Prior to this fixture, Ewell’s most exciting game of the season was arguably when the two sides met shortly before Christmas, when a dramatic late comeback was enough to secure three valuable points. Whilst the neutral perhaps would have expected a similarly tight and thrilling affair, surely this encounter could not have been as drama laden?
Seemingly not, at least not initially, as the early stages proved to be cagey. The narrow pitch combined with a persistent drizzle led to a prolonged phase of fractured and congested play, with neither side really gaining a firm foothold in the game. Special emphasis was placed upon communication before the game began, as this is one area that tends to let the Ewell side down at times, and for the most part the performance demonstrated some signs of progress in this respect. At times Ewell did manage to rediscover the flowing football that has been the catalyst for many of the season’s emphatic wins, and a couple of intricate interplays almost led to chances of note. Keogh, at the fulcrum of the attack, linked impressively with the attacking trio of Stroud, Chipperton and Bullock, though to no great avail as for all their possession, Ewell struggled to create clear cut opportunities for all the ball retention and endeavour.
Norbiton managed to create the first real chance of the match at around the half hour mark, and having worked the ball wide down their right flank an accurate drilled cross evaded the Ewell defence and was met at the back post with a simple tap in, and this incisive break gave them the lead. Whilst this was by no means cruel or against the run of play, Ewell had certainly not started badly and could take heart from the knowledge that the majority of the match remained, and thus they had plenty of time to turn things around.
The equaliser was a particularly pleasing team goal, and came as a reward for Ewell’s positive response to going a goal down, as rather than lying down the team began to move the ball around with greater purpose and conviction. Stevens and Groves were effective in breaking up play in the middle of the park and launching attacks, whilst the defence were rarely troubled by the Dragons’ rare up-field excursions. Breaking wide and supplying the right cross is regularly practiced in preparation for games and the goal provided a primary example of exactly how it should be done, as Stroud delivered a tantalising ball from the right wing that was emphatically met by the determined run and header of the towering Keogh, in a move that demonstrated the clinical touch that sometimes proves elusive for Ewell. With this, the game and momentum shifted back in Ewell’s favour, and whilst Norbiton went into the break disenchanted the away side left the field feeling reasonably pleased with their performance thus far.
With the scores level, Ewell created arguably their best chance of the match after another pleasing piece of simple pass and move football, which saw Stevens stride through into the opposition box and lose balance at the crucial moment to steer wide of the post. Keeper Bunde, who had not had his busiest afternoon of the season, needed to be agile and alert as the majority of Norbiton’s attempts stemmed from speculative efforts from range, which he dealt with confidently. A Norbiton corner proved to be the next decisive moment in the game and saw them restore their lead, as Chipperton was too slow to get across to their danger man, who rose and expertly guided a near post header into the top corner at the far post, despite Clancy’s acrobatic best efforts on the line. This hammer blow left the side feeling momentarily deflated, though they couldn’t afford an onset of resignation as the game was by no means over, over half an hour remained and it took only a couple of minutes to turn the game on its head back in December...
Kingshott further enhanced his growing reputation as something of a fox-in-the-box, as much like last week he was once more the grateful benefactor of some penalty area hot-potato that followed Webster’s testing corner, and the defender restored parity to the score-line by successfully diverting the ball into the back of the net through a sea of players after Groves’ header was cleared off the line. At this point the whole team seemed to experience an infectious sense of déjà vu, and were determined to go on to win the game in order to maintain the pressure on fellow title chasers. As the game progressed and the opposition tired, the direct
running of Clancy proved to be an increasing thorn in the side of the home team. Having been cynically scythed down on the edge of the box by Norbiton’s last man Ewell could be forgiven for expecting to see the referee take firm action, in form of a much warranted red card, a decision that would have decidedly impacted the game in their favour. Remarkably this was not the case as the referee failed to take further action, though justice seemed to be done when Clancy went down in the area under a desperate last ditch challenge and a penalty was awarded. Chipperton assumed the responsibility of taking the spot kick, and in sending the keeper the wrong way to slot the ball in the vacant left hand side of the goal he went some way in making up for his role in Norbiton’s second goal – meaning Ewell now led 3-2.
An astonished murmur of ‘you’ve done it again!’ might have suggested that Norbiton considered the game to be over and would be left to rue another spirited Ewell fight back, though the away side’s eventful debut season to date has already highlighted the importance of playing right up until the final whistle and taking nothing for granted. Unfortunately, it was Ewell’s turn to be on the receiving end of a late goal, something that perhaps was increasingly frustrating due to the extremely fortuitous nature of the levelling ‘strike’. The threat posed by a dangerous Norbiton break through the centre of the park looked to be extinguished when Webster put in a typically committed sliding tackle on the advancing player, only for the ball to ricochet off of the opposition’s player and agonisingly squirm beyond the onrushing Bunde, finding the bottom corner. This sparked a ‘you attack we’ll attack’ last few minutes, the best chance of which fell to Chipperton, who failed to apply the necessary power or precision when taking a shot from the left hand side of the 18-yard box, with the final whistle bringing proceedings to an end shortly afterwards.
The game certainly prompted a range of emotions and though Ewell ultimately dropped two points, they can be proud of the spirited performance, and can hopefully look back upon the point accumulated as a vital one come the end of the season, though a few more twists can be expected before then!