AFC Ewell went into their first away game of the season, albeit on what is very familiar territory in Nescot, looking to secure a victory against last season’s runners up. Ewell held the bragging rights last season, owing to their league standing and the two separate 3-1 triumphs, but this fixture saw the two sides lock horns in the new surroundings of Junior Division Two.
Having outlined the direct nature of Cheam’s play, Ewell didn’t get off to the best of starts when a simple ball turned around the corner freed their striker to run through on and goal and slot home. Ewell have been prone to not starting the match when the opening whistle blows and this was another example of this, yet it did seem to shock them into action as they levelled shortly after. Patient build up and triangles freed the overlapping Crawford in a wide position on the right hand side, allowing the fullback to tee up Bullock to have a strike, but his effort was blocked by the Cheam keeper, though fortunately for Ewell, Keogh was on hand to rifle the rebound high into the net.
The goal helped to settle some of the nerves that were evident in Ewell’s early game, allowing them to get a grip on proceedings and carve out chances. Sear almost bundled the ball home from a corner, only for it to be cleared off the line, whilst Clancy narrowly missed the target when racing in on goal and also had a goal disallowed from another corner. However, Ewell had not heeded the warnings issued before the game, as Cheam were able to add another before the end of the first half and thus went into the break on top.
The Ewell players gave themselves a further mountain to climb when another easily avoidable goal extended the home side’s lead before the hour mark, yet Ewell had knocked 3 past Cheam on both the prior meetings between the teams and so were confident of overturning the deficit. This belief was reinforced when Bullock deftly glanced a header beyond the Cheam keeper after Chipperton had swung in a free-kick, making it 3-2 in the process. It was then up to Crawford to once more illustrate the threat the away side pose at set-pieces, as despite being the shortest player on the pitch he rose the highest and met Bullock’s in-swinging corner with a thumping header.
At 3-3, Ewell looked the more likely to get the next goal, although Cheam still threatened and were denied by Webster’s timely clearance off the line, but ultimately they dealt a hammer blow when their attacker got in behind and beat Bunde to the ball, before sliding it into the far corner. Ewell were unable to mount a third comeback in the remaining 10 minutes of the game, and the combination of this and their fierce rivalry with Cheam meant they left the field feeling especially disappointed. The curtailment of their 12 month undefeated league run will hopefully bring about the right reaction next week when they entertain Battersea Reserves, where Ewell will need to ensure that they find a balance between attack and defence if they are to register their first league win of the season.