Raiders Blues keep up pressure on their rivals in bid for title glory

Only some top-class saves from the Chesham keeper and missed chances stopped Raiders running up a far larger tally.

Nonetheless, it was still their 10th league win in 11 outings.

The win was built on dominance of the midfield where Luke Mathison and Jude James pulled all the strings with energy and tenacity.

It took Raiders a while to find their finishing touch and a sequence of good openings weren’t converted before they finally broke through in the 21st minute. Gabe Millson met a corner with a firm header that crashed down off the bar for Finnlee Ferguson to force home from close range.

It was 2-0 in the 29th minute as Paddy Read attacked the box and slipped a pass to Oscar Lenane. He pulled it back to the penalty spot and Liam French cracked a first-time shot home.

There was an early warning in the second-half as Chesham made it 2-1 with a smart header, but within two minutes Raiders made it 3-1 when Lenane netted from a Read cross.

Read got on the scoresheet himself in the 50th minute when he controlled a high ball in the box, beat a defender and steered the ball in.

The victory was rounded off in style on 63 minutes when Ollie Pitblado met a half-cleared cross sweetly on the volley with the outside of his boot, the ball flying inside the far post.

Next Sunday Raiders travel to fellow title-hopefuls Harefield for a match that could define their season.

Second-placed Harefield lost on Sunday so if Raiders Blues beat them on Sunday they would be six points ahead of them. They have two games in hand, but the Raiders Blues goal difference is vastly superior (+58 to +27) so it’s in their hands.