Fraser Barlow, Harry Cardwell, Jules Gabbiadini, Sol Solomon and Zeljko Martinovic all contributed in the latest five-star showing in the tenth tier of English football – this time against Kensington & Ealing Borough.
The 5-1 triumph – a seventh win from seven – takes the Islanders more than one game clear of nearest rivals Sandhurst Town for the first time in their debut season, with manager Gary Freeman’s men sitting proud on a five-point cushion.
Freeman said: ‘I hope the lads keep getting the credit they deserve … people are saying we’re strolling through it but if we start strolling and taking our foot off a little bit it will be tough. We’re in the league we’re in and our aim is to get promoted, so hopefully we can keep going.
‘The scoreline flattered us a bit. They [Kensington] were the best team we’ve played so far and we had to work to stay ahead in the second half. If they’d have got a second goal [at 3-1] it would have been a battle.
‘I think they were going on previous results and they maybe showed us too much respect early on. They sat right off us and only after we scored they decided to have a go.’
Barlow began the latest charge to three points with an early tap across the line following good work down the right flank – good work that continued and led to a second and third before the break.
Cardwell doubled the visitors’ lead at Fetcham Grove in south-west London with a cool finish underneath the home shot-stopper and right-back Gabbiadini then flicked over the Kensington number one for 3-0.
An uncharacteristic struggle to get going after a change of ends gave the hosts a crumb of hope, with Terry Whitman’s powerful header from a corner reducing the deficit, but order was soon restored.
Luke Campbell found a post with his head from a set piece but the fourth did arrive through the captain’s nephew, Solomon, who lofted in his first goal for the newly-formed club on his second appearance.
Fellow substitute Martinovic joined the goal-scoring party with number five – rounding off the victory with a neat finish to take the Bulls’ ‘For’ tally to 31 in just seven outings.
Full report in Monday’s JEP.
