Ten-man Tadley show heart to clinch narrow victory over Epsom in cauldron of cards
Taldey Cavella secured an action-packed 2-1 victory over Epsom & Ewell in the Combined Counties Premier South on Saturday.
The Combined Counties League Premier Division South witnessed a very eventful game on Saturday, that saw two strong teams go head to head.
Manager Joe Lawler said, “It was an important game for us to be honest and we wanted to make sure that we won, especially after some not so great results.”
“I think it was important for us to get the win, we started quite well, obviously went down to ten men after 35 minutes which made the game pretty difficult, but the boys rallied and managed to keep the result.”
The match showed a strong defensive and offensive performance from the home side against a well performing team, Joe Lawler said, “We worked very hard when we were down to ten men, our goalkeeper Donny made a couple of great saves to keep us in it, but he was only called upon a few times.
I think the rest of the game we actually had chances to extend the lead and play quite well.”
The game exploded into action, delivering all the scoring within the opening 25 minutes.
Tadley drew first blood in the 13 minute when Ash Neal found the back of the net to seize the advantage.
That lead was immediately cancelled out in the 19 minute as Epsom & Ewell were awarded a penalty, which was clinically dispatched by Adam Green to level the scores early on in the game.
The whirlwind continued just six minutes later.
Alexander Lawrence John Miller restored Tadley’s lead in the 25 minute with a decisive finish, seemingly giving the home side control of the match.
However, the goal-scorer’s joy was devastatingly short-lived when Miller was shown a straight red card in the 33 minute, drastically shifting the dynamics of the contest and leaving Tadley to protect their 2-1 advantage with a man down.
The second half became a test of Tadley’s sheer character against Epsom’s frustrated numerical superiority.
The play was fractured and aggressive, involving cautions from the referee as the game became more and more out of control.
Tadley’s defence remained untroubled with goalkeeper Donnacha Burke only being called upon a few times.
The home side, despite the man advantage, could have extended their lead on many occasions but the score remained the same.
Epsom & Ewell failed to capitalise on the red card, their attack was consistently thwarted by Tadley’s back line.
The 2-1 final score stands as a testament to the grit of the ten-man side, while Epsom & Ewell will undoubtedly regret their inability to convert their main-advantage into a meaningful breakthrough.
