Metropolitan Police 1 Walton Casuals 3
Saturday's Ryman League Division One South game at Imber Court was as good as over inside the first 26 minutes.
Walton Casuals' recent signing Stefan Gaisie opened the scoring on four minutes.
A nicely worked one-two finished with a drive along the ground from 18 yards into the corner of the net.
It got worse for the mid-table Police on 24 minutes as Gaisie picked up a through ball and, with Police keeper Will Peckham closing him down, he calmly lobbed the ball over his head and into an empty goal for the second.
Casuals, lying in the relegation zone, had everything to fight for; alas that could not be said for a Police side who lacked motivation. A rare attack finished with a good cross from Gary Drewett that found Michael Cobden, but his header from eight yards out hit the bar and bounced away.
Drewett also had a header that just floated over the bar.
Into the second half and the visitors' midfielder Ashley Lodge finished clinically with the ball driven into the back of the net, only for it to be disallowed for offside.
The sparse crowd had to wait until the final 10 minutes for any other real entertainment.
On 82 minutes, midfielder Jake Jenkins handled Drewett's goal-bound shot, inside the area.
Paul Honey made no mistake with the penalty to pull one back for the Police.
It proved a very late wake-up call for the home side.
It was not, however, to be a happy ending as, just four minutes later, Mu Maan cut inside a flat-footed Police defence and drove the ball home to make it 3-1 for the visitors and three vital points.
A minute later, Blues defender Lee Gledhill took a tumble in Casuals' area with the ball at his feet.
The referee immediately awarded a penalty but, following a conversation with his assistant, he changed his mind and gave a free-kick to Casuals, apparently for diving.
Into stoppage time and the Police were making a very late revival.
Nicky Humphrey’s volley from eight yards out went straight into the hands of keeper Chico Ramos.
A minute later and Vernon Francis crossed the ball into the goal area but Jamie Reed’s volley from five yards missed the target completely.
Police: Packham, Gledhill, Wilkins, Humphrey, Simpson, Taylor, Smith, Honey, Drewett, Ruggles, Cobden
Subs used: Reed, Francis
Attendance 67
NEXT GAMES
Monday, April 12 (7.45pm) Ashford Town v Metropolitan Police
Thursday, April 15 (7.45pm) Metropolitan Police v Burgess Hill Town
Saturday, April 17 (3pm) Metropolitan Police v Worthing
Wednesday, April 28 (7.45pm, at Harrow Borough FC) LONDON SENIOR CUP FINAL - METROPOLITAN POLICE V AFC WIMBLEDON or CROYDON ATHLETIC
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