We Are The Stags Online

This was a very much improved Stags performance against a side looking to consolidate a high table position. The Stags used the wings freely and often made Chats’ keeper Louis Green look slightly uncomfortable with his defence and what the pressure from the visitors was asking him to do.

Chats had two promising attacks, one at the very start of the match and one at the very end. In between, the Stags defence really outplayed the home attack in what was a very clean and well fought contest, well refereed by Eltham’s Mr Crouch.

Moments after the starting whistle, Chats’ Brendan Cass found himself running through the Stags’ midfield as if Moses had parted the waters. However, this was not to be a “Wivenhoe” moment: before he could loose a shot both Bastian and Batunga managed to snuff out the threat but it looked dicey for a moment.

Within five minutes, the Stags seemed to have sussed out both their opponents and the playing conditions and began to pass the ball out to both wings with effect. On 7 minutes Darren Duporte beat Andy Boyle Down the left to swing a beautiful cross over for Leon McKenzie, by himself on the six yard box, he seemed to have too much time and uncharacteristically headed over the bar.

Moments later the Stags missed a half chance form a corner then Fola Orilnishe touched on a lovely pass to Wes Thomas who turned and shot just over the bar.

This was the difference in the two teams: the Stags were playing football that would normally only be seen on dry pitches.

Soon Papy Kanyuka (back to close to his old form) got in on the action and came down the inside right channel cutting the ball back for McKenzie whose excellent shot was blocked on the line.

A further indication of the Stags’ superiority was shown by the amount of times both Mark Ward and Nicky Stevens came into the attack. On 17 minutes Stevens was unlucky not to score when Kanyuka laid a square pass into Chats’ penalty area for Ward to flash the ball across the goal only to see Green make a great save diving to his right.

On 21 minutes, Chatham had their first attempt at goal when Billiness met a cross but his header was easily dealt by ‘keeper Nej Hussein.

Soon Stags were on the attack again and Batunga joined the attack to scuff a shot wide from a position he would normally be expected to score from. Chatham attacked the depleted home defence and profited from a mistake in the Stags defence but, in the end the attack petered out with a poor shot that went well wide of the mark.

The last real scoring chance of the half fell to the Stags when Kanyuka was first to a well taken free kick but his header was brilliantly tipped over the bar by Green.

Having played so well in the first half and not scored, the Stags must have wondered where the goal was going to come: the answer was in Matthew Judge who joined the fray on the hour. They’d started the second half by creating three chances early on but that ball was just not going to go in.

With what may well have been his first touch of the ball Judge made himself free on the edge of the Chatham penalty area, he dummied the defender and stole two yards, spotted Green out of his goal and curled the ball deftly around him into the net.

It was not long before Judge was in action again, this time only foiled by the mud. Hw latched onto a long ball out of defence and cut past his defender on the left wing. Once again Green came out to cut down the angle. Judge lobbed for the empty net but this time the strength in the ball was nullified by the mud and a defender was able to scramble back and clear the ball from the line.

The Stags continued to press to make the game safe but in the final moments it took Batunga’s last ditch tackle to prevent Chatham from scoring after a melee in the Stags’ penalty area. If they’d scored it would have been a travesty as the win was a fair result.