Waltham Abbey 1-0 Kingstonian
COMEDY CAPERSHOTTS

Usually when the bottom side in the league wins 1-0 against a promotion contender, you would expect it to be a lucky smash-and-grab win. Worryingly for Ks though, this was not the case; in fact, only the heroics of man of the match Rob Tolfrey prevented a far heavier scoreline in a game where they were outplayed by a poor Waltham Abbey side. The management team were as angry as they've ever been after a game, thanks to a listless display that was more reminiscent of Kim Harris' Ks teams than Alan Dowson's.

Nothing worked for Ks all night, with Mark Hams bemoaning a failure to do the basics right and the supporters bemoaning a highly tedious encounter that many had sat through hours of M25 traffic to watch. The defeat, following on from that at Bognor, was a severe blow to Ks' hopes of finishing second in the league and enjoying two home playoff ties. Three more such performances and they may not make the playoffs at all.

Carl Wilson-Denis tested goalkeeper Harry Ricketts in the fifth minute but it was not to be a precursor to any more pressure from Ks. They didn't test the goalkeeper again before half time and fell behind on the half hour mark when Mark Sontag was afforded too much space and fired across Tolfrey into the far corner of the goal.

The Abbotts squandered a number of chances to extend their lead. Billy Holland capitalised on a Max Hustwick error to force a fine save from Tolfrey, the goalkeeper saved well again from a free kick just after the break and James Elmes came close with a free kick.

Holland was a constant menace and Tolfrey again did superbly to deny him on the hour mark after the Abbotts' striker beat John Fletcher to a cross.

Ks' solitary good chance of the second half came after a length stoppage for an injury to the linesman. Christian Jolley cut into the box from the right but Ricketts got down well to save his effort at the near post.

Home fans may have expected to put up with a barrage of pressure in the last ten minutes but instead, only Abbey's profligacy in the Ks box prevented further goals. Ricci Crace rounded Tolfrey only to hit the post, with Holland firing the rebound over, before Tolfrey did well to clear the ball after a goalmouth scramble.

Tolfrey tipped a twenty-yarder over before Ks made a mess of their final throw of the dice in injury time. Having tried to be far too clever from a free kick when the order of the day was to fire it into the box, Xaniel Doku was afforded a clear run at goal on the counter attack. Debutant Grant Kerr tracked back furiously to deny him the shooting chance but Ks were never going to score and when the final whistle blew, it didn't so much signal the end of Ks' hopes of salvaging a point as it put everyone out of their misery.