Westfield 3 Leatherhead 1
Leatherhead’s poor start to the season continued with a 3-1 defeat against Westfield at
Woking Park on Monday.
Tanners fell behind after only four minutes and from there on it was an uphill struggle
for the visitors.
Their cause was not helped by a hotly disputed penalty awarded against them just
before half-time. To balance that decision, the referee awarded an equally bizarre
spot-kick to Leatherhead in the second half.
But any hope of a late Tanners revival were finally put to bed when Field nabbed a
decisive third goal in added time at the end of the match.
Westfield grabbed a decisive early lead when the hesitant Tanners defence failed to
clear the ball away from their six yard box. Jack Beadle stole in to stab the ball past
goalkeeper Sonny Wheeler from a tight angle.
Neither side produced many clear chances going forward in a largely quiet opening
half, although Wheeler reacted well to block long range efforts from Westfield’s
Richard Afrane-Kesey and Manolis Gogonas.
On 35 minutes Leatherhead won a free kick in a good shooting position twenty-five
yards from goal. But Seb Karczewski’s direct effort lacked power and was
comfortably saved by the Westfield keeper.
Just when it looked as though the referee was going to blow for half-time a Westfield
player went to ground in Leatherhead’s penalty area.
After a moment’s hesitation and a glance to his assistant, the referee pointed to the
spot and blew for a penalty. Gogonas stepped forward and firmly struck the spot kick
beyond Wheeler’s reach.
Lucas Sinclair missed a chance to add a third goal for the hosts on 49 minutes. The
Westfield striker did well to shake off his marker before firing a thunderous effort
over the bar from the edge of the box.
Tanners pulled a goal back on 78 minutes after the referee awarded another
questionable penalty, but this time in the visitors’ favour.
A Leatherhead forward appeared to stumble in the box unimpeded by any defenders,
but once again the referee saw something amiss and blew for a spot kick.
Skipper Kane Fitzgerald gathered up the ball and drove his effort firmly past the
keeper.
But instead of it motivating the visitors into pushing forward for a late equaliser, the
goal galvanized Westfield into seeking ways to secure the three points on offer.
Wheeler did well to block efforts from Emmanuel Abudiore and Lucas Sinclair. But
the Tanners custodian was unable to stop another late run from the Westfield two
forwards, with Sinclair feeding Abudiore, who drove the ball home for the hosts’ third
goal in added time.
Tanners return to action on Saturday when they travel to Isthmian Premier side
Dulwich Hamlet for an FA Cup First Qualifying Round tie. Kick-off at Champion
Hill is at 3.00pm.
Westfield: Hugo Sobte, Manolis Gogonas, Billy Nutbeam, Caleb Wright, Luke Elliott
(Lewis Jackson 72), Quincy Rowe, Jack Beadle (Samuel Balogun 72), Andrew
Crossley (Alex Paine 57), Lucas Sinclair, Richard Afrane-Kesey (Calvin Camara 65),
Lui Edwards (Emmanuel Abudiore 87)
Leatherhead: Sonny Wheeler, Jude Jeffreys, Kelvin-Manuel Massango, Alfie Huckle,
Niran Butler, George Hedley, Trey Masikini (Deondre Date 53), Kane Fitzgerald, Seb
Karczewski, Alex MacAllister (Marco Haigh 65), Kwesi Ntim (Anuar Ceesay 54)