Cheshunt 0. Folkestone Invicta 0
Entertainment 4/5
Star Man Adam Crowther (Cheshunt)
Attendance 247
Invicta escaped from Theobalds Lane with their unbeaten league record intact……..just. In a sustained attack on the Invicta goal mid way through the second half Cheshunt forced several corners and got in behind the defence regularly, on one such occasion the ball cut back went through a forest of legs & there appeared to be very valid claims of the ball crossing the line, The assistant appeared to have a very good view and was unmoved,
Invicta cleared it out desperately before a decision was made, Cheshunt crossed the ball straight back for Adam Crowther to then head home unopposed, but be declared offside.
The match had started with both sides creating chances in the opening quarter, for Cheshunt Mo Camara’s cross field pass dropped perfectly onto the feet of the advancing Zack Newton inside the penalty area, but keeper Tim Roberts & defender Josh Vincent smothered the attacker before he had a chance to pull the trigger. At the opposite end Alfie Paxman operating wide on the left was at the heart of most of Folkestone’s attacking play, good interplay in the build up saw Paxman cut a ball back, only for Adam Yusuff to blast over from six yards. Cheshunt striker Mo Camara kept the Folkestone defence busy as an aerial threat and also with his deft touches bringing wide players into the game, Reece Beckles Richards capitalised on one such touch and cut inside to loose off a shot, blocked , and then Camara was deemed offside on the follow up.
Roberts in the Folkestone goal pulled off a good two handed save to push away a Joe Re shot, and Camara again in the air from the resulting corner, placed a header just over the bar.
Folkestone responded with David Smith passing a shot just wide of the post after good work again from Paxman, and the same combination forced a good one handed clearance from George Marsh , the Cheshunt keeper, the goal bound follow up being headed off the line by Adam Crowther. The half closed with a few niggly fouls as neither side found their efforts rewarded, Paxman for Folkestone & Newton for Cheshunt the two most likely to open doors.
No changes at half time resulted in a continuation of the first half pattern, Folkestone looked vulnerable to cross field passes behind their wing backs & the Ambers looked to exploit this, but always having to be wary of Folkestone’s front two getting supplied from wide if play broke down. Reece Beckles Richards for the Ambers played Newton in one on one ,
Newton beat the keeper with a rising shot into the roof of the net, alas another flag pulled them back. Newton then had a shot blocked after a sharp turn in the box, and Beckles Richards low shot from the rebound was just wide. The Ambers were starting to get on top of the game with Taylor Mackenzie & Adam Crowther comfortable under the long ball clearances & their midfield starting to ping quick passes to set up further attacks, on a number of occasions Folkestone defenders felt the need to break play up with a shirt tug & arm pulls to slow things down. The home crowd thought they had their reward when the claimed goalmouth scramble saw the ball cross the line, but the escape galvanised Folkestone, they were not here without an unbeaten record for a reason & continued to look dangerous on the break, Kieron McCann curled a shot just over the angle of post & bar from the right, and Scott Heard fizzed a long range shot towards the top corner that George Marsh dived full length to tip over with the save of the match. The last action of the match saw the Invicta keeper Roberts save well low down to his right from a Beckles Richards free kick.
The Ambers come away unbeaten in seven games and having only conceded one goal, Folkestone retain their unbeaten league match run. Nil – nil, but very entertaining, all looking forward to the return.
