Evesham United 1-1 Chertsey Town
Saturday 24th January 2026
Pitching In Southern League Premier South

Match Report by Simon Purfield

Evesham United maintained their unbeaten start to 2026 after sharing the spoils with play-off contenders Chertsey Town at the Spiers and Hartwell Stadium on Saturday. The match was a closely contested affair, with both sides having periods of dominance and creating several chances to claim all three points.

The hosts, Evesham, began energetically, pressing forward in the initial stages. However, Chertsey Town, buoyed by six wins in their previous seven matches, soon found their rhythm and took control for the next ten minutes. During this dominant spell, they fashioned three notable opportunities. Bradley Wilson was first to threaten but dragged his shot wide when through on goal. Moments later, Wilson again found himself with a clear sight of goal, only to see his effort rebound off the post. Ashley Lodge then tried his luck, but his shot also failed to find the target, going wide.

Chertsey’s persistence paid off as they deservedly took the lead in the fifteenth minute. Bradley Wilson met a cross from the right and guided his header into the net to break the deadlock. Their momentum continued, and they almost doubled their advantage when Lodge’s header struck the woodwork for the second time.

Evesham responded positively and managed to level the scores around the half-hour mark. Kai Churchley delivered a wicked corner, aided by a gusty breeze, which evaded the Chertsey defence and crossed the goal line despite a desperate clearance attempt. Buoyed by their equaliser, Evesham pushed forward, with Ethan Dunbar heading a good chance straight at Chertsey’s goalkeeper, Luke Wynne-Roberts.

After the interval, Evesham altered their formation to inject fresh impetus into their play. Early in the half, Ethan Dunbar saw two attempts blocked by a resolute Chertsey defence in the 52nd minute. Dunbar then missed a golden opportunity to put Evesham ahead when he broke clear, only for his shot to be comfortably saved by the keeper.

Chertsey created a rare attacking threat in the 76th minute, with Wilson firing narrowly wide of the post. Evesham responded with Owen Foye surging down the left wing and delivering a cross to Andre Wright, whose first-time left-footed shot was off target. In the closing stages, substitutes Aaron Heap and Levi Steele combined to carve out a promising chance, but Steele blazed his shot over from twelve yards with only the goalkeeper to beat.

The match ended 1-1, with Chertsey Town having the better of the first half and Evesham United improving after the break. The contest could have gone either way.

Evesham United now look ahead to their next outing, an away trip to Devon to face bottom side Tiverton Town on Saturday, 31st January.

ROBINS STARTING X1:
1 Alex Harris (GK), 2 Liam Hutt (46′ 5 Josh McConnell), 3 Owen Foye, 4 Josh Barlow, 6 Ioan Richards, 8 Jac Lee Poffley, 10 Amer Awadh (C) (71′ 7 Aaron Heap), 12 Andre Wright, 15 Jyrel Bojang, 17 Ethan Dunbar (75′ 9 Levi Steele), 20 Kai Churchley 31′ (86′ 16 Lewis Middleton)

ROBINS UNUSED SUBSTITUTES:
13 Brendan Beard (GK)

ATTENDANCE: 401