Goalkeeper Sami Nabbad came in for only his second game of the season. The Salts nearly had a dream start when a clearance found Niall Stillwell, but his shot was blocked and flew over the bar. From the resulting corner, the ball found its way into the net via Luke Miller, but the whistle had already gone for a foul by Jason Bloor. After that, the momentum shifted to Cobham.

The Salts were under pressure from the start against a very strong play-off side. Niall Stillwell was booked after just five minutes, setting the tone for a busy night for the referee.

Cobham took the lead in the seventh minute through Patrick Murray. This was followed by a highly controversial goal in the 14th minute, when Derek Hayford found the net despite appearing to be offside on the byline.

In the 18th minute, a good attacking play from Jason Bloor, taking on the Cobham defence, led to him being fouled. However, the resulting free-kick was poor and went straight into the goalkeeper’s arms.

Epsom & Ewell had a let-off in the 25th minute when they were lucky not to concede a penalty after the ball appeared to strike Adam Green’s hand, but the referee waved away the appeals. With the Salts beginning to find some composure, a promising move across the pitch nearly saw Carl Oblitey pick out Adam Green, who had charged forward, but the pass was poor and easily defended.

In the 30th minute, a long ball from Conrad Essilfie-Conduah found Luke Miller, who laid it back to Niall Stillwell. His shot was deflected for a corner, and from the resulting delivery, his header went over the bar.

Cobham were reduced to ten men in the 39th minute after a reckless foul on Jason Bloor earned the offender a second yellow card. A heated argument followed, resulting in further punishment for Cobham as their striker was sent to the sin bin, leaving them with nine players.

Despite having a two-man advantage, Epsom & Ewell failed to register a shot on goal. It was perhaps fortunate for Cobham that the sin-bin period was split across half-time, preventing the Salts from taking full advantage or applying sustained pressure. That said, it appeared that the first yellow card was a case of mistaken identity, and Ryan Marklen could consider himself unlucky.

Even with the numerical advantage, Epsom & Ewell went into half-time trailing 0-2.

The second half saw the Salts push forward in search of a breakthrough, but Cobham defended resolutely. On 51 minutes, Ethan Brazier replaced Niall Stillwell. Jason Bloor was then booked in the 64th minute.

Cobham extended their lead in the 68th minute when Derek Hayford scored his second of the night with a header. Epsom & Ewell made a triple substitution in the 72nd minute, with Craig Dundas replacing Callum Wilson, Sean Michael-Anderson coming on for Ethan Nelson-Roberts, and Niccolas Bostan making a welcome return from injury as he replaced Conrad Essilifie-Coduah.

Two minutes later, Luke Miller saw his shot saved, but top scorer Carl Oblitey was on hand to fire home from close range, bringing his season’s tally to 10 goals.

In the 85th minute, the Salts nearly ended on a positive note when Carl Oblitey won a corner. A well-delivered ball from Luke Miller found Carl unmarked, but his header went wide.

Anthony Nazareth picked up a yellow card in the 84th minute, and the final substitution of the night saw Jack Torbett replace Jason Bloor in the 86th minute. The Salts fought hard and looked much improved towards the end, but the better team won on the night.