Leatherhead 2 Westfield 1
It was lucky number seven for Leatherhead as they beat Westfield 2-1 in the third
round of the Velocity Trophy at Fetcham Grove on Tuesday.
With an unenviable record of four defeats and two draws against their Surrey
neighbours, Tanners finally overcame Westfield at the seventh attempt thanks to a late
winning goal from Marco Haigh.
In a match where neither goalkeeper had a lot to do over the course of ninety minutes,
the tie eventually burst into life with two penalties awarded, a sending off, a late
Westfield equaliser and an immediate response from the hosts.
With key players missing either through injury or suspension and winger Rhys
Murrell-Williamson cup-tied, Tanners starting eleven more or less picked itself while
Westfield made several changes to the side that beat Sutton Common Rovers in the
league at the weekend.
Westfield threatened Tanners early on. Sid Cannon fed a pass forward to Sekou Toure
who picked out an advancing Mayowa Adaje in front of him. But the Field striker
fired wide from the edge of the penalty area.
Neither side managed to get a shot on target for the remainder of the half until George
Hedley went up for a Leatherhead corner on 44 minutes and saw his effort blocked on
Westfield’s goal line.
The tie eventually kicked into life in first half stoppage time after Hedley was bundled
off the ball in the visitors’ area. The referee blew for a Tanners penalty and skipper
Tom Kavanagh drilled the spot kick firmly down the middle to give the hosts a one-
goal advantage at the break.
The goal opened up the tie with both sides becoming more attack-minded in the
second half. Leatherhead’s Lucas Franzen-Jones fired a shot into the side netting
before Westfield’s Richard Afrane-Kesey missed a chance to equalise on 58 minutes.
Leatherhead keeper Rileigh Hebditch was called into action on 63 minutes to deny
Field’s Cannon, turning the forward’s shot behind for a corner.
Tanners almost doubled their lead on 74 minutes. Winger Anuar Ceesay delivered a
probing cross into the six-yard box from the right, but Franzen-Jones was unable to
make up sufficient ground to get on the end of it and the ball ran harmlessly behind
for a goal kick.
The tie should have swung firmly in Tanners’ favour on 78 minutes. Field skipper
Caleb Wright handled a goal-bound effort on the line and was shown a straight red
card. Kavanagh stepped up for his second penalty of the night but ballooned his effort
high over the bar.
Leatherhead tried to run down the clock in the closing minutes against their ten-man
opponents. But Tanners were caught out on 88 minutes as their defence failed to clear
a Westfield attack, leaving Adaje to fire home an equaliser from close range.
With the prospect of penalties looming, Leatherhead restored their advantage straight
from the re-start. Kane Fitzgerald pumped the ball hopefully into the Westfield box
and Haigh swung a foot at it. The ball took a deflection off the young striker’s leg and
looped over goalkeeper Lewis Gallifent and into the back of the net.
There was still time remaining for Westfield to hit back. Imran Kayani’s long range
dipping shot just cleared the top of the bar in added time. But the hosts breathed a
huge sigh of relief at the final whistle as they finally broke their win-less run against
Field.
Tanners advance to the fourth round of the Velocity Trophy where they will face an
away tie against Premier Division opponents Carshalton Athletic.
Leatherhead return to league action on Saturday when they host Moneyfields at
Fetcham Grove. Kick-off is at 3.00pm.
Leatherhead: Rileigh Hebditch, Kelvin Manuel Massango, Alex Pearce, Niran Butler,
George Hedley, Tom Kavanagh, Kane Fitzgerald, Alfie Huckle, Lukas Franzen-Jones
(Leo Hams 90), Marco Haigh, Anuar Ceesay
Westfield: Lewis Gallifent, Manolis Gogonas, Malik Shittu, Samuel Balogun (Jack
Beadle 74), Caleb Wright, Quincy Rowe, Sekou Toure (Imran Kayani 59), Mayowa
Adaje, Jason Vincent (Lui Edwards 57) Sid Cannon, Richard Afrane-Kesey (Dylan
Merchant 84)