Blues make hard work of deserved win

Make no mistake, the Blues deserved to win this hard-fought and very entertaining encounter to put them back into the top half of the table, but did they make hard work of it.

Numerous good goalscoring opportunities were created by both sides but poor finishing and great defending kept the ball amazingly out of the net.

The score line could easily have been 6-2 if those chances had been put away.

As it was, on 16 minutes, Nicky Humphrey up for a free-kick rose majestically and headed home what turned out to be the only goal of the match and secure the Blues another three precious points and an eighth successive game without defeat.

The match was played at a hectic pace for the whole 90 minutes and the visitors, to their credit, never stopped trying to get a goal back.

The list of near misses does not make very good reading.

Blues striker Craig Charley was dangerous up field but missed the target with a shot from 15 yards.

Rod Edwards positioned himself on the far side of the goal area for a corner and was taken completely by surprise as the ball somehow reached him but, from four yards out, his header just shaved the wrong side of the post.

It was far from all one way traffic. Kane Sergeant for the visitors picked up a bad clearance from the Blues defence.

Keeper Will Packham was stranded by the near post. Sergeant, with the entire goal to aim for, chose to fire it wide of the far post, a costly miss.

Not to be outdone, Blues striker Craig Wilkins missed a couple of chances.

He picked up a Paul Honey cross into the goal area and struck his shot from two yards - keeper Luke Naughton, not for the first time during the game, somehow blocked the shot.

Humphrey in his own goal mouth was lucky in clearing a cross when the ball was inches away from going into the net. That could have been a very embarrassing own goal. The second half was just as hectic. Craig Brown, playing up front for the Blues, kept roaming down both wings, confusing the Casuals defenders.

He put in a few good crosses that alas were not put away with the final touches.

Carley yet again had a couple of shots well saved by Naughton.

Ron Edwards had a goal-bound volley from six yards but the visitors always seemed to have defenders behind the ball to block the effort.

Into the final minutes and the Casuals goalmouth seemed to be under siege as more chances were missed.

With what proved almost the last touch of the ball, Carley broke free and shot from about five yards out. The ball was goal bound but, yes, you have guessed right, somehow it was charged down and deflected off the goalline for yet another Blues corner.

A deserved win for the Blues but, with two more league games in the next four days, it will certainly be a test of their stamina.

Met Police: Packham, Gledhill, Simpson, Sutherland, Humphrey, Greenaway, Brown, Honey, Wilkins, Carley, Edwards.

Subs used: Todd, Francis, Kinganda

ATTENDANCE: 101