Curfews battle to the end to secure crucial three points

Chertsey Town’s march towards their quest to the top of the Combined Counties League table ended the month with them looking like lions as they battled through a testing Tuesday evening and eventually got the result they were looking for, if not by an emphatic scoreline.

The Groundhog day feel was only swept away in the final minutes of another heartbreak-inducing performance at Alwyns Lane.

The appalling weather was the first hurdle to overcome after incessant and heavy afternoon rain left the Chertsey groundsman with plenty of surface water on which to reflect whether the game would go ahead.

The trusty fork, plus the amazing recovery powers of the pitch, pushed that problem aside.

Next came the matter of overcoming another modestly placed visiting side determined, with resolute defending, to pick up the odd scrap of opportunity to create an upset.

It worked for Banstead Athletic three days previous, and almost happened again for Raynes Park Vale in a match displaying similar qualities.

But Chertsey made sure that lightning did not strike twice and all three points were secured.

It is difficult to work out what Chertsey’s optimum XI might be these days as there are a pool of players in the squad of equal standing.

A settled side has been a feature of late but there was a change round for this encounter with Sam Belcher, John Pomroy and Marcus Moody all starting after spells on the bench.

The game began brightly enough for Chertsey and the ball was pressed towards the Raynes Park Vale goal.

Despite this, though, events did not go well early on for the host side.

The pitch and kit may have been in a mess but so was Town’s defending on 17 minutes when their corner kick somehow turned immediately into a counter attack by Vale.

Out-of-position defenders, struggling to manoeuvre on the sticky surface, could not match an incisive move through the middle that left Rob Harmestun with only Liam Stone in goal to beat.

This he did with a well-executed strike, low into the corner of the net.

Chertsey tried to hit back quickly but their attacking was too ponderous, leaving Raynes Park time to marshal their defence.

A couple of shots were delivered but did not really tick boxes, with a low Pomroy effort that went comfortably wide from 15 yards, the best of a mediocre bunch.

The half-time interval arrived with a looming fear of another difficult battle ahead to break down simple resolute but unambitious tactic of hanging on to what was held; a narrow one-goal advantage.

Chertsey fought to overcome their mental block and made a quick breakthrough after their interval pep talk.

Pomroy’s half-volley resulted in the ball scraping across Vale’s right hand upright before a welcome equaliser was engineered.

With a number of free-kicks being conceded, the one created on 51 minutes set up Chertsey’s recovery.

It was delivered by Tom O’Regan for a queue of players to head goalwards, or away to safety, of course.

The ball missed the first few heads but not that of Dominic Worthington who was delighted to be last in line, but nonetheless successful, in putting the ball away for what must be said as a deserved equaliser.

On that platform, Town looked to press onwards and upwards and take the lead.

The ambition was certainly there but the Raynes Park Vale goal continued to live a charmed life.

There was plenty of goalmouth action, with O’Regan again proving near unstoppable with his approach work, principally form the right flank.

The midfield was supportive in the attack and it was enhanced when Dean Papali and Kwabena Agyei joined in from the bench, at the expense of a strong insurance policy protecting the back.

This was a similar scenario to Chertsey’s last outing but this time they managed to kick down the opposition brick wall, built firmly across their goalmouth.

The clock was resolutely ticking out Chertsey’s championship challenge as yet another corner kick was won through the persistence of a very active Steve Goddard.

The seed he planted blossomed moments later as the kick was knocked forward by Jon Boswell for Goddard to flick the ball off the back of his heel to break the Vale goal line with only six minutes remaining.

It was then the turn of Raynes Park to become expeditious in exciting positive football but Chertsey took over as the spoilers and comfortably ran out the last minutes, frequently in the far recesses of the pitch, with just as much territorial advantage as they had enjoyed throughout almost all the game, to shift back into second position in the league table.