Happy Season Ending For K’s
In rounding off their season with a 4-0 win over Needham Market, Kingstonian achieved their biggest victory margin of the Leigh Dynan era. Other performances have been more impressive – wins away to Hendon and Margate, and at home to Enfield for example – but despite the low-key, end of term feel to the game it was another encouraging performance.
Five wins from the last eight games of the season have lifted Ks to a more creditable 13th in the league, which seems a far cry from how things looked at the end of March.
As in the recent home win over Staines, the first half saw Ks look the better side without achieving a breakthrough, before the floodgates opened after half time.
Visiting goalkeeper Danny Gay made a number of good saves to keep Ks at bay before half time. First he saved well from a Michael West free kick and then he kept out a Daniel Ajakaiye effort after good work from Mohammadu Faal. Towards the end of the half he did well to keep out a fierce 20-yarder from Freddie Yao and Ajakaiye also headed narrowly over. Jamie Griffith came close with Needham Market’s best chance.
After the break Ks’ frustration came to an end as a Faal cross deflected through to Ajakaiye who converted from close range on 51 minutes.
The visitors won a penalty on the hour mark when Rob Tolfrey felled Ryan Gibbs but Griffiths fired the penalty well wide.
Ks doubled their advantage on 70 minutes after a fine 20-yarder from Greg Cundle and Ks kept the pressure on with Gay saving from Ajakaiye after a goalmouth scramble and then Mark Phillips heading the resulting corner narrowly wide.
Faal made it three after a fine run through the visiting defence and Ks sensed blood, looking to increase the margin in the closing moments. Gay again saved well from Ajakaiye and substitute Jerry Amoo won a penalty only to make it a second wide spotkick of the game.
But the fourth came in injury time when the Needham Market defence missed a long ball and Ajakaiye took it round Gay and teed up Faal for a (possibly offside) fourth. It meant Faal finished the season with seven goals in his eight games for the club, enough to rank as joint-second top scorer behind only Tom Derry (with eight). Quite how many of these players remain at the club over the summer remains to be seen but the performance at least allowed Ks to leave Fetcham Grove on a high note.
Match report by Simon Grier.
