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Sanderstead brush off Surrey Old Boys to stay top

Sanderstead 1st XI recorded an impressive 7-2 away win against close rivals Surrey Old Boys in South League Surrey Division 2 on Saturday 24 October.  Denzil Dolley led the scoring with a fine hat-trick.  The victory puts Sanderstead in a strong position before they meet Addiscombe - the league's only other unbeaten side - in their next fixture.

The visitors dominated possession in the top of the table clash, and it did not take long for the Millers to impose their superiority.  Martyn Avery, set up by Alex Vernon, scored first, putting OBs on the back foot early on.  Emit Raja doubled the lead, picking up the rebound off his own drag flick and striking cleanly into the corner.

David Fitzpatrick sent a pass down the line to Mark Hunnisett, who split the home defence with a deflected ball into the path of Dolley.  The midfielder rounded the goalkeeper to open his account, netting with a smart finish from a tight angle.  A reverse-stick shot soon after from Dolley made it 4-0.

Sanderstead were cruising when Hunnisett left the field with a hamstring injury, reducing the squad to a bare eleven players - a position Surrey had been in from the outset.  To conserve energy, the Millers did the sensible thing and kept the ball for long periods.  But when Mark Bryan gave a loose pass just before half time, OBs' centre forward nipped in and slotted his shot past Dan Pacitti.

In a more balanced second half, there were chances for both teams during the opening 15 minutes but no goals.  Vernon failed to convert at the back post when the ball fell to him just feet from the line, and the hosts twice missed out as crosses flashed in front of the Sanderstead goal.

Having created space for a shot, Dolley made his hat-trick with another clinical reverse strike, followed up by a goal for Bryan at a well-worked short corner routine.  Chris Hagan added the seventh, shooting low from the top of the circle.

When Sanderstead tried to force the play through the middle of the pitch, the OBs' striker took advantage of careless passing and notched a second consolation goal as the final whistle went.

After the game, Avery commented, "It is great to have maintained our 100 per cent record, and we will be ready to defend it when Addiscombe visit us on Saturday.  We hope Mark's injury is short-lived, but we can draw on a wealth of talent in the squad to ensure our challenge is not weakened."

Elsewhere on Saturday there were wins for the Old Saw Mill club's 2nd and 4th XIs, who beat Croydon 5-0 and 14-2 respectively, while the 3s lost out 2-1 away to Oxted.