Leatherhead match report
Match report by Jamie Cutteridge
It’s tough to say if Kingstonian’s 1-1 draw with Leatherhead was more or less frustrating than their other recent draws, it was, at least, different. In plenty of Ks’ latest draws, Hayden Bird’s side have dominated possession, created chances but have managed to repeatedly drop two points through a combination of poor finishing and ending games badly. Tuesday evening’s draw at Fetcham Grove was a more even affair, and while Ks’ once again lost a lead and missed some chances, but in truth the shared points were about right.
The goal Ks’ did score after 35 minutes was worth the extra £2 on the admission fee alone. A neat passing move eventually found Dan Bennett 20 yards out. Spotting a pass that no one else on the pitch seemed to, Bennett scooped the ball up and over the Tanners’ backline into the path of the onrushing Gus Sow who chested the ball down and fired past the hapless Zaki Oualah to give Ks the lead.
In truth, Leatherhead had made the early running before the goal, pressing Kingstonian high up the pitch and forcing mistake. Harry Osbourne was called into action early to clear one off the line and it took more desperate defending and wayward finishing to keep the scores level. But after a rocky 20 minutes Ks began to get a foothold in the game. Bennett twice fired wide from the edge of the box and Fabio went close with a freekick before Sow’s goalscoring intervention.
Just as thoughts were turning towards a hard-earned half time lead, Leatherhead equalised. Rob Tolfrey produced a fine save but Jerry Nnamani was on hand to tuck home the rebound and level the scores on the stroke of half time.
Ks started the second half well. Twice Eddie Dsane did brilliantly to create himself opportunities only to squander both of them, placing one shot too close to the keeper after a fine before blazing wide after rolling the defender with ease. Aaron Lamont punctuated those chances by curling an effort just wide. At the other end, Tolfrey was called into action more as the half wore on and Leatherhead began to dominate territory. The game got scrappy, both teams felt they were on the wrong end of some bad officiating, but just when it looked certain to peter out in a draw came a glorious opportunity. A fine Leatherhead cross found Izunna Ikebuasi who somehow contrived to head the ball over from point blank range. The points were shared. Again.
Leatherhead: Zaki Oualah, Izunna Ikebuasi, Crossley Lema, Will Seager, Will Salmon, Jerry Nnamani, Travis Gregory, Sam Blackman, Zachary Robinson, Charlie Hester-Cook, Dan Rowe.
Subs: Craig McGee, Misha Djamaili (for Dan Rowe, 75m), Andrew Blake, Marco Figuerido-Correia, Charlie Dawkins.
Kingstonian: Rob Tolfrey, Sean Clohessy, Ben Harrison, Simon Cooper, Harry Osborne, Kenny Beaney, Dan Bennett, Gus Sow, Eddie Dsane, Aaron Lamont, Fabio Saraiva.
Subs: Calum Davies (for Eddie Dsane, 79m), Tom Kavanagh (for Aaron Lamont, 61m), Tutu Henriques, Sam Oguntayo (for Dan Bennett, 79m), Jerry Puemo.
Goal scorers: Gus Sow (37m, 0-1), Jerry Nnamani (43m, 1-1)
Attendance: 357
