Brandon Curtis nets late winner as Marlow sink Hanworth Villa

Dawid Rogalski. Photo credit: Steven Galvin, Info@StevenGalvin.Photography

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Hanworth Villa 2, Marlow 3

Five wins from six matches have hauled Marlow back into title contention in the Isthmian League South Central Division, but they left it late to claim all three points at Hanworth Villa on Tuesday evening.

Villa were the team who spoiled Marlow's promotion hopes last season, beating them in the play-off semi-finals with a late, late winner at Oak Tree Road. So, this win, sealed in equally thrilling circumstances by Brandon Curtis in the 91st minute, must have tasted very sweet to manager Mark Bartley.

This was a topsy-turvy affair that Marlow were never fully in control of, and twice they had to come from behind in the first half before Curtis netted their late winner.

Kyen Nicholas fired the home side in front in the eighth minute, only for Dawid Rogalski to level the scores in the 19th minute.

Rogalski has been in excellent form for the Blues this season, but strike partner Dave Tarpey is now chipping in with some crucial goals, and he netted a 45th minute leveller for the Blues after a Louis Rogers own goal had seen Villa retake the lead in the 40th minute.

The importance of that goal cannot be underestimated as it allowed Marlow to attack the second half on a level playing field.

And, despite not being at their best, they found a way to win the game through Curtis’s goal in stoppage-time. The defender has been chipping in with crucial goals of late after firing home a howitzer of a strike in the recent 4-0 win over Met Police at Oak Tree Road.

Bartley admitted his side hadn't been firing on all cylinders at Hanworth, but he was delighted to see them scrap their way to all three points.

He posted: “In all honesty we weren't very good today. Not quite sure what it was, we were a bit flat, and it was definitely an off day.

“However, we've come away from home and picked up three points against good opposition. So, we'll quickly forget this game and move on to Saturday.”

The win lifts the Blues to third in the table, just four points behind Southall and leaders Chertsey Town who they'll meet again before the season is out.

Bartley will also be determined that the Blues maintain their current form ahead of winnable fixtures against 18th placed Guernsey (Saturday) and 19th placed Northwood (Tuesday) at Oak Tree Road this week. These are the kind of games they simply must win if they're to stick with the likes of Southall and Chertsey and take this title race down to the wire.