Report
Make no bones about it: the team that Tommy Lee has got together is looking good. Two aspects of the team looked especially good yesterday when the Lilywhites took a point at Marlow: Dave Curtis in goal was inspired and the partnership between Terry Scotchmer and Neil Morgan, at the back, looked like defensive partnership we have been looking for for two seasons. Had it not been for some spectacularly poor refereeing, the Lilywhites would have come home with all three points.
The game was very quiet for the first fifteen minutes with both teams feeing their way but it was the Lilywhites who moved into a deserved lead on 17 minutes. Jay Notley received the ball wide on the right halfway into Marlow’s half. He swung the ball in but Marlow’s Pedley was well positioned for the cross. His defensive header was poor and landed at the feet of Jamie Reilly who skated over a wild tackle and slammed the ball home from 35 yards.
Marlow looked to get on equal terms but could not break down the Lilywhites’ defence, their only shot of any consequence came from Andy August who ballooned the ball over the bar when it would have been easier to score. The pleasing aspect about this period of the match was that the Leyton Pennant players really looked as if they wanted to win: tackling was excellent and midfield passing was superb. The only problem was that we still looked a little lightweight up front with Tommy Lee Jnr. Missing through suspension.
The half turned on an awful decision on 34 minutes when the referee gave a free kick for Marlow when the foul was so obviously their player who’d committed the foul. The Lilywhites were not quite alive to John Isaac’s one – two with James Pritchard which allowed Pritchard to volley home from close in. From then to the end of the first half Marlow tried to pressurise the Lilywhites defence but found an impregnable wall on the edge of the penalty area which Marlow could not break down.
The Lilywhites came pout for the second half looking for the win and could have gone into the lead almost straight from the kick off. Jamie Reilly put in a tremendous cross from the left. Jerome Matthews waiting in the middle turned and shot only to see keeper Lee Carroll push the ball round the post with a diving fingertip save. As we moved into the last period of the game Lilywhites’ keeper proved that he is the best ‘keeper we have had for some time: two amazing diving saves showed what quality he is.
The Lilywites began to turn defence into attack and Reilly began to combine well with Baffour to cause Marlow all kinds of trouble with crosses. The Marlow defence was beginning to look decidedly creaky. As we got into the fifth minute of added time, the referee showed a peculiar and annoying habit of referees when trying to find a watch on the end of their wrist. Where the added time came from I don’t know but he managed to give a corner, the ball came in to the six yard box and the ball was shot towards goal and saved on the line. Straight away the ref blew the whistle. Split second timing or what?
This game along with the Horsham match last Thursday has to go down as giving a really optimistic future for this team. They really do have something now and the spirit seems excellent.