Tuesday 18 March 2014. Ryman League, Division One South.
Walton Casuals 1 Walton & Hersham 5.
Just a few short weeks ago no-one could have foreseen this result, with Casuals still looking for a play-off spot and Swans falling alarmingly into a relegation scrap. But a remarkable first-half saw Swans turn around after the break 5-0 up, with young substitute Louis Glace-Palmer already having notched a hat-trick against a club he was with last season. Swans rather went off the boil in the second-half and the home side dominated large periods, but they could only pull back one goal, and that a highly contentious penalty.
Things had looked bleak for Swans with less than five minutes played when striker Matt Reece had to retire with what looked like a hamstring pull, meaning an early entrance for Glace-Palmer.
Casuals lost right-back Sam Labinjo at the same time in an unconnected incident and former Stompond Lane favourite Liam Collins came on.
Swans’ Andrew Mensah tried a lob from out on the right that dipped over, but the home side almost got through on a couple of occasions, the second ending in an offside decision. Peter Wedgeworth crossed a terrific ball from the left into the six-yard box, where Sean Bradley was just denied, before Swans took the lead after 17 minutes. Wedgeworth curled in a free-kick from the right and Sacha Mbaye headed home at the near-post.
Bradley was almost set up with a chance when Mensah’s low shot took a deflection, but home goalkeeper Ferhat Askoy saved at his feet. Casuals’ Lee Hall’s crude challenge on Wedgeworth conceded a free-kick by the left touchline, but surprisingly failed to earn him a yellow card.
Dan Coles was brought into action when Casuals broke and a strong shot came in from the left, the Swans’ keeper just getting a touch to deflect the ball past his far-post. Casuals then got in a cross from the left that Simon Huckle just failed to get his head to at the far-post.
With half an hour played Swans took a free-kick quickly to send Bradley clear on the right, and when his low cross came in Jamal-Deen Jimoh had to put the ball behind for a corner. Three minutes later Wedgeworth did well to win a corner on the left, and from Bradley’s kick Glace-Palmer headed in at the far-post to put Swans 2-0 up.
Two minutes later it was 3-0, with all the three goals coming from dead-ball situations. Hall again committed a foul that earned him another talking-to, but no caution, and when Bradley took the free-kick from close to the left corner flag, Askoy failed to deal with it and Mensah got the final touch to score.
With five minutes of the half remaining Casuals went close when Malachi Hudson’s free-kick from the left clipped the far angle of bar and post, and soon after Gabriel Odunaike went down after getting into the box, but the referee waved away claims for a penalty.
Casuals gave away another free-kick by the right touchline, but Wedgeworth’s kick was cleared away. Then, with a minute of normal-time left in the half, Glace-Palmer ran onto a ball down the middle before lobbing it superbly over the advancing Askoy and into the net.
It should have been 5-0 when André Scarlett got through with just Askoy to beat, but he shot straight at the Casuals’ keeper. Askoy almost lost the ball when challenged by Glace-Palmer, but three minutes into first-half stoppage-time Mensah and Glace-Palmer broke clear. Mensah at first tried to take the ball wide of the keeper, but then laid it off to Glace-Palmer in the right of the box, and he drove a shot unerringly into the far corner to complete his hat-trick.
Inside the first minute of the second-half Bradley did well on the right before getting in a cross that Glace-Palmer just failed to get a clean head on.
Casuals broke their duck after 58 minutes. Scarlett’s tackle to put the ball behind looked perfectly timed, but the referee somehow saw it as a foul and awarded a penalty that Collins converted.
Swans continued to surrender the initiative to the home side and Coles had to pull off a good save following some slack defending. Another chance led to Coles saving with his legs to deflect the ball wide for a corner.
Swans’ attacks had become more spasmodic, but with a quarter of an hour remaining good play by Wedgeworth on the left led to Glace-Palmer just being denied by Askoy.
With time running out Casuals’ gradually began to lose conviction, and despite the referee finding eight minutes of stoppage-time they seldom looked like reducing the deficit further.
Swans’ Team: Dan Coles, Louis Clark, Andy Lomas, André Scarlett, Tom Mudge, Sacha Mbaye, Sean Bradley (Samad Kazi 87’), Vernon Francis, Andrew Mensah (Kwabena Osei 79’), Matt Reece (Louis Glace-Palmer 4’), Peter Wedgeworth. Subs. not used: Yinka Salami, Nathan Oliver. Scorers: Mbaye (17’), Glace-Palmer (33’, 44’ & 45+3’), Mensah (35’). Cautions: Mensah (55’), Clark (90+3’).
Casuals’ Team: Askoy, Labinjo (Collins 6’), Patterson-Bohner, Fofana, Jimoh (MacDonald 45’), Huckle, Okai (Dynan 63’), Hall, Odunaike, Day, Hudson. Sub. not used: Bamba. Scorer: Collins, penalty (58’). Cautions: Patterson-Bohner, Jimoh, Odunaike, Hudson.
