Leatherhead 5 Thatcham Town 0
Leatherhead put five goals past Thatcham Town without reply in an exhilarating
display of attacking football at Fetcham Grove on Saturday.
The west Berkshire visitors gifted Tanners an early goal after seven minutes. After
winning a corner on the right, skipper Kenny Beaney sent a looping delivery into the
six yard box. The Kingfishers’ defence failed to make any connection with the high
ball, leaving an unmarked Ollie Cook to nod home from close range.
Thatcham missed out on a chance to equalise on 39 minutes. Jordan Alves fed a ball
through to an advancing Christian Johnson, who outpaced his marker and struck the
bottom of the post with a shot from a wide angle.
Tanners doubled their lead at the start of the second half, almost straight from the kick
off. The Kingfishers defence had the ball under control in their own half when a
player tried to nonchalantly nod the ball back to goalkeeper Toby Fisher. The
misdirected header sailed over the keeper’s head, allowing an advancing Trevan
Robinson to weave his way around Fisher for the simplest of tap-ins.
Tanners pressed forward in search of a third goal and were duly rewarded on 51
minutes. Tyler Cox succeeded in taking the ball past a Thatcham defender on the left
before feeding it through to Robinson. The Leatherhead striker played the ball on to
Omarr Lawson who drilled home with a fine finish from the edge of the box.
Leatherhead added a fourth goal on 67 minutes after Beaney was fouled just outside
the visitors’ penalty area. Lawson stepped up to find the corner of the net with another
deadly strike.
Daniel Hector missed out on a chance to make it five for Tanners, firing against the
post on 71 minutes.
But Kalani Barton saved the best till last with a delightful solo effort in added time.
The young wing back collected the ball at the half-way line and ran to the edge of the
Kingfishers’ penalty area before delivering a superb low strike to beat the keeper.
The only sour note of the afternoon came from the card-happy referee, who issued a
total of six cautions to Leatherhead players for what appeared to be some pretty
innocuous offences.
This emphatic win sees Tanners maintain second place in the league, two points
behind early pace-setters Raynes Park Vale. Leatherhead have a chance to go top next
Wednesday when they visit Sutton Common Rovers on the 3-G pitch at Church Road,
Whyteleafe.
Leatherhead: Mikey Allen, Alpha Diallo, Tyler Cox, Jamie Splatt (Jerry Puemo 46),
Ollie Cook (Luther Williams 72), Fikayo Atewologun, Trey Masikini, Kenny Beaney
(Kalani Barton 72), Trevan Robinson, Daniel Hector, Omarr Lawson
Thatcham Town: Toby Fisher, Tinashe Gwavava, Kyle Daniel-Spray, Callum
Willmoth (Harry Hoath 69), Noah Coates, Curtis Angell, Mo Ceesay, Nathan Jones,
Christian Johnson (Sam Tanner 60), David Nyarko, Jordan Alves (Owen Clark 69)