Chertsey Town 1 Raynes Park Vale 1 (Chertsey won 3-0 on penalties)

Two EL Records Premier Challenge Cup matches have now been completed this season and both, for Chertsey Town, have resulted in victory by the narrowest of margins, as a result of a penalty kick play off.

Town lurched into the quarter final but the performance was far from convincing with hardly a worthwhile shot being delivered by either side.

Chertsey mainly had the edge and should have wrapped up the tie in the final moments of ordinary time when a open goal opportunity was squandered.

Vale could also have made better of their openings but poor finishing meant that Josh Lennie was given less to do than was sometimes threatened.

Overall, little was learned in the two hours of football offered to a patient crowd, who ended up on a crisp evening, worrying more about the flow of blood to their frozen toes than the state of play on the park.

The flow of the game was not helped, either, by inconsistent refereeing that brought dissent to the fore, more in this game than any other played by Chertsey Town this season.

Claims of mistaken identity were strong when Mark Waters received a second yellow card after what seemed to be an adjacent Marcus Moody challenge.

The resultant handicap of being reduced to ten men hardly seemed to be noticed with Chertsey still retaining control in the midfield in much the same manner as had been seen previously through most of the game.

Seventeen-year-old Jake Rowley, a regular in the under eighteens, made his first start in senior football and looked composed in his deep defensive role.

It may have been that the visitors were happy for territory to be conceded as there always seemed to have a lengthy file of defenders strung across their back line.

The net result was that the Chertsey attack was invariably outnumbered by two or even three to one and in displaying scant ideas in how to break this stranglehold the moribund situation persisted.

The game started encouragingly for Town who almost created a second minute lead when Gavin Bolger poked the ball narrowly wide off a deep curling through ball.

However, the real thing took place ten minutes later when, as was eventually to be proved a rare event, the Raynes Park defence was caught napping and Leon Johnson, in his first start for more than eight weeks, flashed the ball into the path of Aaron McLeish who outpaced his marker to zip home a low strike at the Gogmore Farm end.

With little to get too exited about, Vale eventually struck back two minutes from the break when an attack in force, outnumbered a spread out Chertsey defence and with options open, Rob Harmeston fired the ball low, into the back of the net to even up the game.

John Pomroy looked a good bet to put his side ahead after the interval right in front of the Raynes Park Vale goal but the ball fell inches behind him and he lost his footing in trying to retrieve the situation.

Vale also had a close moment with a couple of useful looking crosses but with no one on hand to connect, the prize was forfeited.

The quality of the game deteriated as time went by with increasing tetchiness prompting a number of cards from the referee, and the tie broke down somewhat as a spectacle.

Passes and direction went astray increasingly as tired legs were unable to control the ball as well as might be expected.

Extra-time contributed nothing to the evening so it was a shame that Darren Dobinson's blast well over the bar with the Vale net at his mercy a few minutes from time which could have negated such requirement.

A further half-hour was thus played out to no great effect except to set up a penalty spot shoot out with Chertsey Town and John Pomroy taking the first kick. His was successful, as were subsequent strikes from Steve Gibson and Marcus Moody.

No further Chertsey involvement was then necessary for, in between times, the Raynes Park aspirants completely failed with their three efforts by striking their first against the upright then having the following two saved by Lennie.

The succinct conclusion to the tie was in strict contrast to the drawn out affair in open play but at least the result has allowed Chertsey to regroup to now vie for a place in the semi-final.