Cheshunt match report
match report by James Maw
Some familiar faces came back to haunt Kingstonian as we stumbled to a frustrating defeat at Cheshunt.
Hayden Bird’s side had lost just one of their previous ten league matches - a run stretching back to September - but were never at the races on a crisp January afternoon in Hertfordshire.
Cheshunt dominated much of the first 45 minutes, with their incessent high pressing not giving us a moment to settle on the ball.
Our hosts went ahead after just six minutes when former-K Ryan Moss fired a low free-kick under the wall and beyond Rob Tolfrey, perhaps dazzled by the setting sun in his eyeline.
Before we could gather our bearings it was 2-0. This time Amadou Kassarate’s header looped over Tolfrey and in, much to the delight of the Cheshunt Youth lads behind the goal.
Struggling to string passes together on a bobbly pitch, and growing ever the more frustrated by Cheshunt's rather relaxed approach to retrieving any balls that were hoofed in to touch, it was starting to feel like a horrible flashback to the first half of 2019.
As the interval approached, K's fashioned their best chance of the afternoon so far. Reece Hall's first-time strike was neatly saved by Cheshunt keeper Harry Girling, with Dan Bennett's follow-up shot deflected agonisingly wide.
The agony only grew a minute later with perhaps the decisive moment of the match. With Cheshunt awarded a free kick just inside our half, Bennett was shown a red card for dissent, much to the bafflement of the rest of the K’s side - not to mention the traveling fans, most of whom didn't even see the card shown, let alone hear the 'indoor language' uttered by our playmaker.
Despite all that, Kingstonian actually played much, much better in the second half. With Gus Sow and Eddie Dsane thrown on at the break, we looked far more lively and threatening. Dsane quickly got away down the inside right channel, only for the opposition keeper to spread himself and save well.
It was therefore a kick in the teeth with another ex-K, Reece Beckles-Richards capped on a Cheshunt counter attack by slotting in their third of the afternoon just after the hour mark.
With that any hope of a comeback appeared to have died by K's continued to probe at the other end, looking for a way back.
Theophanous saw a flicked header cleared off the line minutes before turning a defending a blasting the ball across the keeper to make it 3-1.
Dsane then twice threatened to make it 3-2 - on the second such occasion seeing his shot cleared off the line after rounding the keeper.
K's perhaps should have had a penalty when Dsane took a forearm to the back just inside the box, but the referee was having none of it, and soon brought the whole sorry affair to a close.
Cheshunt: Harry Girling, Ola Williams, Tanasheh Abrahams, Amadou Kassarate, Adam Crowther, Sean Cronin, Zack Newton, Tommie Hession-Harris, Ryan Moss, Reece Beckles-Richards, Joe Re.
Subs: Ugo Udoji, Shane Cojocarel, Jamie Reynolds, Ethan Nelson-Roberts, Khalifa Jabbie.
Kingstonian: Rob Tolfrey, Sean Clohessy, Fabio Saraiva, Harry Osborne, Ollie Cook, Kenny Beaney, Dan Bennett, Tom Kavanagh, Louie Theophanous, Reece Hall, Dan Hector.
Subs: Eddie Dsane (for Tom Kavanagh, HT), Gus Sow (for Dan Hector, HT), Calum Davies, Simon Cooper, Jerry Puemo (for Fabio Saraiva, 58m).
Goal scorers: Ryan Moss (6m, 1-0), Amadou Kassarate (19m, 2-0), Reece Beckles-Richards (62m, 3-0), Louie Theophanous (77m, 3-1).
Red card: Dan Bennett (45m, straight red for dissent)
Attendance: 202
