Epsom: 3 (Midmer 2, M.Atkinson)
Fareham 2s: 2
Mike Atkinson scored one and set up two in Epsom’s 3-2 win vs Fareham
Some key contributions from Mike Atkinson inspired Epsom to a much-needed 3-2 win against Fareham 2s on Saturday, backed up by a strong defensive performance. Fareham’s strong line-up controlled the early stages and after 5 minutes a nicely worked overload saw them go 1-0 up. Epsom were on the defensive but two quick counterattacks then saw Mike Atkinson set up James Midmer twice in quick succession to make it 2-1 to Epsom at half time. Both sides shared possession evenly in the second half with both Ed Burton-Brown and Fareham’s keeper making several sharp stops. The game got increasingly nervy but with ten minutes remaining a sweeping Epsom move played in Mike Atkinson 1-on-1 with the keeper and, in front of most of his watching family, Epsom’s talisman rolled home coolly for 3-1. Fareham kept coming and Epsom had to work hard all over the park in the closing stages. Fareham struck home a short-corner with just over 1 minute to go to make it 3-2, but Epsom had just about done enough to hold on for three valuable points.
Epsom next week travel to Southampton and will be hoping to maintain a similar work-rate and performance.