Orpington Suffer Avoidable Defeat

Orpington Athletic were left licking their wounds after a shock defeat to bottom of the table Interfecta this weekend, in a game that was once again this season, impacted by a reduced turn out and inability to field a full squad. Despite a brace from Nick Adamou and another excellent free kick from Harry Utton, Orpington could not impact the game in the way they would have hoped.

With 2 minutes to go before kick off, Orpington looked like they would only be starting with 8 players this weekend but the last minute arrivals of Nick Adamou and Austin Facer allowed them to begin with 10. However, the imbalance showed within 10 minutes and Interfecta exploited the lack of a full back and broke through to score the opener.

Orpington showed great character and pulled a goal back through a tidy finish from the in-form Nick Adamou and were further buoyed by the introduction of Dean De Cabral (despite still carrying multiple injuries) at left-back, bringing their numbers up to the necessary 11.

It would be fair to say that the team looked disjointed and players struggled to adapt to the game, especially given that manager, Matt Utton, would have not been able to deliver a game plan before kick off. Despite avoidable errors and a lack of tenacity in the final third, Orpington remained in the game, only to be undone on the stroke of half time by an incredibly scrappy goal.

At half time, Utton was able to make a change, with Karl Turner having arrived, and the team adjusted positions to challenge in the second half. However, with less than 10 minutes gone, Interfecta's midfielder struck a fine shot which caught the wind and screamed past Utton into the top corner of the net.

Injuries and fatigue started to take their toll on Orpington as the half continued, but they fought hard to reduce the deficit. A long throw into the box from Rob Utton was flicked on by Terry Fowler and Nick Adamou scored his second with an audacious overhead kick.

Orpington looked as though they could find the equaliser, but an unfortunate own goal from De Cabral doubled Interfecta's lead once more and Orpington faced a final uphill battle. Harry Utton expertly dispatched a free kick with minutes remaining and could have levelled the scores with a second set piece, which clipped agonisingly off the top of the crossbar. Orpington threw everything forward in the closing stages, but there was just too little left in the tank and Interfecta edged the tight contest.

Once again, Orpington will have been questioning what could have been if they'd had all of their players available to them, especially in a game they would have expected to have won. Orpington will have to ensure that everyone is available for the final run in of 5 matches, to guarantee the club's first top 4 finish.

Orpington will be at home again, next Sunday, with South London Doves their visitors.