Duke of Clarence 3 vs 1 Orpington Athletic FC

Orpington were the victims of their own failure as they wilted under the pressure of their own expectations and lost 3-1 to Duke of Clarence.

In an uncharacteristically lacklustre display, Orpington could not find a foothold in a game that was unaided by the continuous stoppages in play by the referee. 

Captain Rob Utton was lucky not to concede an early penalty as he hauled the Duke attacker down during an early attack and the referee missed multiple instances on both sides of poor contact. However, in fortuitous circumstances Orpington took an early lead when Downs, having appeared to handle the ball, crossed to Haden to finish into an empty net.

The lead held out until a decision by Rob Utton to stay on his feet rather than make a trademark slide tackle, allowed the Duke attacker to skip past him and cross to a counterpart who finished well. 

With seconds left until the end of the half, the referee made another poor call, blowing up for a supposed handball by Haden in the penalty area. Replays showed that the ball was nowhere near the playmaker's hand. The penalty was dispatched and Duke lead at half time.

Manager Matt Utton substituted himself on for a rare appearance outfield and his introduction added some much lacked bite in the middle of the park. However, a break down the left side was not dealt with and the resultant cross-come-shot was turned in to his own net by Harry Utton.

The remainder of the game saw Orpington push to get back in the contest, but little was created with the seemingly unfit Duke defence holding firm. Decisions continued to impact the flow of the game, but Orpington only had themselves to blame for the disappointing showing.

Orpington will need to dust themselves off and consider this a blip in what has recently been a good run. Only next Sunday will tell if they can recapture their form.