You can’t win them all 6-0 Josh Wright has said in the past – and he won’t mind one bit clinching this ‘just’ 1-0 with a late goal. After winning pretty in midweek, Fleet showed once again they can grind out the results the ugly way, too, and the manner in which the winning goal was greeted by fans, suggested that was the collective agreement of everybody inside the Morrow Stadium.
Harvey Walker enhanced his burgeoning reputation as a super-sub by coming off the bench to fire home his second goal of the season in such circumstances – the ninth goal by a substitute this campaign – to keep the Fleet top of the pile in the National South.
Ironically, given the game swung on a substitution, Wright barely had options on the bench, with injuries and suspension reducing his dugout to just two outfield players. His starting XI was slightly more unfamiliar, too, with Maxx Manktelow dropped into defence as he came into the side alongside Will Tizzard, Gene Kennedy and Olly Box.
It was clear the Fleet weren’t quite as fluid from the outset as a result of the changes against a Chesham side keen to unsettle their hosts. Ben Chapman was the home side’s early threat and he made a couple of forays into the Chesham box, eventually proving too much for Lordon Akolbire to handle as he took an early yellow card for one too many bites at the Fleet player.
Finlay Barnes and Box tried their luck and the latter saw his effort thud off the foot of the post. Barnes was felled on one of his many mazy runs and Charlie Seaman whistled the resulting free-kick just wide. Daniel Ogunleye, meanwhile, was proving his usual handful and goalkeeper Ben Goode had to be out quickly to deny him.
For all those approaches on goal, however, the Fleet found their ball retention sometimes lacking and it made for a fairly scrappy 45 minutes. Chesham saw plenty of the ball as well, with Karl Oliyide battling it out with Will Tizzard and Will St Clair-Burton proving a tricky customer for the visitors. It was him who almost put Chesham in front just before half-time when he tried to pick a spot and thumped a shot goalwards that Will Buse did ever so well to push away.
The Fleet were much more purposeful in the second-half and far better at keeping the ball, resulting in Chesham forming a rearguard action for much of the remainder of the game.
There was a flurry of passes pinged around the Chesham box, with Barnes busy and Ogunleye always a willing runner, but the visitors defended well and kept any solid chances to a minimum. A push on Barnes inside the box led appeals for a penalty, though in truth they were fairly half-hearted appeals.
Dominic Samuel was introduced on the hour mark and thought he’d put the Fleet ahead on 72 minutes when neat approach play released Chapman for a run from wide. He fired low towards the corner but Samuel’s connection caused the offside flag to go up as he converted at the far post.
Chesham felt certain they should have been awarded a penalty on 75 minutes when Mitchell Weiss shaped up to shoot but felt he was impeded before Fleet cleared the ball.
A change in formation saw Chapman sit in at the back as Manktelow went off after a solid shift in defence. That unleashed Walker on Chesham down the left flank and he took barely three minutes to make his mark. It was the quick feet of Barnes that created it as he bamboozled the Chesham defence with a twist and curling shot towards the opposite post. The ball bounced off the woodwork and landed 12 yards out for Walker to keep his head and fire home the winner.
Fleet might have added to that as Ogunleye got away on the end of a pass through the middle. He outpaced two covering defenders but the ball skipped off his feet as he took the shot.
Matt Lench received a second yellow for an obvious hack at Walker, resulting in his dismissal, but Chesham ended with a strong push for an equaliser. They kept the ball out of Fleet’s reach in the final third for a spell and it required three solid saves by Buse as the ball skipped off the slick surface to ensure the points stayed at home.
EUFC: Buse, Manktelow (Walker 78), Tizzard, Vokins, Kennedy, Hessenthaler, Seaman, Chapman, Box (Samuel 60), Barnes, Ogunleye. Subs not used: Hall.
CUFC: Goode, Lafleur, Young, Brown (Williams 84), Adewunmi, Andrews (Kasimu 90), Clair-Burton (Eze 85), Akolbire (Bennetts 50), Lench, Oliyide, Weiss. Subs not used: Rasulo, Babos, Odiase
Attendance: 1,326
Photos: ©EUFC, Tom Harris/Dave Plumb
