Deja-vu as possession masterclass dismantles Epsom

Epsom 0 Balham 5

For the second week running, Balham ran riot with a convincing victory against Epsom & Ewell, making it three wins against them this season. The Whites' final away match finished as many have - a glut of goals, a deflated opposition and a well-deserved win. It was such a joy to see the boys playing the ball around so well today; another masterclass from Chris at CDM gave the boys the opportunity to pass the ball superbly to each other. Some of our attacking moves were wonderful to watch, with a couple of attacks coming after over 20 touches of the ball.

Balham started well, a Jude free-kick and Matthieu shot being the early efforts. The midfield were consistently getting themselves between man and ball to win free-kicks, and it was a foul on Sammi that led to the first clear chance. A wonderful ball in from Alex was headed just over from Ty with the keeper beaten. From the next free-kick, some smart advice from the touchline encouraged Ty to shoot from 30 yards. So he did, with perfection, and Balham were 1-0 up.

The goal gave the boys confidence and they really started to play the ball around well - including passing well across the back. Alex, Ty and Jacob looked solid on the ball as the home side were increasingly chasing shadows. The second came from another set-piece; Wilbur's well-struck free-kick was met by Matthieu and the boys were cruising.

Balham had a couple of chances to extend their lead before half-time. Charlie and George combined well on the right, before the midfielder's cross was narrowly headed wide by Matthieu. Wilbur hit a shot just over from distance too. A warning shot came though, and the Whites had Jacob to thank for a one-on-one save with the striker clean through.

The second half continued with Balham on top. Wilbur's effort was spilled by the keeper but he recovered well with Matthieu sniping around the box. The same two combined a minute later though - this time from a corner which Matthieu headed in convincingly to make the game safe.

The Whites continued to push, with both Matthieu and Ethan having chances but firing just wide. Credit to the home side in that they continued to play out from the back, but Balham's press was too good for them. After a poor clearance from one of them, Sammi picked up the loose pass, drove forward and slotted him a lovely finish. His first since Holy Ghost according to Ty!

The game was over, but Balham flooded forward in an attempt to score more. It came quite quickly with Matthieu showing excellent strength and poise to dribble through the defence and finish calmly for his hat-trick.

Epsom had a chance to pull one back after a bobbly bounce hit George's hand from a throw-in. The attacker side-footed it wide and it was clear that this was not the home team's day. Balham had chances to score more: Wilbur hit the side netting after a very strong surge on the break; Matthieu finished nicely but was correctly blown up for offside; and a glorious set of passing play and movement down the left found Jude who could not quite finish it off.

A truly stellar performance from Balham, who can be rightly proud of their away performances this season. They have scored more than 5 goals in away matches on 5 occasions this season (Worcester Park, Walton & Hersham, Carshalton, Mitcham and Epsom), and have only been defeated on their travels once. The Whites are the second highest scorers in the division, only one behind Farnham who have no remaining matches.

Balham move up to third, but Mitcham have a game in hand with a double-header against Ashford next week.

Walton & Hersham 0:3 Ashford Town

Mitcham 4:0 Worcester Park

Worcester Park 1:2 Mitcham

Sheen 2:0 Reigate