Report – Rod Ellis
Image – Chloe Woodington
Chipstead 1 Leatherhead 3
Leatherhead picked up a welcome three points at High Road on Saturday with a comfortable 3-1 win
against Chipstead. Two first half goals from Omarr Lawson were followed by another from Dan
Hector before Bradley Wilson pulled one back for Chips from the penalty spot.
There was a familiar name to Tanners in Chipstead’s starting line-up. Former Leatherhead midfielder
Archie Burnett made a good impression for the hosts in the opening exchanges, forcing a smart save
from goalkeeper Slavomir Huk with less than a minute on the clock.
Chipstead striker Michael Dixon pulled up injured in the visitors’ penalty area after 15 minutes.
Dixon received treatment from the Chips physio and briefly played on before being replaced by
Bobby Moore on 22 minutes.
The early substitution clearly unsettled the hosts as they conceded a goal within a minute of the
enforced change. Leatherhead’s Javaun Splatt cleverly stepped over a cross into the box from the
right, allowing Lawson to stroke the ball home from close range.
Chips came close to equalising on the half hour mark. Burnett fed a through ball to an advancing
Josh Burr, but the young wing-back’s powerful shot was turned behind for a corner.
Tanners doubled their lead on 35 minutes. Lawson latched onto a poor clearance from the Chipstead
defence, taking his time before placing his shot beyond the reach of goalkeeper Matt Kerbey.
Chips briefly threatened the Tanners defence in the closing minutes of the first half, but efforts from
Burnett, Burr and Daniel Pappoe all came to nothing.
Leatherhead extended their lead four minutes into the second half, with Dan Hector coolly finishing
from the edge of the box as once again Chipstead’s defensive frailties were exposed by the visitors.
Chips pulled a goal back with Wilson’s firmly driven penalty on 52 minutes and the hosts nearly
added a second on the hour mark, with centre back Fikayo Atewologun calmly clearing off the line
for the visitors.
Leatherhead finished the match strongly and nearly added a fourth goal on 77 minutes. Tanners’
skipper Dave Tarpey broke clear at the half-way line and fed an inviting ball through to an advancing
Hector, whose powerful shot was turned away by Kerbey for a corner.
The result sees Tanners reach 40 points for the season and they will be keen to push on further up
the league table as they prepare to face an improving Merstham side at Fetcham Grove next
Saturday.
Chipstead: Matt Kerbey, Josh Burr (Thompson Adeyemi 75), Charlie Kennett, Michaak Stanic-
Stewart, Ollie Hamstead, Daniel Pappoe (Kwesi Ntim 50), Peter Wedgeworth, Archie Burnett,
Michael Dixon (Bobby Moore 22), Bradley Wilson, Kobi Asante
Leatherhead: Slavomir Huk, Jerry Puemo (Bradley Manning 64), Jude Molloy, Ben Frempah, Fikayo
Atewologun, Olly Allen, Dan Hector (Francisco Fernandes 89), Alpha Diallo, Javaun Splatt, Dave
Tarpey, Omarr Lawson (Louis Collins 85)