Heavy rain timed perfectly to start at kick off made conditions difficult for Moor Mead Cosmos' visit to Epsom Town. A scrappy start for both sides, with lots of old school long ball English football. Cosmos had a few good chances in the early part of the first half although Freddie's persistence down the right and a good cross was parried by the keeper and gathered up just in time for Tom's anticipated rebound. Joe also put a strong header in from Leo's cross, but wide of the goal. Moor Mead were also lucky not to be two down, with poor marking from a corner resulting in a clear Epsom chance and a shot inches wide of Kyle's goal; both chances that could easily have gone in.
It took substitute Ted's dogged determination from a Cosmos throw-in, deep in the Epsom half and some defensive confusion of their own resulting in a lose ball in their box and Ted didn't hesitate in putting the ball in the back of the net from close range. 1-0 to Cosmos. Just before the half and Epsom were nearly level with a good shot into the side netting and the half time whistle couldn't have come at a better time.
The rain eased off for the start of the second half and Moor Mead found a bit more composure in these improved conditions but still had to rely on Max, Josh and Harry's solid defence not to be exposed by poor positional play and poor marking. To Cosmos' relief, Tom's run of seemingly impossible goals continued after a throw from the left ¬ Tom passing a player along the byline, then squeezing a shot in at the near post to put them 2-0 up. Shortly after Joe provided a good through for another shot on goal by Tom but this time off target. Kyle had another solid game making some solid saves and looked comfortable under pressure. He proved his worth early in the second half with an excellent save from a strong shot on target, gathering up to prevent any subsequent chance.
Brave goalkeeping from Epsom denied Joe a possible chance when the keeper came off his line to block his shot from just inside the box. Leo was also causing problems for Epsom with some determined runs and had two shots on goal after breaking down the right. Joe was still causing Epsom problems in midfield able to win the ball in the air and on the ground and put a number of excellent crosses into the box without a Cosmos player connecting. Leo was unlucky not to connect when running onto a Moor Mead corner and Elliot and Joe linked up well to give Joe a chance that went just wide.
As the second half progressed and the rain resumed, Cosmos started to look ragged again and were starting to lose their defensive shape. A couple of long passes resulted in a loose ball in Moor Mead's box and a simple shot on target brought Epsom back into the game 2-1. The last 10 minutes were increasingly nervy as Epsom pushed hard for the equaliser and got close a few times but could not find the breakthrough in the end.
Although not one of Cosmos' finest wins, on a rainy day away from home, Cosmos are looking more like a team that expect to win and they continue to be unbeaten this season. Final result: 2-1 to Cosmos.