Recap
In the end this game went by the form book, as Chesham kept their 100% record against a Plymouth Parkway side still without a point. However this was far from a routine win as Chesham twice trailed and struggled for long periods. As in the Hayes game in midweek, it took a change in formation and the introduction of three substitutes to bring about the win. There were two changes to the starting eleven, with Lesley Duru making his debut at left back and Lewis Rolfe switching to the centre of defence in place of Jack Connors. The other change saw Zak Joseph made his first start of the season in place of Ricardo German, while Oliver McCoy made his debut as a second-half substitute.
Chesham could find no rhythm early on and the visitors had the better of the game. On 14 minutes a Rio Garside corner was cleared, but Garside crossed back in from the by-line and Oscar Halls tapped in from close range to give Plymouth a shock lead. Chesham showed a bit more urgency and Shaquille Hippolyte-Patrick’s mazy run led to a chance for Connor Roberts that was blocked for a corner. However the visitors continued to pose a threat and Jack Crago’s left-wing cross came to Matt Wright but Callum Adebiyi got in an important block. Just after the half-hour mark Zak Joseph took advantage of a defensive mix-up and set up Shaquille Hippolyte-Patrick whose shot beat keeper Adam Parkes but flew just wide. However Chesham were level three minutes later thanks to a stroke of good fortune, when Jordan Gibbons’ long-range effort looked to be going wide but took a huge deflection off the heel of Oscar Halls and ended up in the corner of the net with Parkes wrong-footed. Chesham were now on top and Hippolyte-Patrick tried an ambitious overhead kick that was only just off target.
It seemed as if Chesham had turned a corner but their hopes were rocked again on 52 minutes, when Rio Garside’s 30-yard free kick found the top corner of the net giving Cian Moore no chance. Chesham reshaped by taking off Lesley Duru, switching Lewis Rolfe to left-back and bringing on Jordan Edwards up front. However Chesham could have been 3-1 down when Cian Moore came out to clear a long ball but was beaten to it by Jack Crago, whose header seemed destined to roll into the empty net but Callum Adebiyi got back to clear. Chesham needed a moment of inspiration and got it midway through the half, when Shaquille Hippolyte-Patrick collected the ball on the left and cut in to fire into the net beating Parkes at his near post. Chesham were now looking the more likely winners and took the lead for the first time on 80 minutes, when more good work from Hippolyte-Patrick led to a low cross that sub Lucas Sinclair bundled in at the far post. In stoppage time Connor Roberts drilled in a free kick from the right and Sinclair hooked the ball into the net to make it 4-2. However with Cian Moore struggling with an injury Chesham were still not quite home and dry. Following one scramble in the Chesham area Zak Joseph was forced to clear off the line, but in the next minute Chesham again failed to clear and Jack Crago netted from close range. However Chesham saw out the remaining three minutes of stoppage time without any further alarms.