⚽️ Bhanji
⚽️ Ward
⚽️ Capp

🅰️ D Danes
🅰️ Bhanji

Drama right at the end saw CSKA squander a 3-1 lead and come away with only one point and with a man sent off.

The game started well for CSKA, executing their mid-block very well and allowed them to be expansive and creative getting the ball into the final third. Caine Ward rattled the bar early on that set the tone after some tidy footwork from Olly Arnold. The opening goal came from an unlikely source in Raj Bhanji, in at left-back this week, showed great desire to bravely slide in to prod home a poor clearance to give CSKA a deserved lead. There were few chances thereafter, and probably more time was spent getting one-way explanations from a very-involved referee.

A nasty tackle on Caine Ward allowed Olly McDougall to make a welcome return, who immediately sprung a bit of extra pace into the attacking third.

The visitors went in at half-time, calm, measured and aware of the next task of keeping it tight for the first 5, before upping-the-anti as the game matured.

Dan Danes came on to give additional control and calm in the middle and showed some excellent touches early on and slowed it up to dictate the forward play very well. One such instance where he threaded a delicious ball into the middle where both Olly Arnold and Caine Ward were able to run on to, the latter arriving at the back stick to smash it in for 2-0.

Connor Williams and Mark Bell were assured at the back, with Matt Westerman and Raj Bhanji covering any wide threat.
There were additional breaks for Olly Arnold, with one shot flashing wide, and another where the keeper forced him too wide, but no illusive third goal. A thunderbolt from the Enderby centre-mid gave them a route back in unexpectedly, and this was followed by another warning as a shot cracked off the post.

With Olly McDougall struggling for fitness (by his own admission), Ruben Capp came back on to support the high press, only to end up bagging our third goal of the game from close range.

But a poorly conceded corner led to a poorly conceded second goal to make it 2-3. And in injury time another daft foul allowed Enderby to load the box, keeper-and-all. CSKA made a complete hash of the situation, allowed the ball to bounce everyone rushing in at goal, and somehow the referee succumbed to the appeals for handball by Westerman, resulting in not only a penalty, but the second-harshest red card of Westerman’s CSKA career.

The resultant penalty was put away and the game ended 3-3.