An exciting 4-2 win, and we should really have won by a more convincing margin. Perhaps the half time 3-0 lead flattered us a little, with two goals coming in stoppage time, but I felt we played better in the second half despite "losing" it 2-1.
Cheshunt were quite assertive during the early stages and played with surprising confidence for a team in the bottom four although they didn't really create much for almost half an hour. Then a rather careless long pass across the field from Binnom-Williams went straight to the feet of their left back in space and he was able to unleash the lively #7 Antonis Vasiliou, a Cyprus U19 international released by Barnet last year, with a long pass down the wing. Constable was tempted towards the edge of his box but couldn't get there in time, as Vasiliou hared past on the outside and pulled a low cross back from the byline, but thankfully Parry and Braham-Barrett had got back to block two shots at an empty net from the edge of the six yard box. Maybe that was the wake up call we needed, as within a couple of minutes later Wanadio drifted inside from the left and tested the keeper with a low shot that he could only parry into the path of Mills for a simple conversion. Braham-Barrett threatened to score a spectacular second, sidestepping several opponents on a strong run into the box, but having done the hard part he blazed a wild shot way off target.. We were into an announced minimum 3 minutes of stoppage time when Binnom-Williams was teed up on the left edge of the box and it was no surprise to see the net bulge behind the keeper as one of his trademark piledrivers whistled past. The usual convoluted celebration must have prompted the referee to add a bit more time and, having forced a corner, I was wondering whether we'd actually have time to take it. The delivery was only cleared to the edge of the penalty box, where Bonnett-Johnson neatly harnessed it and fired low into the bottom corner through a gap ahead of him.
Cheshunt gave themselves a lifeline within ten minutes of the resumption as Vasiliou seized upon hesitancy in the right flank of our defence to surge into the box, resisting an attempt to knock him off balance, and fired a sumptuous rising shot into the far top corner. Surely our habit of throwing way the lead wasn't going to resurface? We certainly didn't look to hold onto what we already had and began attacking consistently and in numbers. Jeffrey was giving their right back a torrid time with his sheer pace, then he popped up in a central position to unleash a phenomenal 35 yard drive that flew over the keeper and ricocheted down from the underside of the bar. He's only scored twice all season, yet that's got to be at least the fourth time he's hit the underside of the bar with a ballistic missile from outside the box. The three goal lead was restored with 20 minutes to go, and it was a wonderful team effort. Several short passes relayed the ball from right to left across the midfield, then Jeffrey turned on the afterburners to skin his man on the outside and chip a beautifully flighted cross into the middle for Mills to arrive on cue, climbing high to smash an unstoppable header past the keeper. Cheshunt might as well have been trying to stop a helicopter. This was a prime opportunity to really put someone to the sword and score five for the first time in the Hak era, but we couldn't quite manage it. Cheshunt reduced the arrears again ten minutes later with a shot that seemed to his the inside of each post before crossing the line, then Constable's circus antics almost cost another when he miscued a clearance directly to a forward closing him down, but our keeper somehow redeemed himself and snuffed out the danger inside the box.
Other results mean we've now closed to within 3 points of the top five. Billericay lost 6-3 at Chatham despite scoring first, with their third being a late consolation. The wheels seem to be coming off there, with 5 defeats in their last 7 games now. It's getting congested and one or two others around us have games in hand, but the next couple of games are against teams now well below us and we're getting close to a position where our fate could be in our own hands if we win the forthcoming "six pointers" against Lewes, Bognor and Billericay next month. I'm still a bit worried that we're conceding too many goals that could have been prevented quite easily, although Cheshunt were quite a niggly physical sort of team as usual and might have got less assistance from a different referee in terms of punishing their persistent and rather obvious holding and pulling. Their #2 was out of his depth against Jeffrey and deservedly got a yellow card for a late tackle, while the #5 couldn't cope at all with Mills and was pulling his shirt quite vigorously every time they challenged for the ball together. I can't say I'll be sorry if they go down, especially if it saves Margate, or even Haringey.
