"Always go one more round"

Says AOB, often, perhaps too often, in his programme notes.

We failed to go one more round in the cup - for those of you who don't know, Chatham crashed out at Walton last Wednesday, a 2-1 defeat after extra time against ten men, having been leading with just minutes of normal time remaining. Worryingly, it looked like it might have been our year, but Chatham have failed to the achieve relative glory of playing three qualifiers in the World's Greatest Competition Ever Apparently (TM) since 1995. Any suspicion that we may have developed a cup pedigree was put to bed in Walton as quickly and depressingly as a teenage misery returning from said Hop in the eighties, the sound of Morrissey ringing in their ears, the promises of riches from Jonathon King resounding as their head hits the pillow...

In short, we bowed out. Again. Always next year, blah blah blah.... well, yes, there is always next year, but lets face it, if we can get past two games in the completion, not including replays, it'll be something of a miracle. Given that we need to win through seven rounds to even begin to think if such a dream tie as Middlesbrough at home, then.... lets just concentrate on the league shall we?

On the subject of the league, I missed what is called in layman's terms, a stonebonker classic on Saturday. To put you in the picture, on top of not being able to go to pretty much any away games this year, I'm also in unenviable position of missing home games for the next few weeks. I'm not in prison or anything untoward, or seriously ill, just seriously inconvenienced by the fixture catalogue for the coming month. I'll of course continue to pass judgement, rumour and scorn / love (delete as appropriate) on all things Chatham Town - it'll just carry less weight... Still, at least the Medway News will have an excuse not to do any Chatham Town news. Funny thing is they've not even covered an inch on the club since the famous "similar" news story they ran the other week. See my next post for more info...

Moving back to Saturday, Chatham found themselves at home in the league, tail firmly between shamed and tired cup tie legs, for the visit of one of my favourite Isthmian clubs, Leatherhead. AOB rang some changes. Raymone Powell started up front in place of Ascheri, and Tommy Binks came back to the defence. As I said, I wasn't there, but I love the idea of Razor playing up front. He came off the bench in the PSF against Margate and was terrifying in all the right ways (not an Ian Brady way), and I've felt that he could be the missing bite in our front line. So, according to the resurgent John Crow on the official site, it would prove I was right - Powell made a nusiance of himself so much that Lee Barnett scored twice, and Powell bagged one himself. All the drama came in the game's closing moments... 3-1 up on 85, Chatham won a penalty. Lee Barnett, a man who you do not want to face from the spot, steps up to seal the victory and his first hat-trick in Chatham colours. Scuffs it. Saved. Heads drop, Leatherhead steal one back on 86. And another on 88. 3-3. How did that happen... Always go one extra round. Chatham corner on 89. Ben Payne rises... Ben Payne connects... Ben Payne scores... 4-3 Chatham. Five minutes injury time and Michael Dodsworth comes off the bench, and it stays 4-3. Dodsworth the hero... maybe not, but lets give him a mention anyway. But in short, again, we won a game with a late winner. Without such winners, we'd be bottom. Instead we're seventh - with a game in hand (playing as I write at home to Met Police - if we win, we could go fifth).

AOB is still not happy - we're too leaky. My predictions of a rollercoaster season and other cliches appear to be becoming true. But its bloody exciting, isn't it?