| Date | Saturday 9 March 2013 |
| Match | Royston Town v Chertsey Town |
| Competition | Evo-Stik League Southern: Central Division One |
| Result | Won 1-0 |
| Royston Scorer | Endacott |
| Attendance | 185 |
| Crows MoM | Ross Collins |
Excellent Endacott Breaks The Curfews
By Jez Izod
An early Lewis Endacott strike and some dubious officiating gave the Crows all three points in a scrappy, tense affair at Garden Walk.
The excellent Endacott showed his intentions from the very first minute with a free kick troubling the away defence but ultimately saved by Gary Ross in the Chertsey goal.
Royston appeared to have livened up after two previously poor displays and Tommy Malins set Kaan Fehmi on a run, only for the whistle to be blown for a very dubious foul by the little striker.
On six minutes the forward returned the favour with an excellent cross to Malins whose fierce shot was blocked by Matt Morris.
It was hearts in the mouth time for Royston with the clock hitting 10 minutes. Terrible defending by the Crows allowed Mark Knight the freedom of Garden Walk, however his lob was handled away by Will Norris and eventually cleared by Joe De La Salle. The young keeper had handled outside of the area and was extremely fortunate that the Referee did not spot this.
With Chertsey players still protesting the non decision, the ball was launched into the away area, this was latched onto by Lewis Endacott and his wonderful effort gave Ross no chance and gave the Crows a slender lead.
The Curfews came back into the match with a low shot from Knight being saved by Norris and shortly afterwards the young stopper was tested by John Pomroy.
Royston were then frustrated by more strange officiating when Kaan Fehmi, slotted past Ross on 20 minutes, only to adjudged offside.
With the whistle happy referee becoming the centre of attention, the game became disjointed with neither side wishing to commit challenges that would bring attention from the man in the centre.
On 32 minutes, the whistle was blown for the 26th time to present Chertsey with a free-kick. From this set piece, panic ensued in the Royston area as Rob Carrick set up Pomroy, only for his shot to sail high and over the cross bar.
Four minutes later saw Kaan Fehmi winning a superb tackle only for this to be given as a foul. From the resulting free kick, Pomroy found Knight and again the ball sailed high and harmlessly over.
Royston then pressed forward and on 37 minutes a high ball from Collins found Endacott, but the Royston number 2 was taken out by an elbow from Morris. As the Referee showed the yellow card the decision was met by ironic cheers from both sets of supporters.
With half time approaching, the home side was enraged by yet another poor decision. Kaan Fehmi was fouled but with the striker bearing down on goal, the referee pulled play back for a free kick. The resultant ball from Wilson was eventually scrambled away by Ross.
A minute before half time saw a fantastic move from Royston, Endacott found Standen in acres of space who in turn planted a superb ball into the path of Malins, unfortunately a heavy touch from the winger pushed the ball into the path of Ross. Malins followed through and earnt a booking for his efforts.
The second period saw immediate Royston pressure with Malins played clean through and his shot hit the side netting, with most of the home contingent celebrating another goal.
Fehmi was making a nucience of himself in the Chertsey area, twisting and turning at every opportunity, however on 52 minutes he again unfairly adjudged to be offside.
Manager Paul Attfield must have urged his troops to attack at half time as waves of Royston attacks were marshalled away by the excellent McGarry and Morris.
On 60 minutes Chertsey came extremely close to levelling the match. Hesitant goal keeping from Morris allowed Pomroy to release a shot that went just wide of the Royston goal.
The referee then played a further part in the match with the whistle being blown for the 60th time as Endacott was adjudged to have fouled Carrick. The Crows number 2 had his name placed into the notebook.
The Crows made changes with Ryan Lockett and Luke Robins replacing Malins and Standen. Immediately, Robins made his presence known with an excellent run down the Chertsey left flank, with only the keeper to beat his right footed shot went just wide.
With full time approaching another Royston change saw Sam Spencer replacing Ryan Ingrey. The substitute was effective in cutting out play and killing time to the final whistle.
The whistle, which had been a common theme all afternoon, was blown after 95 minutes of a hard fought encounter. Chertsey were good value for their performance and will feel a little hard done by with some of the decisions that went against them.
The Crows will see this as not pretty but effective with 3 more points secured in their quest for promotion.
Royston Town: Norris, Endacott, Wilson, De La Salle, Bradshaw, Collins (c), Edwards, Standen (Robins), Fehmi, Ingrey (Spencer), Malins (Lockett). Subs Not Used: McDevitt, Parr
