AFC Royal Holloway 1–1 Cranleigh
Cranleigh battled to a hard-earned point away at AFC Royal Holloway in a game that started in chaotic fashion.
The match got off to a difficult start when Tails was elbowed off the ball within the first five minutes, drawing blood. After protesting to the referee — who missed the incident — Tails was shown a sin bin, reducing Cranleigh to 10 men. Things quickly went from bad to worse when Sam Jones also saw yellow for dissent and was sin binned, leaving Cranleigh down to nine men for the first 20 minutes of the game.
Royal Holloway took advantage of the disruption, opening the scoring through their winger in the lead-up to Tails’ dismissal. However, Cranleigh found a way back into the game 10 minutes before the break when George Barrett threaded a perfect through ball to Adam Bicknell, who rounded the keeper and slotted home calmly to make it 1–1.
The second half was a stop-start affair, with neither side able to find much rhythm. George Mead pulled off a couple of crucial saves to keep Cranleigh level, securing a valuable point on the road.
In the end, a draw was probably a fair result, with both teams battling hard for the point.
Goals:
- Cranleigh – Adam Bicknell (35′) [Assist: George Barrett]
Man of the Match: George Mead – Pulled off key saves to keep Cranleigh in the game.
