Sparks fly in Chesham defeat (From Bucks Free Press)

Sparks fly in Chesham defeat

2:44pm Thursday 18th March 2010 in

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ANDY Leese says football became secondary after an ugly flare up marred Chesham’s 2-1 defeat at Sutton Coldfield Town.

Players and officials from both sides clashed early in the second half of Saturday's match, when the Sutton bench refused to return to the ball for a Chesham throw-in.

The game was held up for eight minutes before calm was restored.

Leese said: “We’re playing semi-professional football but what happened on Saturday was just park football with railings around it.

“At this level it’s always highly charged and you’ve got plenty of people trying to get rid of energy. It’s just disappointing that sometimes it crosses the line.

“But my standards might be different to others. Verbal spats are one thing and I’ve had plenty of those, but it’s never spilled over into violence and I vehemently disagree with it.”

The incident sparked up when the Sutton bench threw the ball at Chesham’s Jon Meakes when he tried to retrieve the ball.

Meakes reacted and the Chesham website claims a member of the Sutton staff ‘aimed a punch which led to everyone piling in, including players and substitutes from both sides’.

Chesham’s Meakes and Steve Hurd were both sent from the technical, as well as a member of the Sutton coaching staff.

Leese said: “They were trying to be clever with a bit of ball retention and there was lots of pushing and shoving, but the referee says he didn’t see anything so I don’t suppose anything will come of it.

“Generally speaking, they were inhospitable people and it was an inhospitable environment.

“Football was secondary, but I was born 30 miles up the road so I know what goes on up there and what to expect. But I don’t want to say too much to get myself and my club in trouble. It’s finished and we just have to move on.”

Chesham’s defeat leaves them looking anxiously over their shoulder, trying to protect their play-off spot over the final 11 games.

Leese said: “I can’t go around calling every game a must-win because they might not be, but we can’t afford any more off days. Then you start relying on other results and you don’t want to get to that stage after all the work the players have put in.”

Chesham go to Woodford tomorrow.