Penn held at Chalfont

Indeed, despite enjoying the lion’s share of possession at Mill Meadow, relegation-threatened Chalfont defended their goal with real purpose to deny Penn from taking top spot in Combined Counties League Division One.

The home side saw Justin Thompson dismissed for a second bookable offence as early as the 56th minute, while Penn had the ball in the net in second-half stoppage time – denied only by the offside flag.

It ended goalless, though, with joint-manager James Pritchard commenting: “It just wouldn’t drop for us tonight – but our intensity was top-drawer.

“We perhaps just lacked that little bit of quality in the final third, but the persistency was there and we had long spells where it was just us.

“Credit to the opposition, they put their bodies on the line. The boys are disappointed – but we’ve come away unscathed and quickly move on.”

Our campaign continues at Molesey on Saturday.