Football Chiswick W4 London

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Old Meads Tighten Their Grip on Championship

Amateur Football Combination Premier Division - Old Meadonians 3 Old Hamptonians 2

Old Meadonians tightened their grip on the A.F.C. championship by beating chasing Old Hamptonians in their back-to-back return match at Riverside Lands on Saturday. In so doing they dented Hamptonians’ hopes of a challenge and dropped them to third in the table, at the mercy of at least two more sides below them.

After sustained pressure from Meads throughout the first half all they had garnered were three half chances to strikers Colin Hawkins and Leon Smith and mid fielder Kevin Quinn.

However, with ten minutes to go to half time indecision at the back left keeper Kris Sayers stranded in no man’s land for the ball to be walked round him into the net.

The compliment was returned five minutes later as Leon Smith sped onto a through ball and rounded the keeper for the equaliser. The hosts continued their pressure on the restart only to succumb to their bete noir this season, poor defending from set pieces, as a near post corner was glanced in on fifteen minutes.

Still Meads pressed and drew level as Will Gerrish crossed for Quinn to head firmly at the far post. Not to be denied, Meads now brought on the fresh pacy legs of Leon Smith’s brother Dwayne and with barely a minute to go he won a penalty which Colin Hawkins calmly converted. The MoM award went to the ‘ever green’ Kevin Quinn.

Team: Sayers, Rhone, Pointer, Hugh Jones, McGuinness, D. Gerrish, (D. Smith), W. Gerrish, Quinn, K. Smith, Hawkins, L. Smith.

March 27, 2007