Isthmian South Central 21 Dec 2024
Hanworth Villa 1
- Sam Merson (22’)
Kingstonian 3
- Bradley Wilson (10’, 77’)
- Eddie Simon (83’)
Match Report
For 61 minutes, Hanworth Villa matched promotion favourites Kingstonian toe-to-toe with the score level at 1-1.
But referee Deryll David controversially sent Ben Mulley off for an admittedly rash, but fairly contested challenge on Kingstonian goalkeeper Liam Allen.
The referee’s call changed the game, as Kingstonian’s top scorers Bradley Wilson and Eddie Simon added their 14th and 18th league goals to condemn Villa to a 3-1 home defeat.
It was Villa’s first home loss since November 2, as we stayed sixth on 36 points while Kingstonian on 47 points stayed second but cut the gap to leaders Farnham Town to four points.
Determined to avenge last week’s 5-1 defeat to Southall, Villa started strongly in front of a whopping 290 crowd at Rectory Meadow.
With a flurry of early set-piece chances, George Wells had a free header cleared off the line before Sam Merson stung Allen’s glove with a powerful free kick.
But in the 10th minute, a momentary lapse of concentration allowed Kingstonian’s Bradley Wilson to slip through and slot home for an arguably underserved lead.
For the next few minutes, Villa withstood waves of Kingstonian attacks before gradually growing into the game with a good spell of possession.
Villa’s persistence finally paid off in the 22nd minute, when a Shane Dunne corner was half cleared into Merson’s path.
Coming across the ball from the right, Merson drove the ball towards goal with a tad of cut-spin, enough to deceive Allen, as the ball nestled into the bottom corner.
It was as if Merson, a +2 handicap golfer, had combined his love for both sports to find us the equaliser.
The game’s intensity tempered until after the interval, when Kingstonian came out eager to prove a point.
Mark Smith was called upon and pulled off two fine saves to deny the away side in the opening five minutes of the second half.
Disaster then struck in the 61st minute after Mulley was sent off for a collision with Kingstonian goalkeeper Allen.
Mulley was reaching with his foot out, hoping to prod home a cross, but he appeared to have caught Allen who went down writhing in pain.
It sparked a fiery bust up between both sets of players, which perhaps influenced the decision of referee David.
David took his time and eventually reached for his back pocket to send a bemused Mulley his marching orders.
The highly charged nature of the match continued as Wells was booked for hauling down a Kingstonian attacker in the 65th minute.
Controversy struck again three minutes later, after substitute Quincy Patterson managed to round Allen but was brought down inside the box by a Kingstonian defender.
Despite vehement Villa protests, David waved our claims away much to the annoyance of the home support.
Alas, Kingstonian restored their lead in the 77th minute as Wilson found himself in acres of space to finish past Smith.
The away side had their third six minutes later, piling on Villa’s misery, as Simon curled a first-time finish into the side-netting before celebrating in front of the home fans.
Villa will return on Boxing Day at home to Metropolitan Police at Rectory Meadow aiming to get back to winning ways.
