Round Up Saturday 10 Dec 2016

The battle to avoid the drop from The Combined Counties Premier Division took an interesting turn on Saturday as Sutton Common Rovers climbed up to 18th in the table with their second consecutive win, a 1-0 victory over Guildford City doing the job. It was a late winner from wonderkid Matt Auletta that did the damage for City. Badshot Lea remain in the relegation zone but are closer to safety after their 2-1 win at home to Horley, who have suffered a downturn of form lately and have started to slip away from the top 5 as a result. These successes for relegation threatened sides made Bedfont and Feltham’s 3-0 home defeat against North Greenford all the worse, as they now sit 7 points from safety. Chertsey were unable to pull away however after a 1-0 home defeat to Knaphill, the game being decided with a goal from Charlie Postance just 5 minutes from time. AFC Hayes haven’t won in the league in 8 games now, so it’s no surprise they’ve been sucked right into the relegation battle. Saturday saw them beaten 5-2 at home to Walton & Hersham, who are still looking to be involved in the title race. To their credit it could have been worse for Hayes with the scoreline at 5-0 with 15 minutes still to go and they showed a level of spirit to keep it respectable whilst getting a couple of goals for themselves.

It was as you were at the top of the table with Hartley Wintney and Westfield both winning. The current leaders defeated mid-table Epsom and Ewell 3-1 with two free kicks from Steven Duff doing the damage. Westfield’s 2-1 win over Camberley was particularly impressive given that they were a goal and a man down with 20 minutes to play. A penalty and a stoppage time free kick turned the game on its head and kept the pressure on Hartley up. Hanworth Villa hold 3rd place in the league after edging Farnham Town 1-0 despite injury problems mounting up for the Villains. The biggest margin of victory of the day came in Middlesex as Spelthorne Sports handed CB Hounslow their 3rd straight defeat, this time the score being 4-0. Windsor’s strong form continued with a 4-2 win over Abbey Rangers, 5 of those 6 goals coming in the first half with the visitors grabbing a consolation in the second 45. In a battle between 2 sides who sit next to each other in the table Bedfont Sports and Colliers Wood played out a 1-1 draw.

In Division One Banstead continued their recent scintillating form against Cobham, with a 7-1 victory away from home. This means Athletic have scored 70 league goals this season in just 18 games – averaging out at just under 4 per game. They now have a 3 point lead at the top after Bagshot slipped to a 1-1 draw away to AC London, still recovering after their points deduction earlier in the season. Redhill now sit in a promotion spot after their 7th win in a row; Ash had no answer to their attacking prowess as the Lobsters cruised to a 6-0 victory, goal from Ransome, Kedze, Campbell, and Pinder doing the damage. Things are showing signs of improvement at struggling Farleigh as they avoided defeat for the third game in a row, holding Sheerwater to a 2-2 draw. Things aren’t getting any better for the bottom two however – though Epsom Athletic were unlucky to lose 5-2 to Eversley & California having led twice. Cove lost by a fairly respectable scoreline, going down 3-1 at home to Chessington and Hook. There was great entertainment at Balham as they drew 3-3 with Staines Lammas, with the home side fighting back from 2 goals down at half time to claim a point. There wouldn’t have been many people complaining about entertainment at Frimley Green either, 5 goals in that one with Dorking beaten 3-2. Elsewhere there was action in the RPM Records Division One Challenge Cup 3rd Round, Worcester Park hammering South Park Reserves 6-1.