Leatherhead 1 Guernsey 2
Leatherhead slipped to a disappointing defeat against Guernsey at Fetcham Grove on Saturday.
Tanners failed to take advantage of a dominant first half display, falling behind to early second half
goals from Sam Murray and Ross Allen before Dave Tarpey pulled one back for the hosts.
Leatherhead had the majority of possession in the opening half, creating good chances in the
visitors’ goalmouth. But they were ultimately made to pay for some poor finishing in front of goal,
going in at half-time without scoring.
On 19 minutes central defender Ben Frempah rose unchallenged in the visitors’ penalty area,
heading wide from a Kenny Beaney corner. Javaun Splatt spurned a great opportunity to put Tanners
ahead seven minutes later, with Dan Hector latching onto a poor Guernsey clearance and delivering
a fine cross into the box from the right. But Splatt failed to control his shot and fired wide from close
range.
Leatherhead’s recent signing from Billericay missed another chance to break the deadlock on the
half hour mark. The Guernsey defence could only half clear a Beaney corner, with the ball falling to
the Tanners striker on the edge of the box. But this time Splatt’s powerful effort was well saved by
goalkeeper Josh Addison.
Guernsey came out for the second half in a more resolute mood and opened the scoring after 51
minutes. With Leatherhead momentarily reduced to ten men following an injury to Frempah, the
Green Lions won a drop-ball by the touchline and a probing cross was delivered towards the far post.
Tanners’ keeper Slavomir Huk opted to turn the ball away from the goal, but instead of going out for
a corner, the ball remained in play and was drilled across the goalmouth for an unmarked Sam
Murray to fire home from close range.
The stunned Leatherhead defence almost conceded another goal straight from the restart, with Huk
tipping a long range effort over the bar for a corner. Some woeful Tanners defending led to
Guernsey’s second goal after 54 minutes. Allen received the ball on the edge of the Leatherhead
penalty area unchallenged, making no mistake as he stroked it past Huk from eighteen yards.
It could have got much worse for Tanners over the next fifteen minutes, with the visitors visibly
growing in confidence in search of a third goal. Huk did well to block further efforts from Allen,
Keene Domaille, Matt Loaring and Murray, with the Leatherhead defence bamboozled by this
sudden Guernsey onslaught.
With a rare second-half foray into the visitors’ penalty area, Leatherhead pulled a goal back after 73
minutes. Splatt did well to pick out Tarpey in a crowded box and the Tanners skipper fired home
from eight yards. But it proved to be too little, too late, as Guernsey effectively shut up shop and
defended well for the rest of the match to earn a well-deserved three points.
Having played twice a week for the last six weeks, Leatherhead now have a seven day break to
reflect and learn from this unaccomplished performance before their next match at Chipstead on
Saturday.
Leatherhead: Slavomir Huk, Alpha Diallo, Jude Molloy (Louis Collins 73), Olly Allen (Jamie Splatt 57),
Ben Frempah (Will Hellestoe 83), Fikayo Atewologun, Alex Addai, Kenny Beaney, Javaun Splatt, Dan
Hector, Dave Tarpey
Guernsey: Josh Addison, Keanu Marsh, Joe Alvarez (Brandon Wallace 88), Tom Vaudin, Jacob
Fallaize, David Merris, Matt Loaring, Liam Mahon (Tom Martin 87), Sam Murray, Ross Allen, Keene
Domaille