Guildford City (0) 1, Camberley Town (1) 4
Guildford City fell to disappointing defeat at the Spectrum as Camberley Town eased to a comprehensive victory. Although defeat for City was no disgrace against the league leaders, Guildford might have hoped to have got a little closer in both performance and end result. There was no lack commitment though from both sides and post-match several City players were nursing battle scars in the home dressing room. City went into the game minus key players Anthony Baker and Florin Ramizi, and the starting line-up, especially in midfield had an inexperienced look.
For much of the first half Camberley enjoyed a distinct territorial advantage, and City keeper Alex Harris was soon called into action to save Fred Kelsey’s header at the far post. Several times Camberley’s keeper Craig Bradshaw caused problems in the home defence with his booming kicks, with the wind at his back, travelling deep into Guildford’s half. From one such kick Matt Bunyan saw a header narrowly go wide. Twice within a few minutes Camberley’s diminutive top scorer Perry Coles found space to fire in shots; the first from the right into the side netting and the second from the left saved low down by Harris. Despite Camberley’s dominance their only goal of the half came via a Guildford City player. A corner from the left dipped in under the crossbar and Alex Harris, under pressure, was only able to turn the ball into his own net. Gradually as the half entered its latter stages City found their way a little more and the closest they came to getting on the score sheet was Dan Stewart’s diving header well saved by the diving Bradshaw.
For the second consecutive match City fell foul of conceding in the first minute of the second half. A clearing header only found Brad Smith on the edge of the box and he had the time and composure to fire into the bottom corner. Credit Guildford at this point. It would have been easy to fall away completely. However on 49 minutes Dan Stewart set Rory Cornelius free on the right and his deft ball across the six yard box was bundled home by the supporting Luke Simmonds. There was definitely a glimmer at this stage that City could get something from the game. Several times Kiyanu Pillay made great strides down the left flank only to see his shots blocked. The killer blow for City came on the hour. Not for the first time the visitors were afforded too much space deep in City’s half and the ball was worked to Fred Kelsey who volleyed home a fine effort from the angle of the box. On 75 minutes the scoring was rounded off when Matt Humphrey escaped City’s attention on the right to slide the ball past Harris to conclude a comprehensive victory.
Team: Alex Harris, Jordan Taylor, Bruce McPhail (Josh Everard 70), Myles Jones (Nathaniel Williams 57), Tadej Venta, Kris Campbell, Rory Cornelius, Luke Simmonds, Jack Collins, Dan Stewart (Ethan Chislett 70), Kiyanu Pillay. Unused subs: Liam Beach.
Referee: Turan Yesilyurt
Attendance – 103
