CHESHUNT 1 NORTHWOOD 2
Ryman League Division 1 North
Saturday 27th February 2010
Changes in personnel due to suspensions & work commitments meant a new line up and formation for the Ambers. Home debuts were made by Jack Cornhill and keeper Aaron Omand, at the other end of the appearance scale Dave Hicks clocked up his 100th Cheshunt appearance. The 3-5-2 formation gave the Ambers numerical advantage in midfield and the first thirty minutes saw most of the action in this area with Northwood battling well to maintain equilibrium. Michael Peacock & Brad Hewitt the Northwood central defenders enjoyed a physical size advantage to limit Bradley Harrison & Chris Meikle opportunity and were a threat at set plays when attacking. Peacock heading over from a well placed corner as early as the 5th minute. In response Tom Tresadern and Dave Hicks exchanged passes on the Cheshunt left, keeping the ball on the ground to pass around defenders and work the chance of a shot from Tresadern. Former Cheshunt player of the year Bobby Smith, in goal for Northwood, was equal to the effort & saved easily. Another former Cheshunt player Aaron Cato took every opportunity to display his skill & fast feet having switched from Northwood’s left flank to the right, he took every opportunity to run at Cheshunt defenders and was Northwood’s main threat in open play. Aaron Omand keeping goal for Cheshunt was a presence on and off the ball with his handling & communication, called into action on sixteen minutes he commanded his box well leaving his line to punch clear a Northwood corner, earning a free kick for the clattering challenge he received from Northwood captain Hewitt, a challenge Hewitt was to later regret as he received treatment for a number of minutes and although playing on initially was forced to retire later in the half replaced by Harry Smart. The Ambers best opportunity fell on twenty seven minutes when Northwood failed to clear a Cheshunt corner and the ball fell to Tom Tresadern at the back post, a well struck shot hit the bar, rebounded back into play, an air shot from Chris Meikle, another Northwood scramble, and then another Cheshunt effort high & wide saw Northwood escape.
Cato broke the deadlock on thirty minutes after good work from Leon Osei & Chris Seeby on the Northwood left moved Cheshunt’s three man defence across to cover and Cato found himself un marked in the space created on the right, good initial control & and time to pick his spot wide of Omand saw Northwood take the lead. The match continued to be scrappy with both sides closing down well to stifle creativity Lumsden & Cornhill worked hard in the centre, & Schillaci on the right was his usual busy self, covering his defence with well timed tackles & interceptions one minute, then winning a corner for the Ambers at the other end after harrying the Northwood left back into an error. The first half closed with an opportunity each, a direct free kick for Northwood was comfortably saved by Omand, and a pinpoint cross from Meikle was headed just over the bar by Bradley Harrison.
Northwood opened the second half with striker Leon Osei twice being given time to get a shot away from the edge of the area, fortunately for Cheshunt both attempts high & wide. Cheshunt tightened up and then enjoyed the greater possession for fifteen minutes. Free kicks were drawn on a regular basis around the half way line, but the height advantage enjoyed by the Northwood centre halves meant the Ambers rarely threatened. Northwood striker Seeby had replaced Hewitt at the heart of the Northwood defence, to maintain aerial dominance. The Ambers enjoyed more success when the ball was on the ground, first Hicks & Schillaci combined well to create time for Hicks to pick his spot with a dangerous cross, then good control and a turn in one movement from Harrison created a one on one opportunity, but Northwood fullback Power stood his ground and tackled well to shut the door.
Northwood fought back and only well timed tackling from Tom Dos Anjos, cover tackles from Glen Parry and Nick Mountford kept them at bay. Going forward Cheshunt seemed limited and lacked any edge, all too often Meikle was left challenging for balls in the air he was always struggling to win, and final passes failed to find their intended target. The Ambers lacked a player capable of travelling with the ball to commit defenders and force Northwood’s back line to retreat closer to their own area. Matt Thomson replaced Jordan Lumsden and Ricky Light came on for Tresadern in a double substitution for Cheshunt. Light was quickly into the game crossing for Harrison to win in the air in the Northwood area, getting the header down this time, but alas wide of the right hand post. The minor offence free kicks continued in midfield, a nudge here, backing in there, a tug of the shirt on the blind side. Both sides appeared capable of defending these free kicks, but on seventy six minutes Northwood won a kick twenty five yards out just ten yards left of centre. Omand organised a wall and conscious of the Northwood aerial threat at the back post looked to have everything covered as Cato shaped to cross the free kick, at the last minute he opted for a direct shot and managed a well struck effort that cleared the wall and dipped into the Cheshunt net to Omand’s right. It was a well taken kick and would have beaten a professional keeper, but having cleared the goal line only five feet off the ground, did it dip that much? Or should the wall have been capable of blocking? Cato had returned to Theobalds Lane to haunt Cheshunt with a Non League Press man of the match performance. Cheshunt replaced Jack Cornhill with Kamaru Ogunkoya for a more physical presence and he saw plenty of the ball in a more advanced position in a bid to rescue the game. The comeback was late, when on eighty five minutes Bradley Harrison out muscled his marker and showed great composure to beat the onrushing Smith from twenty five yards with a fine lob, a good finish to get the better of a keeper considered one of the best playing at Ryman League level.
The Ambers huffed and puffed through the last five minutes seeking an equaliser, but rarely threatened. A disappointing performance compared with recent form earning the defeat it probably deserved. The Ambers will have to get their passing game back and show more imagination if they are to advance to the Herts. Senior Cup Final in Tuesday night’s semi final against Hemel Hempstead, and more importantly not get dragged back into the relegation battle that will surely develop rapidly when the weather improves and all the Ryman League games recently postponed start to change the league positions on an almost daily basis.
The only positives from this game were the debuts of Omand & Cornhill, both looked like players who can contribute to the Ambers cause in the coming weeks, where with two & even three games a week, starting line up changes are going to be inevitable and teams with strong squads will probably fare best overall.
Cheshunt: Omand, Schillaci, Parry (C), Mountford, Dos Anjos, Hicks, Cornhill (Ogunkoya 80) , Lumsden (Thomson 64), Harrison, Meikle, Tresadern (Light 63) Subs not used Dodd, Dearie.
Att: 175