Epsom Goals by Tong, M.Atkinson, Joubert
Epsom moved up to second place in the Surrey Hampshire league with a victory against UCL Academicals at Blenheim on Saturday. Epsom dominated the early exchanges and it was no surprise when a flowing attacking move played in Rob Tong to open the scoring after 10 minutes.
UCL were under the cosh, but some resilient defence from the visitors showed why they had arrived in second place in the league. Having weathered the early Epsom storm, UCL showed their quality by striking back with two quick goals; the first a well struck short corner and the second from close range after an initial shot had bobbled through the area. Epsom shrugged off the 2-1 deficit and were soon back on the attack, with UCL's goalkeeper having to make an alert save from a one-on-one with Mike Atkinson.
The Epsom right winger was in superb form however, and he soon shrugged off some heavy defensive attention to slam home an equaliser close to half time. 2-2. The second half was slightly less open. Epsom continued to dominate possession and centre half Ali Murrell was frequently able to step up into midfield and dictate the tempo, but UCL have one of the best defences in the league and limited clear cut chances to short corners, which proved disappointing.
Epsom were in need of inspiration and it arrived, not for the first time this season, from Mike Atkinson, whose mesmeric run from the right wing into the area was halted illegally by a UCL defender, resulting in a penalty flick and a yellow card. Set piece specialist Wade Joubert stepped up and powered home the flick for a 3-2 lead. Despite having a man advantage Epsom seemed happy to consolidate their lead, keeping possession for much of the remainder of the half.
They did have further chances, most notably when Brett Hosken's cross found the everpresent Atkinson unmarked just yards out, but the winger could not cap his day with a second goal. He had done almost everything else however to ensure that Epsom went second in the table at the final whistle. Espom face a difficult trip to Trojans next week.