Roffey 2 (1) v (4) 6 Godalming Town – Peter Bentley Cup

Godalming Town progressed to the quarter finals of the Peter Bentley Cup after a resounding victory over Step 5 Roffey, with an exhilarating first-half performance blowing the Boars away in a chaotic match that featured eight goals and a red card.

Despite a poor recent run of form and injuries to key players, Roffey are ninth in the Southern Combination Premier Division, fielded a strong team this evening and only three months ago dished out a 5-0 hiding to the Gs at Wey Court in a pre-season friendly – all factors that make this result especially eye-catching.

Mo Sher made several changes to the side that drew at Infinity on Saturday, with Fabio Suarez reappearing in goal, Malik Shittu in for Matt Cox and Elroy Wealthyland replacing Ali Haddadji. Notable were the changes up front. Will May was absent due to a back injury, so Shiloh Ndiulor led the line with recent signing Tayo Adekoya making his first start as well.
The Gs pressed high from the off and only three minutes in Conor Clark was called into action to stop a shot from Mark Soares. Soares had another brilliant game tonight – Roffey couldn’t get near the forward for much of the game – and he was involved in the opener on five minutes. He fed Adekayo who did well to hold off Danny Mobsby and hook an effort towards goal, which clattered off the post and into the path of Ndiulor who buried his first goal of the season.

Boars skipper Jordan Mase fired over a few minutes later but it was the visitors who were on top, and on 18 minutes Cameron Edwin drew a smart stop from Clark after Soares pounced on a poor clearance from Dylan Pauw. Adekoya headed at Clark from the resultant corner.

In the 22nd minute, the Gs were forced into a change when September’s player of the month Jack Sherwood appeared to dislocate his shoulder while challenging for the ball. Jonny Miller came on in his place, meaning Ndiulor’s game up front was short but sweet as he dropped into centre-back, with Adekoya becoming the focal point of the attack.

Godalming supporters who saw the two home games with Infinity last season will recall what a menace Adekoya was on those occasions and, on tonight’s showing, he could be a fine addition to the squad. In the 29th minute he did well to win a free-kick down the right channel which was floated in with great accuracy by Soares, onto the head of Adekayo who nodded past Clark for his first goal in yellow and green.

The visitors had their tails firmly up at this stage and Roffey, who did demonstrate some nice passing moves at times, simply couldn’t get into the game. In the 36th minute excellent defensive work by Soares on the edge of his own box resulted in a loose ball falling to Edwin, who’s tackle-cum-pass played Adekoya in, with the forward outpacing and outmuscling Mobsby before coolly slotting in for the third goal, much to the disbelief of the home supporters at the ‘theatre of trees’.

If the Gs weren’t in dreamland at this point then they were three minutes later, when further strong pressing led to a chance for Edwin who drew a save from Clark, the ball falling to Deji Adeosun who got in on the act as he made it 4-0 with a simple finish.

That should have been the score at the interval, too, but Roffey gave themselves a glimmer of hope in first-half stoppage time when Josh Neathley’s corner wasn’t dealt with by Suarez, and Pauw bundled home at the far post. The Boars nearly clawed a further goal back just before the half-time whistle, too, when another corner – this time from Mase – saw Jake Legrange glance a header narrowly wide.
The goal offered a glimmer of hope for the hosts who made a triple substitution and tactical switch at half-time, throwing Ashley Mutongerwa up front and pushing the full-backs Pauw and Legrange much higher up the pitch. They started the second period far stronger, too, and merely minutes after his arrival Mutongerwa set up a good chance for Devon Fender who shot wide when well positioned.

In the 54th minute Stan Barry fired over and it wasn’t long before Roffey did find another goal back, just after the hour mark, when Boars talisman Mase expertly placed an edge of the box free-kick around the Godalming wall and into the bottom corner for his sixth goal of the season.

There were probably some nerves among the travelling Gs supports at this stage, but Roffey’s revival hopes were hit when centre-back Dan Pearse received a straight red card in the 64th minute. An off the ball elbow as the Gs broke sparked a mini fracas, and though Soares raced through and stuck the ball in the back of the net, play was brought back to the ire of the Godalming contingent.

The reduction in players allowed a bit more breathing space for the Gs, who began to find their first-half form once more. With 20 minutes left, Miller arched a shot wide of the far post after good pressing from Edwin and Soares.

In the 81st minute Godalming extinguished any faint flickers of Roffey hope with a fifth goal. A quick break saw Adeosun feed Adekayo, who played Miller through wide on the left and his pinpoint low cross to the far post found Soares. The forward took a touch before dispatching his 12th goal of the season – a remarkable tally given we’re little more than two months into the season.

Berry hit the side netting with six minutes to play, but the Gs added the icing to an already decadent cake in the second minute of stoppage time. It began with a Roffey corner, too, with Adekayo doing brilliantly to clear a goalbound effort off the line, triggering a counter attack that saw Soares leave the Roffey defence for dead and send a superb ball into the box where substitute Deji Alabi headed home for number six and his third of the campaign.

The goal capped off what was at times a scintillating performance from Godalming – peak Sher-ball, if you like – and perhaps their best showing of the season so far, certainly in the first half. At this stage of the Peter Bentley Cup last season the Gs were thrashed 5-0 by higher-level Wick and tonight’s scoreline speaks to the progression this team has made since then. It also marks Godalming’s first appearance in the quarter-finals of any two-tier league cup since the 2017-18 campaign in the Combined Counties.
The reward for this Roffey demolition job is a home quarter final against Newhaven, who are also in the league above. For now, though, attentions turn back to the league, with the home visit of Mile Oak on Saturday preceding what are shaping up to be two big games with promotion rivals, away to Billingshurst on 25 October and home to Worthing United on 2 November.

COYGS