I was over at a sunny Crofters to see a potential belter between Sawbridgeworth Town and Clapton in the Essex Senior League top six.
The hosts had won all five games in the month of March whilst The Tons had won nine of their last ten away from The Old Spotted Dog so this certainly added up to be a close one too.
And with the added knowledge that Clapton needed to win to keep the title race alive for one more week was yet another ingredient to an already eagerly awaited contest. Oh one more to add, The Tons were the last side to beat Sawbo, 4-0 at the end of February, so was revenge on the agenda too?
Well as it turned out the opening half was rather poor if truth be told with barely any goalmouth action to speak off. The first real opening came in the 18th minute when Ryan Reed found himself in space inside the area but saw him snatch at the chance and drag wide from a really good position.
The only other real opening in the first period came for the hosts in the 32nd minute when Lewis Deamer headed the ball back into the visitors area to skipper Matt Frew, but the centre halfmiskicked meaning the ball was easily cleared. Apart from these moments there was not a lot else to write about in the opening forty five minutes which had been devoid of quality.
Half Time Sawbridgeworth Town 0 Clapton 0
So would the second half be any better, well it certainly didnt start that way and we had to wait till the hour mark before the next opening came and it fell to the hosts when Reece Cosson drilled an effort wide from just outside the box.
Shortly after this came a four minute spell which saw the Tons almost net on three occasions. In the 63rd min Raphael Duyile, on as a substitute, went clear down the right after keeper Matt Ponter had come out and got stranded, but nothing came of it after a ball to Reed saw him fail to get a shot away.
The two minutes later Reed got in for the Tons but a scuffed finish allowed Ponter and Frew to block the effort before two more minutes later Ponter had to make a great reaction save from his own defender at the near post to deny Clapton the lead.
However with fifteen minutes remaining the Tons were given the chance to go ahead when they were awarded a penalty after Avondary had been brought down and Jonny Ashman converted the spot kick to give the Tons a priceless lead.
It was a lead they almost relinquished in the 83rd minute in disastrous fashion as after a miskicked clearance had gone up into the air, the ball bounced up awkwardly and almost over keeper Emmanuel Olajide with Sawbo forward Aaron Thomas waiting to pounce, but the Tons stopper just managed to catch the ball and avoid an embarrassing moment.
Moments later a flashpoint saw both sets of players tough it out and it ended with Ratambwa and Deamer booked for the hosts. It had certainly been a frustrating afternoon for the Robins who had been far from their best on the day.
Two minutes into stoppage time saw the hosts swing a ball into the mixer but George Pullen could only head over the chance and it looked like Clapton would hold on for victory.
But then came a very unsavoury end to the contest when an altercation between a visiting supporter and a Sawbo player led to the match being abandoned deep into stoppage time. At this point I am not allowed to say what went on but it was a very shocking few minutes and it’s not something you should see in any walk of life, let alone football.
The player in question has since been released by Sawbo today but a County Disciplinary Hearing now awaits both sides to determine what happens to the club’s, the player in question and the outcome of the result of this contest.
So a sad and shocking end to the contest, no doubt more will be said in the coming weeks.
Sawbridgeworth Town 0 Clapton 1 (match abandoned after 95 minutes due to serious incident)
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