Leatherhead 0 Westfield 1
By Rod Ellis
Leatherhead bowed out of the FA Cup with a Preliminary Round defeat against Westfield at Fetcham Grove on Saturday.
The tie was decided by a single goal scored twelve minutes into the second half when Field’s Finn Evans dispossessed Tanners defender Ross Stepney before lobbing goalkeeper Sonny Wheeler from the edge of the box.
Leatherhead welcomed back Matt Everitt to their starting line up, with the popular midfielder having spent time over the summer playing football in North America.
Westfield began the tie sharply with Evans creating an early chance for Tom Dryer, whose low strike on five minutes was well blocked by Wheeler.
Leatherhead were forced to make an early change when skipper Kane Fitzgerald limped off injured on 28 minutes, with Alfie Huckle replacing him in midfield. Without their influential captain, Tanners became increasingly disjointed going forward, lacking communication and direction in their attacks.
The hosts missed an opportunity to snatch the lead from a Nathan Hogan corner on 30 minutes. The ball was headed across the goalmouth by a Field defender towards an advancing Stepney. But the tall centre back’s close range header sailed over the bar.
On 35 minutes Huckle did well to get past his marker before firing a wide angled shot
behind for a goal kick.
Jacob Breckon replaced Kareem Akinnibi for Tanners at half time and the former Westfield striker went close within a couple of minutes of his introduction, getting on the end a break involving Kelvin Massango and Hogan. But Breckon’s effort was well blocked by the visitors’ well organised defence.
Evans fought for every ball played forward by Westfield and took his chance on 57 minutes when Stepney took too many touches on the ball, robbing the Leatherhead defender before instinctively lobbing Wheeler to put the visitors ahead.
Field almost doubled their advantage four minutes later when Dryer tested Wheeler with another low shot which was again well blocked by the Tanners keeper.
Leatherhead pressed players forward in search of an equaliser that would never come. Despite winning a string of corners in the closing minutes, Tanners failed to really test Gallifent, who did not have to work nearly as hard as when the two sides met seven days earlier at Woking Park.
Both teams made a number of late substitutions, with Cameron Black employed as a target man up front in the closing minutes for Leatherhead.
Tanners’ frustrating afternoon was summed up deep in added time when a Louie
Paget corner flew into the side netting without even testing the visitors’ defence.
Leatherhead return to league action next Saturday when they welcome Littlehampton
Town to Fetcham Grove. Kick off is at 3.00pm.
Leatherhead: Sonny Wheeler, George Hedley, Niran Butler, Sam De St Croix (Tyrell
Butler 72), Mark Waters, Kane Fitzgerald (Alfie Huckle 28), Matt Everitt (Louie
Paget 89) Kelvin Massango (Cameron Black 82), Ross Stepney, Nathan Hogan
(Lukas Franzen-Jones 63), Kareem Akinnibi (Jacob Breckon 46)
Westfield: Lewis Gallifent, Ellis Orsborn, Billy Nutbeam, Dylan Merchant, Manolis
Gogonas, Andrew Crossley (Quincy Patterson), John Adebiyi, Nathan Rogers (Lui
Edwards), Finn Evans (Nicholas Bostan), Tom Dryer (Aderi Dede), Michael
O’Connor (Isaac Brown)
