Back
1st Team v Walton Casuals Match Report
Alf Levy9 Feb 2018 - 19:31
Share via
Courtesy of Kane Brooker
Youssef Bamba opened the scoring, for Casuals, early on before Sean McCormack added his sixth of the season 15 minutes later. In-form Bamba sealed the win shortly after the hour mark, with Sports’ rapid response unable to hinder the hosts.
However, it could have been a very different afternoon when defenders Max Hustwick and Harry Mills were caught out in a moment of confusion inside five minutes. Allowing Kweku Ansah a chance inside the box, they had Dominic Ogun to thank when his goal-line clearance kept the scoresheet blank.
After collecting a through ball from the right wing, Kelly beat his defender with ease and rolled the ball across the box. With Bamba on-rushing to join the attack, his strike from 18 yards sailed past Steve Phillips to put the Casuals in front.
With a move starting from goalkeeper Denzel Gerrar, a pacey break from Youssef Bamba allowed the Frenchman to find Kelly charging at the defence. Rushing towards the Phoenix goal, he selflessly played the ball across to fellow loanee McCormack who could shield off his defender and find the net from six yards.
Gerrar was forced into a good save from Gil Carvalho’s 49th minute free-kick, and another counter resulted in Kelly being denied an opportunity by Phillip’s acrobatic clearance after rushing out of his box.
The third goal eventually came in the 64th minute. Bamba’s bulleted strike into the roof of the net from distance left the goalkeeper helpless, and wouldn’t have been stopped by the very best.
Phoenix’s response came unexpectedly just three minutes later, with Pattison’s explosive free-kick leaving Gerrar stunned from 25 yards.
Walton almost issued an even quicker response and could have had their fourth less than 30 seconds later. A poorly-timed backpass left Phillips scurrying to palm the ball off the line, and the nature of the incident left the officials unsure of whether the ball had crossed the line.
The Stags saw out on the match comfortably, and after a halt in play to allow Sonny Black treatment , one final break from Kelly forced Phillips to make an impressive save with his legs.
Phoenix remain in 7th place with 13 games to go, but see the gap to the top six widened to 10 points. Next up we are at Home to Whyteleafe on Saturday 10 February.
However, it could have been a very different afternoon when defenders Max Hustwick and Harry Mills were caught out in a moment of confusion inside five minutes. Allowing Kweku Ansah a chance inside the box, they had Dominic Ogun to thank when his goal-line clearance kept the scoresheet blank.
After collecting a through ball from the right wing, Kelly beat his defender with ease and rolled the ball across the box. With Bamba on-rushing to join the attack, his strike from 18 yards sailed past Steve Phillips to put the Casuals in front.
With a move starting from goalkeeper Denzel Gerrar, a pacey break from Youssef Bamba allowed the Frenchman to find Kelly charging at the defence. Rushing towards the Phoenix goal, he selflessly played the ball across to fellow loanee McCormack who could shield off his defender and find the net from six yards.
Gerrar was forced into a good save from Gil Carvalho’s 49th minute free-kick, and another counter resulted in Kelly being denied an opportunity by Phillip’s acrobatic clearance after rushing out of his box.
The third goal eventually came in the 64th minute. Bamba’s bulleted strike into the roof of the net from distance left the goalkeeper helpless, and wouldn’t have been stopped by the very best.
Phoenix’s response came unexpectedly just three minutes later, with Pattison’s explosive free-kick leaving Gerrar stunned from 25 yards.
Walton almost issued an even quicker response and could have had their fourth less than 30 seconds later. A poorly-timed backpass left Phillips scurrying to palm the ball off the line, and the nature of the incident left the officials unsure of whether the ball had crossed the line.
The Stags saw out on the match comfortably, and after a halt in play to allow Sonny Black treatment , one final break from Kelly forced Phillips to make an impressive save with his legs.
Phoenix remain in 7th place with 13 games to go, but see the gap to the top six widened to 10 points. Next up we are at Home to Whyteleafe on Saturday 10 February.
Further reading