Chislehurst Glebe 2-3 Phoenix

Phoenix lose two-goal lead but find late winner at Glebe.

Phoenix Sports left Foxbury Avenue with all three points — and a fair amount of relief — on Friday night after Darren Anslow’s men eventually saw off Chislehurst Glebe in a topsy-turvy 3–2 encounter.

Goals from Dom Morgan-Griffiths and Jake Goodman put Phoenix into a two-goal lead, which they quickly surrendered in consecutive second-half minutes, before Jerson Dos Santos fired Phoenix back ahead with six minutes remaining.

Darren Anslow made one change to the side that exited the FA Cup against Leatherhead on Monday night, with Will Efambe returning to replace Ben Morrison. Harry Smart made way for Kristian Campbell on the Phoenix bench.

The night began in dream fashion. Barely three minutes in, a Lyle Della Verde corner caused chaos in the home box, and Dominic Morgan-Griffiths was quickest to react, poking the ball home for the perfect start.

Phoenix should have scored a second soon after when Ahkeem Belford and Efambe combined nicely down the left before the left-back squared to an unmarked Dos Santos 10 yards from goal. The striker mistimed his finish, and his side-footed effort rolled into the hands of Glebe goalkeeper Nathan Edwards.

Phoenix struggled to create many more chances in the first half despite forcing five corners and looking generally comfortable. A habit of giving away dangerous free-kicks in and around the box meant they had to defend a number of set pieces, and Glebe could have equalised when a clever short-corner routine ended with a shot from inside the box being blazed over by Ryan Andrews.

Just before half-time, Phoenix had a half-decent shout for a penalty waved away as Dos Santos jinked his way between two defenders before going down in the box. The referee was unmoved and, moments later, blew his whistle for half-time.

Phoenix started the second half with a little more urgency, with the impressive Della Verde forcing a straightforward save from Edwards after a nice interchange with Morgan-Griffiths.

However, Glebe began to take control when a loose back pass led to a scuffed clearance from Freeman, only for Jamie Philpot to chip over from around 40 yards out. They threatened again just after the hour mark when Muhammed Cham forced a good save from Freeman with his feet to keep Phoenix in front.

That looked to be a pivotal moment as Phoenix went up the other end and doubled their lead.

Phoenix skipper Jake Goodman, who scored in the 2–2 draw with Leatherhead a week earlier, powered a towering header from a Morgan-Griffiths corner past Edwards, who couldn’t keep it out.

Glebe, though, weren’t going quietly — far from it. They turned the game on its head with two goals in a minute to level the scores: first, a brilliant curling free-kick from Thibault Abie, followed by a thunderous finish from Philpot with 15 minutes of normal time to play.

The momentum was in Glebe’s favour, and Phoenix were at risk of leaving Chislehurst with nothing. The men in green had to dig deep, throw in blocks, and ride their luck as Glebe pushed forward.

However, they left a gap at the back, and 17-year-old substitute Morrison exploited it brilliantly — winning the ball back and marauding down the left before firing in a cross-cum-shot that Edwards could only palm into the path of Dos Santos.

The striker controlled the ball on his thigh before firing home to get Phoenix’s season up and running.

Even then there were nervy moments, but the visitors showed resilience and just enough quality to see the game out. It was far from Phoenix’s best, but it’s a crucial three points to get them off the mark and give them something to build on.

The result lifts Phoenix to eighth in the table, giving them some momentum heading into Tuesday night’s visit of Fisher. Tickets for the clash are now available here.