Tuesday 10th November 2026
Isthmian League Premier Division – Chatham Town (A) 1-0
After last Tuesday’s win at Brentwood, and to shamelessly borrow from and repurpose my intro to the report from that game, anyone wondering, “But can they ALSO do it on a cold, wet and windy Tuesday night in Chatham?” now has their answer to that question as well. Another filthy night, but another three points on the road, and the Tanners are now officially in their best run of form this season with three league wins in a row.
My cursory pre-match ‘research’ (page one Googling and some YouTuber-y) led me to expect great things from The Bauvill Stadium, and it didn’t disappoint. Free on-site parking, a big modern scoreboard, and a range of well-maintained stands and food and drink outlets were all enjoyed. I recently decided that another sound metric by which to judge the matchday experience is the ‘chips, Bovril and Mars bar’ combo. That was procured for six pounds fifty, edging out its competition at Brentwood and Farnham Town by a whole fifty pence, and no less satisfying and rewarding for it.
Ian’s preparations were complicated by Anas being tucked up in bed with the lurgee, and Louie injuring himself in the warmup. Anas’ absence handed Nathan a start, while Bobby shuffled over to right back, meaning Charlie made an earlier than expected return following his three-match ban. Chatham started three places above us in the table, but by just a point, and with two more games played. They hadn’t won in three though, and despite their best efforts (and more pertinently, Sonny’s) that was to continue…
Unlike Brentwood, with their tiny muddy blue shirt numbers, Chatham rocked up with bold white numbering AND names on the backs of their red shirts. Fancy! The kit, and their early incursions, were reminiscent of Nineties-era Manchester United, and they gave our boys a torrid time with wave after wave of attacks and shots from all angles. Sonny had obviously decided from the outset that he was having none of it though, making his first important save after four minutes, diving to his right to push behind a Brad Stevenson shot. The same player also hit the post in the eleventh minute. The ball span along the goal line and out for another corner, Sonny’s fingertips having crucially changed its trajectory along the way.
Truth be told, Tanners were hanging on for the first quarter of the game. If Chatham were busy up front, their midfielders were just as industrious, shutting down space and closing off passing lanes. You know we’re under the cosh when minutes at a time pass without Mark spending more than a second with control of the ball… All that said, we managed to escape the press and take the lead in the nineteenth minute. Very much against the run of play, Kofi muscled his way past a defender and along the byline before crossing to the back post, where Nathan bundled it in. He took more than a knock in so doing, and he needed a couple of minutes of treatment in the immediate aftermath.
The goal took the wind out of Chatham’s sails, and possession and chances became more even. In a much more attacking spell for the Tanners from minutes twenty to thirty, a Dicko free kick tested the keeper from a good twenty-five yards out, and Bobby’s cross after a good spell of passing couldn’t quite find a Tanner to apply the finish. The keeper, Nathan Harvey (later voted their man of the match), then pulled off an incredible double save from Deondre. At the other end, the big number eleven, Harry Lodovica, was proving a real handful for Niran. The Chats behind the goal were constantly calling for fouls for his shirt being pulled, but only the most partisan fan could have failed to see they were both at it.
Nathan drew another good save from Harvey after good work from Kofi and Harry, and as the game became increasingly end to end, the hosts also had chances. Ben Allen fired one over, and Tolu Ladapo finally drew the foul he’d been looking for from Charlie to present them with a freekick that they wasted from a dangerous position around twelve yards out on the right. Sonny then had to be at his acrobatic best in the thirty-eighth minute, diving full stretch to tip over an Allen volley. Ludovica should have done better with his free header from the resulting corner. Ditto, he thought he was in a moment or two later, but Sonny was out quickly to save at his feet.
Halftime – Chatham Town 0, Tanners 1.
A few feet in front of me, Alfie made reference to The Alamo. He wasn’t wrong – the second half was characterised by some incredible defending by the Tanners. Every time we cleared, the ball simply came back at us, and I lost count of the number of goal mouth scrambles and last-ditch blocks, interspersed with more excellent goalkeeping from Sonny (when was the last time you saw the two keepers taking their teams’ respective man of the match votes?)
Deondre was tireless all night – often crowded out by the attentions of two defenders at a time, he was clever in his hold-up play when he was able to get a sniff of the ball, and he won several pressure-relieving free kicks in the later stages. Nathan made way for Connor in the sixty-third minute, and that also served to add a bit more height and weight to the midfield, helping to stem the flow for longer spells.
The home side rallied hard in the final fifteen minutes. Indeed, at one stage, Flashscore even credited them with an equaliser. Sadly for them, the ball had hit the side netting… With the minutes ticking by, Ian introduced Matty for Harry in a like for like swap, and shortly afterwards, Marcel came on for Kofi. The fresh legs gave us a respite, and we were able to win a series of free kicks and corners that kept the ball at the safe end of the pitch.
Alex Giles sent one over for the hosts with a minute to go. Briefly afforded both time and space on the edge of the box, he opted to shoot when teammates were better placed. The ref added on five minutes, but with that miss went Chatham’s last hope of salvaging something from a game they will wonder how they lost, especially given their early dominance. That though is football – no late sucker punches tonight, and another three points for the Tanners. Forza Verdi!
Fulltime – Chatham Town 0, Tanners 1.
After an iffy spell, it’s been impressive to see the Tanners’ response. Having thumped Stanway, they’ve navigated their way to six points from tricky consecutive away games in less than ideal conditions, and they now sit just a place and a point outside the playoff places with games in hand and a very healthy plus-seven goal difference.
St. Albans City come to The Grove on Saturday. A point and a place below us from one less game, they’ll be looking to take points after back-to-back losses. Like us, they’ve taken the majority of their points away from home, so a fourth win in a row is far from a foregone conclusion. It would be nice though, wouldn’t it…? COYT!
