Badshot Lea inflict humbling defeat on below par blues
Fleet Town’s unbeaten run came to an abrupt and disappointing end at Badshot Lea on Saturday afternoon, as the Blues slipped to their heaviest defeat of the season. What began as a promising performance quickly unravelled, leaving Fleet to reflect on a frustrating day where momentum swung sharply against them.
Fleet actually started the brighter of the two sides, moving the ball well and pushing the hosts back in the early stages. Their confidence was rewarded after seventeen minutes with a well-taken opener. A clever move down the right saw the ball worked into the box where Sam Bartlett showed great composure. He shifted the ball onto his right foot, created just enough space away from his marker, and guided a low finish beyond goalkeeper James Cody to give Fleet a deserved lead. It was a goal that seemed to settle the team and hinted at another strong afternoon ahead.
Badshot Lea, however, responded with intent. Only four minutes later Louis Pask went close with a driven effort from twenty-five yards that flew narrowly wide of the post. It was a warning that the home side were far from deterred. As the half progressed, Badshot Lea began to grow into the game and their pressure paid off around the half hour mark. Max Cunningham slid a pass into Pask inside the area and the forward went down under a challenge. Much to Fleet’s frustration, the referee pointed to the spot. Luis Hamblin stepped up and confidently dispatched the penalty to level the scores at one apiece, which remained the case going into the break.
The second half began in the worst possible fashion for Fleet. Only seven minutes after the restart a deep corner from Luke Jarvie found Brandon Vangrove rising highest at the far post to nod the ball into the net and put the hosts ahead. The task then became even harder just six minutes later when Fleet were reduced to ten men, as Charlie Postance was shown a straight red card following a strong tackle near the halfway line.
Despite the setback, Fleet attempted to rally and introduced fresh legs in search of an equaliser. Their chance came after seventy-two minutes when they were awarded a penalty of their own. But hopes of a comeback were dashed when the spot kick failed to find the target. Badshot Lea immediately capitalised on the missed opportunity, breaking forward just three minutes later. Stan Jones squared the ball across goal and Hamblin was in the right place again to slot home his second of the afternoon and extend the lead to 3-1.
Fleet’s ten men battled to stay in the game but the hosts sensed the opportunity to put the result beyond doubt. With nine minutes remaining, Jones and Hamblin combined once more, and Hamblin fired a powerful finish into the roof of the net to complete his hat-trick. That goal sealed a 4-1 victory for Badshot Lea in front of more than 300 supporters, their biggest crowd of the season, and left Fleet to regroup ahead of their upcoming fixtures.
Starting X1
- 1 Sam Gray
- 2 Tom Drinkwater
- 5 Joe Dyett
- 6 Liam Avery
- 7 Sam Bartlett
- 8 Sean Swift
- 9 Charlie Postance
- 10 Theo White
- 12 Brad Manning
- 19 Ollie Burke
- 20 TJ Taylor
Subs
- 4 Lewis Hillary (on for White)
- 11 George Sellick (on for Bartlett)
- 14 Callum McAllister (on for Swift)
- 16 Alex Keatings (on for Taylor)
- 18 Lewis Pearch (on for Manning)
Fleet Town now have a run of important home games starting with Camberley Town on Tuesday night (28th), then Tooting and Mitcham on Saturday 1st, Corinthian in the FA Vase on Saturday 8th and current leaders Cobham on Saturday 15th, so the club would like as many supporters as possible to attend and cheer on the boys in all these games.
