Amateur Football Combination Premier Division

Old Suttonians 3 Old Meadonians 2

Old Meadonians’ forlorn rescue operation to save their slender chances of stealing the Amateur Football Combination Championship was left hanging by a thread as, following last weeks’ midweek 0-0 draw with league leaders Old Hamptonians, in which they did everything but score and their previous game’s trimming of second placed Old Minchendenians, they were thwarted by mid table Old Suttonians’ two goal last gasp burst at Cheam last night.

If you add to this short roller coaster ride, a referee who, having awarded a perfectly justifiable penalty for hand ball in the first minute, in an act of extreme brinkmanship, allowed the taker to place the ball before rescinding the decision because, as he said after the game, ‘he hadn’t warmed up properly’, then you can imagine the feeling of frustration prevalent in Meads’ camp. At least the hosts, in a selfless act, did not contest the bounce up used to restart this farcical stoppage.

There was, however, some decent football played by the visitors for the first half hour when, after John Shea continued his run of form by heading Meads’ first from Jake Gowers’ corner ten minutes in, Kevin Quinn’s goal bound shot was fortuitously deflected onto the bar. The first blip for Meads came with five minutes to go to the break when an end of season bobble caused keeper Gary Robinson to spill the ball which was poked in by a lurking striker.

Meads retook control on the restart but didn’t break the deadlock until the eighty fifth minute when the referee correctly overruled his assistant to allow Jeusy Da Cruz’s breakthrough goal. The dramatic denouement had to be seen to be believed, as the hosts scored twice in the dying minutes, firstly when another goalmouth melee led to a poke in from five yards and then Robinson was deemed to have clipped a striker’s heel as he dived at his feet to claim the ball.

Squad: Robinson, Pointer, McCombe, O’Sullivan, Quinn, Costello, Gowers, Shea, Mace, Allen, Glover, C. Jones, Da Cruz.

April 23, 2014