Match Report: Chippenham Town 2-0 Gosport Borough
Chippenham Town secured back-to-back victories with a commanding 2-0 win over Gosport Borough at Hardenhuish Park, building on Tuesday night’s success against Evesham.
The Bluebirds named an unchanged starting XI from their previous outing, while Josh Adepoju, Brian Nelson and Kiyan Coke-Miles-Smith came onto the bench in place of Ethan Lindo, Joel Odei-Larbi and Felix Miles.
Town nearly made the perfect start inside two minutes. A long ball forward was expertly controlled by Taylor-Crossdale, who beat Agboola before laying the ball into the path of Owusu. The forward’s effort from the edge of the area drifted narrowly wide of the top corner.
Gosport responded almost immediately when Billy Bodin drove towards goal, but Alex Kieh produced an excellent block to deny the visitors.
Kieh then made his mark at the other end after 16 minutes. A trademark long throw from Haines caused problems in the Gosport penalty area, and the defender rose at the near post to head home and give Chippenham a deserved lead.
The hosts continued to look dangerous. On the half-hour mark, Taylor-Crossdale raced onto another long ball and fired a low effort towards the near post, only for goalkeeper James Holden to save with his feet.
Five minutes later, another Haines long throw was only partially cleared. Selwood’s effort from the edge of the area deflected into the path of Dylan Jones, whose volley flashed narrowly wide.
Chippenham carried their momentum into the second half and nearly doubled their advantage ten minutes after the restart. Petrynski delivered a pinpoint cross to Taylor-Crossdale, but a brave last-ditch block prevented the striker from finding the net.
The Bluebirds then came close to producing a superb team goal. Kieh won possession on the halfway line before some slick combination play released Petrynski down the left. His inviting cross was just inches beyond the stretching Kieh as he arrived in the box.
Gosport threatened an equaliser when Witchard made a save but could only spill the ball into a dangerous area. However, Haines reacted brilliantly to make a crucial block and preserve Chippenham’s lead.
With 20 minutes remaining, Josh Adepoju was introduced to make his Chippenham Town debut.
The visitors’ task became even more difficult shortly afterwards when Jacob Gardiner-Smith was shown a red card after the referee spotted him pulling Owusu’s hair.
Town continued to push for a second goal. Jones drove into the penalty area before finding Selwood on the edge of the box, but his effort sailed over the crossbar.
Adepoju almost enjoyed a dream debut goal when he cut inside from a wide position and sent a low shot just wide of the target.
The victory was finally sealed in style late on. Dylan Jones burst forward with pace and power before unleashing an unstoppable strike into the back of the net, making it 2-0 and ensuring all three points remained in Wiltshire.
At the final whistle, Chippenham celebrated consecutive victories and another impressive defensive display, with goals from Alex Kieh and Dylan Jones securing a deserved win over Gosport Borough.
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