Saturday 21 January 2012.                                             Ryman League, Division One South.  

Walton & Hersham 1    Chipstead 4.

 Swans were hoping to build on their recent good form by getting a result against surprise play-off contenders Chipstead, but a series of first-half disasters put paid to those ambitions. Having conceded four soft goals before half-time, they kept a clean sheet in the second-half with an improved performance, but they seldom looked like reducing the deficit.

Shaun Elliott and Jerome Maledon were both fit to return to the side, while Greg Andrews, who scored 33 goals last season in helping Leatherhead get promoted to the Premier Division, started up front, having joined on-loan from the Tanners.

There were no signs of the problems to come as Swans made a confident start, and after ten minutes Andrews just failed to force the ball home following Elliott’s long throw from the left.

The ball was cleared to Liam Collins 22 yards out, and he sent in a good, low strike that was just wide of the left-post. But with seventeen minutes played the visitors were gifted the lead when Alex Wilkes got to the byline on the right before getting in a cross to the near-post. Dan Sintim was under little pressure as he stooped to head clear, but the ball glanced off his head and into his own goal.

Things got worse for Swans after half an hour when a free-kick was awarded against them on the left, and following the kick the ball was cleared out of the box. Chipstead got in a shot that was blocked, but fortuitously for the visitors the ball deflected through to find Marcus Cassiuss inside the left of the box, and he had the time and space to score with a low drive.

A further blow came to the home side’s hopes after 38 minutes when Sintim suffered a gashed head, and the central defender, one of Swans’ most important players, had to be replaced by Ashlee Quashie.

A two goal deficit at the break was not insurmountable, but Swans continued to press the self-destruct button, and with a minute of normal time left of the first-half they conceded a dreadfully poor third goal. They were somewhat unfortunate to have a free-kick awarded against them for handball thirty plus yards out, but Bruce Hogg was allowed to drill a low, left-foot shot inside the right-post. Whether or not Rodney Chiweshe did not have a good view of the ball, but the shot carried no great power and the Swans’ keeper will be disappointed to be beaten so easily from such a distance.

With Sintim off, Swans’ defence looked in disarray, and with three minutes of first-half stoppage-time played a simple pass sent Wilkes into yards of space on their left, and Dan Dean had to get across to clear for a corner as the ball was played in. But a minute later it was 4-0 as the referee’s assistant signalled the ball had crossed the goal-line before being cleared following more awful defending by Swans, with Cassiuss appearing to get the decisive touch.

There was still time left for Swans to pull a goal back, Andrews heading in off the bar at the far-post from a left-side cross, making it three goals in a six minute spell at the end of the first-half. So Swans went in at the break with their defence having collapsed completely, but wondering quite how they were trailing by three goals to a Chipstead side that had scored four goals without otherwise creating a real scoring opportunity.

Phil Williams soon replaced Maledon in the second-half, but Swans still struggled to create opportunities. Just past the hour they went close when Elliott took a long throw from the left, and an attempted clearance struck Victor Kiri close-in, but the ball passed just wide of the left-post.

Midway through the second-half a fine pass by Collins got Williams into the right of the box, but his low cross was cleared at the near-post. Williams was then the provider to get Graeme Purdy into a similar position, but again the cross was cleared.

Wilkes had been the visitors’ main threat with his runs down both flanks, and he made another good surge on the right before crossing to the left of the box, where Jordan Brown drove a shot over. Hogg tried his luck again from a free-kick 35 yards out, but although the ball was struck well Chiweshe got well behind it. Swans continued to find it hard to create openings and they were always likely to get caught on the break, and inside the final five minutes a Chipstead cross from the right picked out Wilkes at the far-post, but he put his header wide.

Swans’ Team: Rodney Chiweshe, Josh Webb, Shaun Elliott, Jerome Maledon (Phil Williams 53’), Dan Dean, Dan Sintim (Ashlee Quashie 38’), Liam Collins, Victor Kiri, Graeme Purdy, Greg Andrews, Michael Gordon (Saul Otobo 70’). Subs. not used: Josh Bonnett, Sheikh Ceesay. Scorer: Andrews (45+5’). Caution: Dean, foul (90+1’).                       

Chipstead Team: Northwood, Bedford, Hogg, York, Davies, Wilkes, Battams, Goodchild (Newman 87’), Thompson (Elliott 73’), Cassiuss, Brown (Grizzle 79’). Sub. not used: Watkins. Scorers: Sintim, own goal (17’), Cassiuss (30’ & 45+4’), Hogg (44’).