Cobham (0) 0, Guildford City (1) 1
by Barry Underwood
A Guildford City side brimming with newfound confidence claimed the three points with an impressive performance at the Leg o’ Mutton Field on Saturday. There was actually little in the opening stages with both sides having an equal share of the ball. Gradually City started to dominate the middle of the park with Dacres-Smith, Ridgley and Woodhouse giving the home side little time on the ball. With Benga Ogunseye absent with illness, Cyril Ocansey played as a central striker and it was that player’s back heel that gave Sean Mason a good shooting chance from the edge of the box. There was some fortune on 23 minutes. Josh Burrowes might have been shown a red card for a last man challenge, but to Cobham’s angst the referee saw things differently and only a yellow was displayed. Increasingly City’s movement and pace were posing problems for the home defence. From one move Cyril Ocansey burst into space but his early effort went well wide. Guildford went ahead on 33 minutes. Youcef Azzouz’s pass found Wayne Ridgley in space on the left. Ridgley cut inside and drilled a low effort past Lee Norman for his first goal for the club. On the stroke of half-time Guildford had strong claims for a penalty. Kieran Williams drove towards the box and was brought down in a challenge that clearly looked to be inside the box. The referee saw it differently and the resulting free kick cleared the bar.
Almost from the restart Cyril Ocansey laid off a pass to Kieran Williams whose first-time effort was high of the goal. Offensively full-back Josh Ogunseye enjoyed a strong second period with a number of fine attacking runs down the left flank. From one such run Ogunseye’s effort was well blocked by a defender. Cobham’s best moment in front of goal came moments later when Callum Wilson shot over after a fine build-up. Twice on the hour Guildford again came close. Cyril Ocansey’s shot again went wide, before Ocansey saw a shot well blocked after another Ogunseye run. On 68 minutes Wayne Ridgley shot weakly from long range when there were perhaps other options. Two minutes later City hearts were in mouths when Cobham headed wide from a set-piece. Bar that Guildford defended impressively. Dan Harding off the bench saw a shot blocked with his first touch, whilst audaciously Wayne Ridgley attempted a “Beckham-like” lob from 40+ yards which actually clipped the crossbar. With minutes to go Zack Basey reacted well for his first real save of the match as Cobham pushed forward in the final stages. In stoppage time City could have eased the nerves when crosses from either side of the goal zipped across the box without being converted.
Team: Zack Basey, Sean Mason, Josh Ogunseye, Theo Woodhouse, Nemo Adams, Josh Burrowes, Youcef Azzouz (Dan harding 73), Ryan Dacres-Smith, Cyril Ocansey, Wayne Ridgley (Josh Everard 90), Kieran Williams. Unused subs: Isy Nzelo, Dan Hurlow.
Referee: Imran Khan
