Jersey met Chipstead for the first time six weeks ago after their relegation from the Isthmian League last season. They are struggling again this season lying 13th with a record of 7-1-12 28-52 with three wins, Balham, Epsom & Ewell and Horley Town,since our last meeting. However, they had conceded seven goals when they visited A.F.C. Whyteleafe. Their manager resigned in mid-October after their seventh defeat in nine games. Vice Chairman, Tony Stone, has temporarily taken over team affairs, but with five players out injured they only had two substitutes for this match.

Jersey made three three changes to their starting XI against Sheerwater. Pierce Roche – his debut this season, Rai Dos Santos and Jonny Le Quesne replacingEuan Van der Vliet - a new father, Karl Hinds and Kieran Lester. The pitch passed an inspection earlier in the day after a postponement on Saturday and their juniors being re-arranged on Monday to help ensure that this match proceeded.

As at Springfield Chipstead often had ten men behind the ball with the occasional break down the right flank. Therefore, the match was largely played in the Chipstead half with Roche having little to do as Jersey had the advantage of the strong wind.

Two early goals put Jersey in control. The first resulted from a Dos Santos 25 yardfree kick which hit the underside of the bar. It bounced down and with Finley Davenport prostrate Luke Watson just beat Luke Campbell to the loose ball to apply the coup de grace with a stooping header. Three minutes later Le Quesne on the left played the ball inside to Joe Kilshaw. Kilshaw looked to make room for a shot but instead fed the ball through to Le Quesne, who had continued his run, to slip the ball past Davenport at his near post.

Dos Santos twice broke through and almost found Francis Lekimamati who only needed a touch each time to score, first with his foot and then with his head. Jersey won the first corner of the match in the 33rd minute and another immediately afterwards. From the latter Le Quesne and Davenport both ended up in the net which came away from its moorings. It took almost six minutes of hammering tostraighten out the side bases and to re-secure it.

Before half-time Simpson flashed a twenty yarder just over and when Roche fumbled a cross from the right Ben Jordan stabbed the ball just wide of the left post.

Jersey retaliated with a Lekimamati cross which an unmarked Le Quesne headed over before Dos Santos broke down the left flank, drew Davenport, and found Le Quesne near the penalty spot where he managed to “shin” home the third goal and put Jersey firmly in control.

Chipstead’s skipper Tijani Eshilokun picked up a knock on his left ankle in the first minute after the break and had to hobble off but they substituted Emmanuel Robe before Eshilokun limped back on. Ten minutes later Chipstead used their only other substitute. In between those two changes Davenport had saved a Le Quesne header at the foot of his left post, Lekimamati had headed over when well placed and Jersey had scored their fourth from the spot. Dos Santos had wriggled between Manaaf Pauw and Tequaniel Palmer on the left of the box before the former brought him down as he tried to recover the situation. Watson stepped up to score the penalty in the bottom left corner as Davenport guessed wrongly.

On the hour Chipstead pulled one back when a cross from the left was met by “man mountain” Melford Simpson, who climbed well above Campbell, to head in to the bottom left corner. Within two minutes Jersey led by four again. Watson in the right channel threaded a pass through to Kilshaw who carefully found the bottom right corner past the despairing dive of Davenport which made him the leading scorer for the season so far.

That was the cue for the double substitution of Toby Ritzema and Dos Santos by Fraser Barlow and Kieran Lester. A few minutes later Lekimamati limped off and was replaced by Sammy Sutcliffe who played up front. In the next attack Barlow was found in the space of the edge of the box by Le Quesne and Davenport could only parry his powerful low shot in to the path of Lester, who was following up right of centre, for the sixth goal.

Harry Curtis was the provider for the seventh goal. Breaking down the right he pulled the ball back for Kilshaw in acres of space. Kilshaw put in a low shot to the right corner which the unfortunate Davenport parried only to see the ball spin back up and over him in to the other corner.

Davenport pushed a Lester header over for a corner which Le Quesne took. Lester and Barlow both tried to force it home before Sutcliffe scored his first goal of the season from a yard out to become the 16th player to score this season. It also meant that Jersey matched Whyteleafe’s recent seven goal margin of victory against Chipstead. Jersey also closed the gap on them to four points with four games in hand after they suffered a late loss at Tooting and Mitcham United.

Chipstead are struggling at the moment but you can only beat what is in front of you.

The top five now have a ten point margin ahead of the sixth placed team so it will be a surprise if these are not the sides contesting the play-off matches. Of greater import is which one of them can claim the automatic promotion place.

Attention now turns to the re-arranged F.A. Vase match at Whitstable Town on Saturday. The winners of that match already know that they will be travelling to Walsham Le Willows, just north-east of Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk in the fourth round, the last 32.

Chipstead – Finley Davenport, Cameron Lewis-Brown, Manaaf Pauw, Evan Kelly, Tequaniel Palmer, Archie Alexander, Ben Jordan, Tijani Eshilokun (c), Enrique Tiamuna, Melford Simpson, Emmanuel Robe (wore 14)

Substitutes – 12. Elijah Hopwood (for Palmer 58), 16. Mishael Matillon-Konan (for Robe 49), only two substitutes

Green & White Hoops with White Upper Backs/Green/Green; GK All Orange

Tony Stone (Manager), Aaron Lamont and Peter Wedgeworth (Squad members), Jackson Broom (Kit), Tiffany Jones (Medical)

Jersey Bulls – Pierce Roche, Harry Curtis, James Carr, James Queree (c), Luke Campbell, Luke Watson, Francis Lekimamati, Joe Kilshaw, Rai Dos Santos, Toby Ritzema, Jonny Le Quesne
Substitutes – 12. Sammy Sutcliffe (for Lekimamati 69), 14. Fraser Barlow (for Ritzema 63), 17. Kieran Lester (for Dos Santos 63), 18. Jay Giles (not used), only four substitutes

Red/White/Red; GK All Yellow

Elliot Powell (Manager), Andy Dewhurst (Assistant), Jay Giles (Medical)

Formations (R to L)

Chipstead (5-4-1) 1; 2-4-5-6-3; 7-8-10-14: 9
Jersey Bulls (4-1-4-1) 1; 2-4-5-3; 6; 11-10-8-7; 9

Match Officials – Nigel Owen (East Molesey), Roger Wells (Coulsdon) dug outs side, Sebastian Lally (Coulsdon) clubhouse side

Cautions – none

Corners – Chipstead (0) 1; Jersey Bulls (2) 3

Assists – Rai Dos Santos 1st, 3rd & 4th, Joe Kilshaw, Luke Watson, Fraser Barlow 6th& 8th, Harry Curtis

Player of the Match – Luke Watson

Added Time – 5.50 & 1.05 (6.55)