Following this latest defeat at the hands of play-off contenders Ashford Town, the Robins prospects of staying in the Ryman Premier Division now hang by a slender thread with two games remaining.
Once again the problem experienced for most of the season, putting the ball in the net, came back to haunt the team, with both Ismael Ehui and Phil Ruggles absent through injury and work commitments, and the make-shift combination of Side and Ursell up front lacked the physical presence to disrupt the home defence or to make the most of the chances created by the Robins in the early stages.
advertisement
An excellent corner by Evans looked destined for Liam Harwood as he powered into the area, but his header lacked the power to find its way past the packed defence and was deflected for another corner that ended with Evans shooting over.
Shortly after Town's reserve keeper Ross managed to hold a crisply hit shot by Evans, but after 25 minutes it all went wrong when a hopeful ball into the Robins area was knocked on by Canderton and, although keeper Barnard made contact with the looping shot it fell into the path of Todd who steered the ball home.
A good run by Dean Carpenter was halted for a free kick on the edge of the Town, but Ursell's low shot was held by Ross on the goal line.
As the rain became heavier, the Robins task became harder when a cross-field pass by Wellard picked out Warren Harris on the left and the midfielder took the ball forward before beating Barnard with a low shot into the far corner to give the home team a comfortable interval lead.
Hayden Bird made a change at the start of the second period with Michael Johnson coming on to try to put pressure on the home defence, but the first chance of the half fell to Ashford's Wes Goggin who was denied by a good stop by Barnard.
At last a quick break by the Robins gave the visitors a chance to reduce the arrears, but Johnson's shot was disappointingly wide.
As the rain continued to fall, playing conditions became more dangerous and David Graves was forced off following a fierce challenge to be replaced by Simon Cooper.
An exciting run by the unpredictable Todd came to an end when Barnard managed to beat out his final shot, but any lingering hope of the Robins getting back into the game came to an end with a dubious penalty award by the less-than-impressive Mr Bentley and, when Todd's spot kick was beaten out by Barnard, Palmer's follow-up effort was allowed to stand despite the fact that he was clearly in the area when the kick was taken.
With the game beyond them the Robins kept going, but their efforts lacked conviction and any hit of good fortune as Johnson and Gonsalves were both denied late in the game.
Two games left, two wins needed and its going to be a bumpy ride.
Robins: Barnard, Graves (Cooper), Gonsalves, York, Harwood, Standen (Johnson), Collins, Evans, Side, Ursell (Watts), Carpenter
Subs not used: Harte, Howe.
Next games
Saturday, April 19 (3pm): Boreham Wood v Carshalton Athletic, Ryman League Premier Division
Saturday, April 26 (3pm): Carshalton Athletic v Tonbridge Angels, Ryman League Premier Division
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
Print
Email this
Comment
