Institutional Misplacers 2-3 Institutional Racists

Oh dear. Where to begin. Chatham were the slightly better of the two bald men fighting over a comb in a sluggish first half, and were easily outplayed and bested to every ball in a second half where they conspired to steal an unlikely point against second placed Met Police only to throw it away deep into injury time.

Normally, to lose to such a sucker punch hurts, but in truth it was no less than the Met deserved, even if it hurts to say it.

Chatham lead at the interval courtesy of the best goal of the game, Jason Barton turning and placing a curling shot into the top corner past the outstretched trucker Mo Mann. The first half was quite poor, with the attention wandering for long periods, much like the way time passes on a transatlantic flight - you know you're somewhere, but the brain kind of switches off, and time ellipses into the human concept that it really is. Chatham misplaced many passes throughout the game, and in the first half many attacks broke down due to poor balls from midfield, most noticeably Gary Ward.

Ward must have rollicked himself at half time, because he was close to a man of the match performance in the second half, but sadly the rest of the side had lost its composure, Kane Rice, playing up front with Fuller, having to run on to far too many mishit long long passes. The art of looking up had clearly passed many of the Chatham side by. Also, the art of concentrating in defence and winning second balls also seemed to have gone astray. Usually, we're weakest after we score. Holding our lead into the second half, Chatham were confident of the final whistle's arrival bringing three points, but it wasn't to be. Met's three goals were all short distance efforts, all with some element of slapstick, aided by a stage of a muddy six yard box. The ultimate humour came from a Met shot beating a frankly shaky Adam Molloy, but not beating the mud, allowing the keeper to scramble back and claim the ball as it stuck, much in the way that a custard pie sticks to a clown's face.

Chatham rarely threatened, and substitute Billy Shinners, who moved up front after replacing Ibermere wandered offside on three separate occasions when it was probably the hardest thing to do. He did though pull out the shot of the game on 82 minutes, when Chatham, having been put 2-1 down, put together a small spell of pressure. Shinners unleashed a fearsome effort from 20 yards from the right of the box which tested Mann at full stretch in the Met PoPo goal. Mann's excellent save saw Rice swing in the resultant corner which Jason Barton bundled home for an unlikely, and tad unjust 2-2.

When a shocking 6 mins of stoppage time were announced by the referee (although by the book it probably reflected the ridiculous, and frankly embarrassing celebrations of the Met Police team, plus an injury to Adam Molloy sustained as Met Police went 2-1 up), you had that feeling that it would end badly. And it did. Met Police broke in the 94th minute, and in a moment that must have frustrated them, but those familiar with dramatic irony would have loved, the referee failed to play an advantage after a pointless foul. The Met's forward was accelerating towards the box, with the ball at his feet. Chatham were backing off. He needed to belt it so it didn't stick in the thwarting mud. He didn't. He didn't, because the ref blew up for an earlier foul. Chatham let off perhaps. Not for a moment. The freekick whipped in, Chatham again failed to clear their lines and a Met foot was first to it. They made no mistakes and were clinical in finishing the game off.

Some Chatham fan's may feel hard done by. I did at 4.55pm I don't now. A point would have been unjust. Mo Mann made just one save in the second half, and was hampered for the equaliser. We lacked the quality that we had in the second half last week. We lack consistency badly. It's frustrating. Hegley injured. Tedder injured. Firth absent. Others missing (Ryan Restell, where are you?)

Frustratingly, Chatham's was just one of three games that went ahead on an unexpectedly wet day. We're now five points off the drop, having played substantially more games than those beneath us. We've taken 1 point from the last 15 available. But we won't go down, because Sittingbourne might go bust. Or if they don't, all the teams coming down from the Ryman Premier are naturals for the Ryman South. And the Ryman 1 North is already a team short thanks to Ilford's withdrawal. So perhaps next season we can have this side play in the league that it belongs in. That is, this team of VCD, who are used to playing in the R1N, used to travelling the M25, perhaps we can perform at that level. It beats the Kent League. Relegation would be a disaster for our plans on and off the pitch.

As an aside, Phil Miles, Steve Best, Jim Lyons and Matt Solly were all at the game today. Lyons and Solly could have gone on to be like Bestie, a 500 game player, through thick and thin. I stand by the statement that it is a travesty that Matt Solly left this club because he couldn't get a start. He's Kent League with Erith and Belvedere now. With Jim Lyons. And our goalkeeping pairing of last season Ruddy and Stroud (which sounds likes a vaudeville act). What a waste of talent, no disrespect intended. And what a waste of the efforts made to develop him as a player from the age of 14. What sort of message is it to send out to our youth set up? Only Ryan Laker is a beacon to that. He had a very good game today, as he did last week, particularly given his inexperience.

But, let's be positive. Fleet Town next week, then Worthing at home. We need 4 points from them two games. We can do that, if we do the basics. Which we can do. So let's do it!

Come on you Chats!