No Peckham Spring As Borden Bump Up Table

Mid Table Meander or End of Term Thriller?

A resplendent Menace Arena welcomed today’s visitors Borden Village, April showers having brought out the best in the playing surface after the havoc wreaked by winter storms. Still playing fixture catch-up after weeks of postponements due to waterlogging, Peckham Town started the day with twenty percent of their League matches still to be played, despite the end of the season being just 21 days away. Sitting in tenth, seven points above the relegation places, a win today would see them mathematically safe from the drop. No such worries for the away side; Borden began the game in fifth, in little danger of finishing lower and with the potential to cement a top three finishing spot before the season ends.

In essence though, this looked like a typical end of season mid-table (ish) game between two sides with little to play for. Such affairs often fall into the very high or very low quality category; liberation from pressure on the pitch can produce feasts of attacking football, but liberation off it can lead to tired legs and minds. Lining up ahead of kick off, the Borden #9 Jack Couzins was heard to bantz with the referee “We’ve been on the p!ss the last couple of weeks, you can tell by our results” which didn’t exactly bode well for a classic…

With Whittaker, Carrick, Duah Danso, Yassein and Romaku all unavailable, Peckham were grateful to welcome back specialist centre Hassan Omar to the heart of the defence, where he partnered Joe Thomas. Nicky Meta, like Thomas more usually a midfielder, continued at left back with Raymond Agyemang at right back. Gamester retained his place in goal. A midfield three of Tarrant, Michael Agyemang and the more advanced Jacob Kemp supported wingers Rashane Wilson and Camilo Andres Nieva either side of central striker Chris Weber.

Borden Sniff Out Chances

If Borden had spent the last fortnight engaged in lengthy bouts of team bonding, it had clearly worked. Playing downhill after winning the toss and turning the sides around, they started much the brighter of the teams. The first quarter hour saw their Grealish-alike (he may not play much like him but he’s thirsty and he has nice hair) probe and harass the defence, while the makeshift Peckham back four struggled with deeper runners looking to spring the offside trap. Indeed, on a couple of occasions Borden attackers would have been in, had not offside players (yes you Jack, you can't dine out on last year's volley for ever you know) moved towards the ball triggering the flag.

Peckham’s luck didn’t hold however, as on 16 minutes the visitors opened the scoring. The Menace didn’t do enough to stop a cross from their right which was controlled superbly by the Borden forward. His shot was well saved onto the post by Gamester, who was then powerless to keep out the follow up.

The lead did not last long however, as Peckham scored on 19 minutes with their first meaningful effort on goal. Jacob Kemp surged towards goal but ran into traffic on the edge of the area. Depending on who you’re being generous / harsh to, he or the defender either played / mis-cleared the ball through to Michael Agyemang to slot home from 15 yards out.

Borden were soon back in front though. Joe Thomas was unable to leap high enough to head clear a clipped ball over the top and while it looked like the Borden Village forward had lost control of the ball in playing it past Gamester – there was no way he would have been able to keep it going out of play – there was deemed to be contact and a spot kick was given. Gamester guessed incorrectly and the Menace were behind again. Despite exerting a little more pressure in the remainder of the half, the Borden keeper was largely untroubled and half time arrived with Peckham trailing 2-1.

Village Throwbacks

As the second half progressed and Borden Village resorted to increasingly questionable tactics to stop Peckham’s progress, I found myself thinking that the word that came to mind most was “throwbacks”. In appearance, the claret and blue had a distinctly nostalgic vibe. Many of the players too opted for stylings that, well, look, they could be the height of fashion now, I wouldn’t know, but if they are they’ve definitely come full circle. The pre-match party chat and the on-field roaring at every throw-in won are all very ‘80s too. But the biggest throwback of all was the “tackling”…

The referee could have got involved after just a couple of minutes when a Borden defender slid in two footed off the ground on Rashane Wilson, only for a throw to be awarded. An equally dangerous lunge on Camilo Andres Nieva by the Borden 23 did finally see a yellow card produced. After lengthy treatment he was able to continue, only to be involved in another incident with the same player a few minutes later. Apparently a stern talking to was all the repeat-offender needed…. though in a clear admission of guilt he was swiftly, and wisely, hooked by his manager.

Peckham Struggle To Create

Peckham did create two moments of genuine threat in the second half, and arguably they should have scored on both occasions. On 74 minutes a cross from the right found Nieva on the penalty spot. His shot was blocked but spun towards goal where first Bah missed his kick entirely and then Suleman blazed over. A few minutes later an even better chance fell to Bah but when one on one he decided to cut back onto his more favoured foot, allowing a Borden defender time to recover and block.

Aside from these efforts however, Peckham’s attacks lacked penetration and often relied on set pieces. It isn’t hard to see why, with so much attacking talent either deployed further away from goal out of necessity or missing from the side entirely. The side badly miss the pacy, direct threat of Dowding as ball carrier, creator and converter of chances, while Nicky Meta’s enforced deployment at full back is robbing the Menace of someone further forward who can pick apart defences. And although Hassan Omar’s return to the defence was welcome, the dynamism of his makeshift partner Joe Thomas was missed in centre midfield.

With four games in the next two weeks and the fifth and the season extended a further seven days to allow the final fixture to be played on 11th May it’s not likely that Peckham will solve their injury crisis and its associated problems this season; hopefully Summer can bring a clean bill of health and perhaps an injection of final third threat ahead of the 24/25 season.

Relegation Avoided. Mange Tout.

And despite today’s 2-1 loss, that season will be played in the Kent County Premier League: Peckham left the field to learn that their mathematical safety was assured as Stansfeld O&B had also lost. Doing so with five games still to play, after all the scheduling and injury setbacks the side has faced this season, must be considered something of an achievement, although doubtless Mary Phillip will begin next season with a view to making it the club’s last at this level. The three points for Borden meanwhile saw them climb two places to sit third.

This month could then be your last chance to see the Menace without the accompanying tension and pressure of a promotion push. So get yourself down for one or more of Peckham’s remaining home games on Saturday 27th (vs Tenterden Town), Saturday 4th May (vs Stansfeld), Monday 6th May (vs Minster) and Saturday 11th May (vs Ashford). 218 (Two hundred and eighteen) did today and despite the result they had a lovely day in the Spring sunshine. Je suis je reste.

Peckham Town line up: Gamester; R.Agyemng, Meta, Thomas, Omar; M.Agyemang, Tarrant, Kemp; Wilson, Nieva, Weber. Subs: Suleman (for Wilson), Bah (for Weber), Ofori (for Nieva), Arizmendi (unused).