Match Report
Thurlow Nunn Division 1 South
Rayleigh Town 6-0 NW London
Tommy Sykes 7' (Rayleigh Town)
Jahvid Irish 35' (Rayleigh Town)
Tommy Sykes 65' (Rayleigh Town)
Ishmael Fiadzomor 71' (Rayleigh Town)
Matthew Oaten 90+2' (Rayleigh Town)
James Dalton 90+4' (Rayleigh Town)
With a severely depleted NWL squad making the trip to Essex to face fifth-placed Rayleigh Town, it turned out to be a night to forget for NW London.
A couple of suspensions and several absentees meant that the squad was already stretched before kick-off, but it was rocked even further when Lamine Gomes and Bernardino Andeme were dropped from the squad due to a disciplinary issue in the lead-up to the game.
This left only one outfield player available on the bench for the Gorillas, and it seemed as though Rayleigh Town smelled blood, starting quickly and putting NWL on the back foot.
The pressure told, and in the 7th minute, Tommy Sykes struck a first-time half-volley that caught Levchuk off guard, giving Town the lead.
It did trigger a response from the makeshift NW London squad. With forward De Quadros dropping into midfield and Vasquez employed as a defensive midfielder, the Gorillas took some time to settle into the new shape.
The turning point for NW London came with two big penalty shouts at 0-1, where the Gorillas felt Balde was impeded on both occasions inside the box. Both calls looked very close.
This proved pivotal, as just as NW London had begun to get a foothold in the game, Rayleigh dispossessed them in midfield and broke quickly for Irish to score the second goal past Levchuk.
The second half saw NW London continue to apply some pressure, while Rayleigh remained dangerous on the attack.
There seemed to be a lack of creativity, as any possession from NW London led to only speculative efforts. Then, in the 59th minute, a long goal kick was misjudged by Aderibigbe, allowing Tommy Sykes to race clear and score the third goal, putting Town on the verge of three points.
Things went from bad to worse when Oduwa and Aderibigbe were forced off with injuries, leaving NWL with only 10 men. Fabien, normally a forward, was now employed as a full-back.
Rayleigh never relented in their attacking intent, adding a fourth goal while continuously testing Levchuk, taking full advantage of the extra man and the tired legs of NWL.
The Gorillas managed to keep the score down to 4-0, but Rayleigh added two more goals in injury time to complete a resounding victory.
It's back to the drawing board for NWL, and they will have time to recover before their next game at home to Hoddesdon on December 14th.