The Salts began the first of their five pre-season fixtures with an emphatic 5–1 win over Richmond & Kew, who were recently promoted to Step 7. The scoreline was arguably a little harsh on the visitors, who competed well and, in the words of our manager Max Johnston, “gave us a proper test”.
With 13 players retained from last season, recent signing Tom Collins, and a few new faces (trialists), including goalkeeper Ben Grummit, Epsom & Ewell fielded a strong team. The objective for The Salts was to be composed on the ball, create quality chances, and show effectiveness and flair in the attacking third.
From the outset, the players found their rhythm with some slick movement. The Salts took the lead in the 17th minute when Tom Collins finished off a good move with his first shot on target – exactly what we brought him in for. Richmond & Kew had a few opportunities but didn’t seriously trouble Ben Grummit in goal. A lovely through ball – apologies to the provider, as it was perfectly placed – sent Luke Miller through. He looked set to open his account by slotting past the onrushing keeper, but the ball unfortunately struck the post and bounced clear.
Richmond & Kew lived up to their moniker of “mentality monsters” when they equalised later in the first half, following a corner that wasn’t properly cleared. A missed tackle led to a powerful shot from just inside the box, which Toby Young cleared off the line. However, the ball fell kindly to the same striker, who made no mistake with his second attempt.
While we had the majority of chances – with the R&K keeper making a few good saves – we lacked a killer instinct and went in at the break level at 1–1.
The second half began with Epsom & Ewell fielding a more familiar line-up, including a new young No. 9 trialist up front. The pattern of play remained similar, with The Salts dominating possession and Ben largely untroubled in goal. R&K held firm until the 71st minute, when the ball was played to Niall Stillwell. With time and space from 30 yards out, he unleashed an unstoppable shot that flew in off the keeper’s left-hand post. The keeper got a hand to it, but the power took it past him. That felt like the turning point of the match, and our energy and movement began to wear down the R&K defence, who nonetheless continued to work hard.
The third goal arrived in the 75th minute with a touch of fortune. A great ball in from the right by Toby Young evaded everyone and bounced into the far corner.
Our fourth came in the 85th minute via a penalty awarded for handball. It appeared the referee was the only one who saw it, and there weren’t any real appeals. Adam Green stepped up and confidently struck it into the keeper’s bottom left-hand corner. Despite the keeper guessing correctly and getting close, the power was too much.
We rounded off the match with a fifth goal when a ball into the box was unfortunately flicked on by a defender, and Callum Wilson nodded it home.
Final Score: Epsom & Ewell 5–1 Richmond & Kew.
Wishing Richmond & Kew all the best for their upcoming season.
We face Cray Valley Paper Mills next Wednesday evening at The Reg Madgwick Stadium, Cobham, kick-off 7:45pm, for our second pre-season fixture. It would be great to see as many of you there as possible.
