The Salts travelled to The Spectrum for our re-arranged fixture, having suffered four straight defeats in all competitions — three of them in the league, but against top-six sides pushing for the playoffs.
Overall, the game was poor, with an uneven pitch making passing difficult. As a result, both teams resorted to long balls, which the City defence dealt with comfortably.
City’s No. 7, Reid Solanki, started brightly and caused some early problems for Kionte Gillfillian-Waul, but perseverance — along with some support from midfield — prevented any dangerous balls into the box.
On 34 minutes, Guildford had the first attempt on target after a poor clearance from the Epsom defence, but a good cross was met with a poor header that landed safely in Sami Nabbad’s hands.
Two minutes later, a good move from Guildford saw Solanki stretch the Salts defence again, and his shot struck the bottom of the post.
The Salts responded with a promising move involving Luke Miller and Kionte, whose cross into the box found Jason Bloor, but he was unable to find the target from close range.
It looked as though we were heading into halftime at 0-0 until a long ball tempted the Guildford keeper out of his box with Jason bearing down. The keeper caught the ball outside the area, leading to an inevitable red card. City centre-half and captain Stingelin took the gloves, but Adam Green’s ensuing free kick went high and wide. Halftime: 0-0.
After the break, you would hope the Salts would have a plan to test the 10 men and stand-in keeper, but it took 15 minutes before we had a shot on target. Another foul on Jason just outside the box presented a good opportunity. Luke Miller’s low, hard shot looked destined for the bottom right corner, but the keeper got down well to save — our first real chance gone.
Epsom & Ewell began pushing forward but left gaps at the back, and on 62 minutes, City’s No. 19 Darnell Jon-Peter broke through the Salts defence, holding off weak challenges. Spotting Sami off his line, he produced a sublime chip to give Guildford the lead: 1-0.
Sean Michael Anderson replaced Niall Stillwell on 64 minutes as the Salts looked to respond.
On 70 minutes we had our best chance aside from the free kick — a great ball from Adam found Jason Bloor, but lacking composure, he snatched at the shot, and it drifted wide.
Moments later, another excellent delivery from Adam found Jason again, but this time his shot deflected off the bar and out for a corner. Unfortunately, the ensuing corners were poor and easily dealt with by City’s defenders.
Soon after, Jon-Peter again dribbled through the middle of our defence and, seeing Sami off his line, tried to replicate his earlier finish — but this time he sent it high over the bar, with Sami beaten.
The Salts made a second change on 76 minutes with Anthony Nazareth replacing Stefan Aiwone. Though we pressed for an equaliser, we lacked the quality to break down Guildford’s solid defence.
On 81 minutes, a poor challenge by Jon-Peter caught Nick Boston on the foot. There were worrying moments as he stayed down, but thankfully, after some time, he was able to limp off — hopefully, nothing serious. Toby Young replaced Nick, making his first appearance after a long layoff — great to see him back!
In the final ten minutes, plus five minutes of added time, we failed to mount any serious pressure. Long balls and misplaced passes were easily cleared by Guildford, who saw out the game comfortably.
The Salts now drop to 18th, only four points above an improving Balham, though we have four games in hand.
Looking ahead:
– Saturday: Away to 7th-placed Tadley Calleva.
– Balham (home to 6th-placed Knaphill) will be hoping to close the gap.
– Next Tuesday (18th): Away to Horley.
– Saturday 22nd: Home to Balham — a crucial game.
The team would really appreciate your support in as many games as possible as we face a tough schedule of Tuesday and Saturday matches to the end of the season, largely due to our excellent runs in cup competitions.
Come On You Salts!
