Page 20 - Raynes Park Vale v Farnham Town

Match Report 08.10.22
RAYNES PARK VALE 3 CAMBERLEY TOWN 2

Josh Gallagher and his management team could Charlie Penny summon his inner Andy Gray with a
have been forgiven for coming into this game brave and determined sea-level diving header. The
with a degree of trepidation. All clubs play down striker practically body-surfed across the six-yard
their ambition and they are wise to do so - the old box, connected with the ball and Vale had their
adage about pride preceding a spectacular and opener. The linesman on Vale’s right flagged for
calamitous fall is writ large across the world of off-side and shooed away protesting Raynes Park
football - but it’s no secret that RPV fans regard players but a brief consultation with referee xxx
promotion from the CCL as the goal for the 22/23 showed the lino the error of his ways and it was
season. The manager regards this ambition slightly level at 1-1.
more sanguinely but, still, one point from 9 is not
a great run even if your ambitions are much more More attritional play characterized the following
modest! spell until, with the final twenty minutes looming
the excellent Ethon Archer turned the Camberley
In perfect, early autumn weather the match right-back this way and that, torturing the poor
turned fairly rapidly into the kind of attritional defender as the Vale man had been doing all day.
affair we are used to seeing at Grand Drive - deep The resulting ball into the Town area would have
defending from visiting teams looking to nullify put panic into the visiting defence were it not
any Vale attack and looking to hit the Londoners for a desperate block from the same right-back
on the break. Despite hoarding 80% possesion that diverted the ball out for a Vale corner on
in the first half Vale were unable to break down Camberley’s right. The set piece was beautifully
a Town defence that had set out to ensure, first and precisely delivered by Dan Moody. A rising
and foremost, that the home team didn’t start to Reece Hannigan, brought on mere minutes before
open up a lead. Much of the credit for the success along with Brad Sweeney, caught the incoming ball
of Camberley’s tactics must be given to the Town as sweetly as will be seen in any match anywhere
keeper who pulled off some excellent saves and headed in ,sparking jubilation around Grand
including one to stop Aaron Watsons ten-yard Drive.
header on 23 minutes. Camberley continued to
nullify Vale attacks and, with a couple of minutes With Vale 2-1 and, finally and seemingly, in control
of the first half remaining, a, excellently taken free of the game Camberley broke in a rare 2nd half
kick, awarded to Vale on the left about twenty-five visit to the Vale box via a fast and well-executed
yards out, was hit against the bar by Dan Moody. counter attack that ended with the ball going in
low to Billy Bishop’s right and the Raynes Park
Murmurings were starting to rumble in the home faithful buckled in for a tense final few minutes.
stand... With a handful of chances coming to naught it
was with, mere seconds to go, that Charlie Penny,
As the teams came out and set up for the second who had given everything but who had endured a
half of this game it quickly became clear that difficult day at the office stabbed in the last-gasp
Josh Gallagher was determined to pressure winner on 92 minutes
the stubborn Camberley defence in dramatic
fashion. With Timmy Obisanwa and Charlie
Penny continuing to provide the threat in front
of goal the Vale manager packed the midfield for
maximum threat, lining up a 2-6-2 formation with
the removal of Cal Hope and Nathan Lewis in
favour of extra midfield firepower.
The change of tactic clearly rattled the visitors
but on 50 minutes the breakthrough came in the
form of a breakaway goal for Camberley. The
frustration of the Vale players became apparent
as the superior home tactics still failed to find a
way through the tight opposition defence. That is,
until, on 60 minutes a goalmouth scramble saw Photography by Karl Match report by Mark
Lang Ferrari
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