Sawbridgeworth Town (2018-19) – The Tree Surgeon
Today we resume our League campaign with the visit of Sawbridgeworth who sit mid-table on the same number of points as our mid-week opponents St Margaretsbury.
Our last home game was, yet another, cup game, against Sporting Bengal in the Gordon Brasted Trophy, who we brushed aside easily enough, by four goals to one, our three unanswered first half goals given us an unassailable lead.
Amongst the scorers we saw the first goals from Billy Jones and young winger Samarai Gebrai, for our club and a comprehensive win against a side that had knocked six past Enfield the previous Saturday.
Certainly, given the previous game in this competition, against Southend Manor, we managed to control this game throughout, unlike the match at Southend, where the two halves like chalk and cheese.
This time is was all cheese, or should that be all chalk – anyway we general coasted through with few alarms.
Saturday’s trip to Hullbridge, on paper, looked a tough ask, but, in the end we had most of the game, all of the chances, baring one, their equalizer, yet still managed to drop two points in a 1-1 draw.
We repeated the feat on Tuesday, when we went behind at St Margaretsbury, only to quickly equalise and then take the lead after dead eye, Chris Owusu, won and then converted a penalty to put us in control
But, once again, we let the game slip away with a late home team equalizer, which seems to becoming a slightly worrying pattern
We know we have the talent to score plenty of goals and have plenty of attacking options, but and it is a big but, we seem incapable of shutting teams out
Sadly, even at this early stage of the season, those lost points could prove crucial, if, as I expect, there are several side vying for the title
Obviously, the management will be looking at how to improve our defensive record and with two of our management team being defenders, I feel they should have the experience to solve the problem
Final point, not to do with our club and a million miles away from the ESL, but, I see that EUAFA has found yet another way of squeezing even more millions from the TV companies
Not content with splitting the knock out games into games played over two weeks, they have now arranged for group games to be played in two time slots, so they can get a game at six and then another at eight
God forbid that the supporters feelings and views should be taken into account – gone are the days when these clubs and football organisations relied on revenue through the turnstiles – now it’s all about squeezing the TV cash cow to get additional revenue to put into the player’s pockets
It is one of the major reasons why I will always prefer to watch non-league football, it is the soul of football, connecting supporters (in the full time game, I bet they are referred to as customers), with the players and long may it continue
Finally, I reliably hear that we are launching a supporters fanzine, to which I will be regularly contributing, providing the editor lets me
It takes me back to the 1980’s when I edited a fanzine for our club – it seems that fanzines have come back into fashion
Certainly, now we have The Rabble, we have a new generation to read and promote the fanzine, in between rallying the team, to hopefully, three points today and beyond
