Guildford City (0) 0, Knaphill (0) 0
by Barry Underwood
Guildford and Knaphill claimed a point each from a derby fixture which saw two organised defences come out on top at the Spectrum. In the end a point apiece was fair reward for both sides, although from the first half alone City would have been disappointed not to have scored and won the game. From the off Guildford looked lively going forward and in the second minute a header back to the goalkeeper was almost intercepted by Manny Acheampong. Minutes later a ball bobbling around the box was powerfully shot into the side netting by Qasim Khan. Sam Sesay then headed a corner over the bar. Knaphill had their first sight of goal on 13 minutes when a cross from the left just evaded a fast-approaching striker. 20 minutes in and for a moment City thought they had scored. Jake Brown netted from 12 yards, but the assistant correctly saw that a colleague had previously touched the ball in an offside position. Knaphill grew into the game, and following a long throw Matt Copland shot wide. For most of the first-half Manny Acheampong and Qasim Khan had been flirting with the offside line, and on the stroke of half-time Acheampong burst onto a through ball but faced with the advancing Knaphill keeper Sam Gray his effort went wide of the post.
The second half was more attritional with few direct chances on goal at either end. Following a free-kick Alex Stingelin’s header was comfortably saved by Gray. On 67 minutes Manny Acheampong fashioned a good shooting chance for himself, but his left foot effort was saved by Gray. Late in the game a raft of substitutions added some fire to the Knaphill attack. The experienced Daryl Cooper-Smith immediately looked lively, and City were relieved to see Cooper-Smith soon head to the sin bin for 10 minutes after offering the referee some unwanted advice. In the final moments Deven Reid-Solanki lifted a bouncing ball over Gray from an acute angle, but the ball went wide of the back post. A fair result overall. Not a classic match but another step forward for an improving City side.
Team: Jacob Terry, Sam Sesay (Alex Rodway-Brown 73), Ben Gambrah, Ben Drake, Alex Stingelin, Joe Atkin, Reece Robins (Jaiden Chan-Brown 85), Freddie Robins (Deven Reid-Solanki 65), Qasim Khan (Keoindre Ellis-Vassell 65), Manny Acheampong, Jake Brown (Kai Zini 76).
Referee: Craig Griffiths
Attendance – 106
