glanced a header wide from Amos Nasha’s corner, but the home side never threatened again. Shortly before the hour mark Chesham made a double substitution, taking off Jack Connors and switching to a flat back four. Almost immediately Chesham were level, when Ricardo German laid the ball off to Shaquille Hippolyte-Patrick who shot into the corner of the net past Adams’ left hand. Chesham were now looking the more likely winners although the game was still rather scrappy. On 72 minutes Shaquille Hippolyte-Patrick pulled the ball back from the by-line on the right but T’Sharne Gallimore could get little power into his shot and Adams dived to save. Two minutes later Harry Rush’s free kick was helped on by Callum Adebiyi and Hippolyte-Patrick’s header was pushed round the post by Adams. The game seemed to be petering out when Chesham scored the winner in the last minute of normal time. Zak Joseph ran across the area towards the right, then pulled the ball back into the path of Connor Roberts who powered a shot between Adams and his near post to clinch a hard-earned victory.