On Non-League Day, the Salts faced their most important game of the season in front of a large crowd of 122. We also welcomed Epsom & Ewell Colts U10 Youth as our mascots.

We started well, but Balham had the first chance with an acrobatic overhead kick from their No. 9, James Anderson, which went just wide.

We took the lead in the 8th minute when a long clearance from goalkeeper Kevin Kardel was allowed to bounce. Sean Michael-Anderson dummied the ball, allowing it to run through to striker Craig Dundas, who picked his spot from 15 yards out and fired it home to put the Salts ahead.

In the 17th minute, a great move saw Craig play the ball left to Ethan Roberts, who fed it to Luke Miller. Miller easily beat his man, but his poor cross sailed high and behind the attackers running into the box.

Balham countered from the ensuing goal kick and won a corner on their right. The ball was played in but not cleared, bouncing around the box before eventually falling to Anderson, who slammed it home between two defenders and the keeper to make it 1-1.

We nearly regained the lead in the 24th minute when another long ball forward found Bloor, who headed it over the advancing keeper. However, the touch took enough speed off the ball to allow Balham’s No. 2, Ed McCrea, to make a crucial clearance off the line with an acrobatic overhead kick.

We continued to press, and a couple of minutes later, a good move down the left saw Bloor find Adam, who moved the ball on to Miller. His cross picked out Anderson at the far post, but his header went high and wide.

We did retake the lead in the 33rd minute when Sean Michael-Anderson squared the ball to Craig Dundas, who fired home from 10 yards out.

There were a couple more chances before half-time. Brendan Murphy-McVey had a shot blocked from a well-worked free kick, and another good move down the right saw the ball played across goal, but Jason just couldn’t quite reach it at the far post, and the ball bounced out safely for a goal kick.

Just before half-time, Balham broke forward, but an amazing slide tackle from Niall Stillwell saw him clear the ball in style.

We went in with a half-time lead for the first time since away to Knaphill 2-1.

With the (now) most important 45 minutes ahead and a lead to defend, you would have thought we would continue with the positive play. However, Balham, facing the threat of relegation, were expected to up their game.

we don’t really know what happened in the second half, but we reverted to a “kick and rush” style of play, which put us under unnecessary pressure against an average Balham side.

In the 49th minute, Ethan Roberts went on a great run through the centre of the pitch and unleashed a cracking shot from around 20 yards, forcing the keeper into a fine save, tipping it over the bar. Kardel was then called into action in the 52nd minute, making a smart save from Anderson, Balham’s No. 9.

Another good move saw Luke play a through ball, but he just failed to find Michael-Anderson.

Then, we simply fell apart defensively. We lost the ball in what looked like a promising attack when Dundas underhit his pass to Miller. Balham broke from their own half, their winger skipped past a couple of weak challenges, and put the ball across goal to substitute Marlon Gavilanes—who had only been on the pitch for a couple of minutes—for a simple tap-in with not a defender in sight. 2-2.

A few minutes later, with Balham growing in confidence, another melee in the box saw the ball fail to be cleared properly. It landed at the feet of Gavilanes, who had his back to goal. Somehow, he managed to turn and strike the ball into the far corner, just beyond Kardel’s desperate dive. 2-3.

After that, we failed to put any real pressure on the Balham goal. The only notable chance came from a good cross by Miller, which found Dundas, but he headed wide.

In the 59th minute, Ali Fofahan replaced the injured Sean Michael-Anderson, and in the 70th minute Ethan Brazier replaced Brendan Murphy-McVey. The 83rd minute saw Kionte Gillifillian-Waul come on for Luke Miller. In injury time, Ethan Nelson-Roberts picked up an injury and was replaced by Jack Torbett in the 97th minute.

Even with 11 minutes of injury time, we failed to test the Balham keeper. The only chance of note fell to Balham in the 99th minute, but their shot was deflected wide when it seemed easier to score.

Balham have now moved to within one point of us and have two games left—both at home against Casuals and Sheerwater. We have five games remaining, with the final three at home, meaning that as long as we match Balham’s results in two of them, we will survive another season.

We next play on Tuesday evening against our landlords at the Armada Stadium—an away game at our “home” pitch. This is followed by an away game on Saturday, 29th March, against bottom-of-the-table and already relegated Spelthorne Sports, a side we struggled to beat 1-0 in January, even with a man advantage for most of the second half.

There should be a good crowd on Tuesday night, so why not come down and give the lads your support?