Recap
Chesham made it three home wins in eight days and moved into second place in the table with this win. After a dull first half Chesham took control of the game in the second period, but they struggled to break through until Zak Joseph’s opener effectively decided the outcome. There were four changes to the starting line-up – Jack Connors, Callum Adebiyi, Zak Joseph and Jordan Edwards came in for Lesley Duru, Steve Brown, Ogo Obi and Ricardo German. T’Sharne Gallimore returned on the bench in place of Lucas Sinclair who has signed for Harrow Borough on loan.
After an even start Chesham had the first effort on goal in the twelfth minute, when a low shot from Harry Rush fizzed just past the post. Three minutes later Basingstoke’s Brad Wilson tried a long-range effort but Zaki Oualah was able to save comfortably. Chesham then had the first real chance when Ryan Upward sent Bruno Andrade clear, but keeper Paul Strudley got down to parry the shot and grab the ball at the second attempt. Shortly afterwards Bruno Andrade seized on a loose pass in the visitors’ half and sent Jordan Edwards clear to go round Strudley, but the defence got back in numbers and the chance was gone. The game then went into a quiet spell until the interval, the only action of note coming when Brad Wilson again had a go from distance but his effort was a couple of yards over.
Chesham made a strong start to the second half, and Zak Joseph crossed low to the far post where Bruno Andrade was denied at the expense of a corner. Avan Jones then crossed to Zak Joseph, whose lay-off set up Bruno Andrade for a shot on the turn that flew just wide. Joseph then had a shot that flew just wide with the aid of a slight deflection, then at the other end Paul Hodges unleashed a powerful shot that flew just over. For a while Chesham dominated but without looking like finding a way through, but on 71 minutes Zak Joseph seized on a hurried clearance and fired into the top corner of the net from 25 yards to give Chesham the lead. The result was rarely in doubt after that and Chesham added a second for good measure eleven minutes later. Ricardo German hooked a shot towards goal inside the penalty area and the ball struck a defender on the arm. The penalty decision looked harsh although the defender’s hands were high and the referee was in a good position to judge, and German himself despatched the spot-kick. The visitors did have one more effort on goal via a header that was too high, and Chesham saw out the game in relative comfort.
Match Report
