Saturday 10th October 2026
Isthmian League Premier Division – Cheshunt (H) 1-2
We had some exciting news on Monday, didn’t we? Since the draw, the upcoming Yeovil FA
Cup game is pretty much all anyone has been talking or thinking about – today’s game has
barely had a passing thought or mention. Both sides came into it on the back of two wins,
two draws and two losses (albeit in different permutations), and with the Tanners seemingly
unable to win at home in the league, and the visitors yet to win away, this one had ‘draw’
written all over it beforehand and right up until the ninety-fifth minute…
The starting eleven again had a slightly lopsided look to it, the midfield still sorely missing
Dicko. Nonetheless, Tanners gamely played the host role, looking to take the game to their
opponents; meanwhile, the Ambers’ game plan seemed to be mostly about containment.
Tanners made a series of half chances with Anas looking particularly up for it, but they were
kept largely at arm’s length. R’avan Constable, in goal for the visitors, wasn’t exactly a
spectator, but he didn’t have much to do.
Cheshunt weren’t entirely without ambition either. They created a few openings, the pick of
them perhaps coming from Obi Onyeagwara in the sixteenth minute. His speculative shot
from distance skipped up off the turf just in front of Sonny; he gathered the ball after an
initial spill, earning himself a clattering from Tommy Wood in the process. At the other end,
there was a half-hearted appeal for handball when Constable appeared to handle outside
the box on forty-one minutes, but I don’t think anyone was truly convinced, and certainly
not the ref.
Tom then had a couple of glimpses of goal just before halftime. The first he absolutely
smashed goalwards after good work from Anas on the right, but it was blocked just as
forcefully by one of two human wardrobes in the Cheshunt defence, Raul Fernandes Da
Silva. Moments later, Anas and Kofi worked a short corner routine that presented Tom with
a headed chance at the back post, but he couldn’t get the necessary power, and it plopped
comfortably into the keeper’s arms.
Halftime – Tanners 0, Cheshunt 0.
Tanners started the second half with renewed urgency, Harry drawing the keeper’s first real
save of the match after excellent work from Louie on the right. He then sent one over on
fifty minutes when he might have expected to at least test the keeper again.
The match began to take on an end-to-end dynamic, and Cheshunt won themselves a
corner. Initially cleared, the ball made its way back out to Cole Dasilva on the right. His
delivery was met well enough by Jerry Gyebi, but he smacked it against the bar. At the other
end, Louie broke forward into the box. I was willing him to shoot, but instead he opted to
cut the ball back to Anas – the giant Cheshunt defender again made a timely block.
Ian changed things up on the hour, replacing Tom with Marcel, and Deondre with Matty.
Neither had had a chance to get into the game when Cheshunt scored three minutes later.
Kenny Coker got a touch to a speculative ball forward just ahead of Kemall, leaving Sonny
horribly exposed as Tommy Wood nipped in to loop it into the net. The same player could
have sealed it there and then a couple of minutes later – he bested Kemall but his shot was
tame, and Sonny was able to push it away to safety.
Harry had a chance to work the keeper with a sixty-ninth-minute free kick, ‘won’ by Marcel,
but it looped harmlessly up and over the bar. Six minutes later though, it was all smiles as
Charlie scored his first Tanners goal. After a period of sustained pressure on the visitors’
goal, Matty swung one in for Anas to flick on. Momentarily, the chance looked to have gone
– the keeper got fingertips to it, but Charlie was watching it all the way, arriving at the back
post to prod it in. This was the signal for the end of Harry’s afternoon – he was replaced by
Nathan for the final quarter of an hour.
We got away with one on eighty-four minutes. Sam Granville, who’d scored two goals in as
many minutes to win the midweek game against Aveley, had a clear sight of goal on the
edge of the box. The shot went narrowly over though, presumably with a nick off a defender
as the ref signalled for a corner. Back at the other end, Kofi swung one in for Anas. Totally
unmarked, he got his header away, but the jump looked to have been mistimed and the ball
looped agonisingly onto the net’s roof rather than into its back.
Chances kept coming though – I really still thought we’d win… Nathan had an improvised
backheel-type effort after a cross in from Charlie, but the ball went just wide. Charlie then
intercepted a loose ball before playing a fantastic diagonal pass out to Anas. His low cross
just couldn’t get the touch it needed from Marcel at the back post.
With five minutes added on, I was thinking, “Not a bad draw under the circumstances, but
we’ve had the chances to win this…” The problem of course was that Cheshunt were feeling
exactly the same, and worse, they made their last one count. There didn’t look to be any
immediate danger when Jakai Bascoe-Fisher received the ball on the halfway line, not even
when he took the ball inside and began to saunter goalwards. But as the space ahead of him
remained open, he continued his run, and reaching the edge of the box, he rolled it through
the legs of the retreating Niran into the bottom corner. With the ninety-five minutes up,
that was that…
Fulltime – Tanners 1, Cheshunt 2.
I can’t help but think that ‘The Yeovil Effect’ was at play today. Some say that football is a
game of ‘moments’. In some moments today, the concentration wasn’t there; in others,
maybe a challenge that would have been made in another game, or at least made with
more conviction, didn’t get made. A draw would have been the right result in my opinion,
but ‘moments’ cost us even that. We drop to mid-table ignominy when a win would have
taken us up to eighth, setting us up confidently for the arrival of Yeovil (who incidentally,
have won their last two matches six-nil…) Ah well… COYT!
