Lidl's Vodka 1 - 3 Chuck Martini

This report is well, late, (four days so in fact), but the joys of parenting and a busy career in Social Housing have truly taken their toll this week.

Tuesday night saw Chatham, on the back of their first successive victories since October 2009, entertain play off hunting Godalming Town at TOSC. Godalming, a much much improved side and one of the suprise packages in the Ryman 1 South this term, came to Maidstone Road confident of a repeat of their opening day mauling of the Chats, an encounter which Chuck Martini's men (yes, that his real name) won 3-0.

Chatham started the game nervously, and were a deserved goal down on 27 mins when the impressively strong and fleet of foot number 11 Phil Williams held off challenges from an aggressive Ray Powell to fire a pin point accuract shot past Richard Stroud from an improbable angle. In a game that had offered little in the way of clear chances until that point, it was only ever going to be from such a piece of class that the scoreline altered, and the half petered out tersely, the only items of note being the substitution by Godalming of their keeper Gary Aulsberry for Rodney Chiweshe, who himself was carring an injury, and the almost immediate save by the replacement of a fierce and well struck Jack Pallen shot.

Into the second half, and Chatham came out of the blocks the stronger side. With no more than five second half minutes on the clock, the impressive Rob Denness held the ball up well in the box, and laid it off for Pallen, who's crisp drive was tipped wide by Chiweshe. On 55 minutes, Chatham were level thanks to a superlative strike from Denness with the left foot, the lanky frontman running onto a clever through ball, taking one touch and burying past the outstretched keeper into the far corner.

The momentum of the game was truly turning at this point, Chatham seemingly the better side, and a winner looking likely for the Medway side. Jack Pallen twice went close in the next ten minutes, before a Barnett-esque strike from distance by Denness was tipped over by the outstanding Chiweshe.

Then came the twist in this tale that wouldn't suprise any Chats fan this season. A hopeful punt by the Chiweshe (who had not kicked the ball with any comfort due to the knock he was carrying all game) eluded everyone in the Chatham rearguard, and was flicked through the defence to find Graeme Purdy, who buried it past the stranded Stroud.

Stroud, who'd not had much to do in the half could justifiably feel aggrieved by the yet again calamitous defending on show, but could not find fault with anyone but himself for the killer third which followed some ten minutes later. A cross into the box was caught by Stroud above a Godalming head, and immediately dropped. Stroud chased behind the big man, hoping to achieve who knows what other than a youth theatre pantomime re-enactment of a chase scene from a silent comedy (all that was missing was a clenched fist and a rolling pin),before the ball was pulled back across goal for Williams to bury it past the distraught defence. Chatham's confidence finally undone, the final ten minutes played out in a painfully lacklustre spirit, even Justin Ascheri's appearance from the bench doing nothing to dispell the painful truth that we are tactically incompetent and adrift of the depth of intelligence and tactical nous that makes winning teams.

We entertain high flying Fleet Town this afternoon. I might go.