Canvey Island 0 Tonbridge Angels 1

Buildbase FA Trophy Second Round Proper, Saturday November 27th

I was back over at Park Lane, Canvey, for my latest edition in my Buildbase FA Trophy Road To Wembley to see if Canvey Island could continue their remarkable unbeaten run and stun Tonbridge Angels in their Second Road tie, however a second half goal from Joe Turner saw Angels progress into the next round, thus ending the Gulls run in the competition.

The hosts had taken out fellow Isthmian North Coggeshall Town, Southern League Ware and Burgess Hill Town, and then Northern Premier Midland side Yaxley to reach this stage, and it was included in a run of games that sees The Gulls on a fourteen-match unbeaten run in all competitions, winning the last eight in a row, as they sat top of the Isthmian North division six points clear.

Their only defeat all season came in the FA Cup, but in twenty games in all competitions so far, they had netted an astonishing fifty-eight goals, which is on average almost three goals a game, so they are certainly not boring to watch. The only game they had failed to score in came at Bedford in the FA Cup when they drew 0-0 before losing the replay, that was early September.

And they welcomed a Tonbridge Angels side to Park Lane not in the best of form in a season which has seen them struggle somewhat in the Vanarama National South division, their last win came a month or so ago at Billericay Town, so maybe Essex was a lucky county for them perhaps, so they could at least look towards this as a good omen.

Angels do play two levels above Canvey as well so despite the hosts brilliant form this season, this was still going to be a tough task for the Gulls, but backed by a noisy home support once again, they were certainly going to give a good go at continuing their run in the Trophy, they were up against a side who had netted only once in five games since that win at New Lodge, that came in a draw against struggling Chelmsford City last time out, which meant the Kent side sat fourth from bottom in their division.

Both teams were greeted with cold damp freezing conditions at Park Lane, it was most certainly a day to wrap up warm, and the home side with the wind on their backs saw Harrison Chatting scoop over a decent chance early on, and they also saw Evans Kouassi fire over a powerful effort and then send another one straight at keeper Jonathan Henly.

Angels looked most likely to break the deadlock from set plays, and saw a header cleared off the line before the rebound was volleyed wide, and then another corner saw a header planted wide of the far post, but conditions were certainly playing their part in this contest as both teams had to work harder than normal to control the ball, but with neither side able to find a breakthrough in meant the first half ended goalless.

Angels certainly came out the better side in the early exchanges in the second half as Canvey were defending not only the visitors attacks but also a strengthening wind into the faces as well as horizontal rain too, it was horrendous conditions if truth be told and The Gulls found themselves pinned back as a result, and the visitors managed to find a breakthrough twelve minutes into the second period when a ball laid back to Turner saw him fire an effort at goal which deflected on route, beating Bobby Mason who was wrongfooted as result.

How would Canvey respond? Well, they rolled their sleeves up and responded very well indeed, and finally started to find some sort of attacking threat in the second period, something they had failed to do in the opening exchanges of the half, and the ever-dangerous Kouassi wiggled his way into the box on one occasion but saw his cross towards the far post booted off the line and clear.

Angels themselves did test Mason on a couple of occasions in the second period, striking two decent long range efforts and using the wind to get more speed on the shots, but each time Mason got down well to beat away the efforts, also a couple of in swinging corners caused alarm in the hosts penalty area too as the visitors looked for a second to seal this one, they did have the ball in the net when Aaron Smith Joseph converted a flick on at the back post, but the assistants flag had gone up to rule that one out.

Angels could not find that killer second though and they almost paid the price for it, as keeper Henly, who had pretty much any saves to make in the second period, produced a couple of moments to keep his side ahead, somehow sticking up an arm to block what looked a certain goal for Conor Hubble after he found himself with just the keeper to beat from point blank range, and then soon after palming away another effort headed for the far corner after a ball was swung into the mixer.

The Hubble save was astonishing, we were all looking at each other wondering how he didn’t score, but credit to keeper Henly who made himself big and managed to pull off a remarkable stop and thwart The Gulls a goal that would have surely taken the tie to penalties.

It meant that the National League South visitors progressed through after holding on to their clean sheet at the end, thus becoming only the second side to deny Canvey a goal this season, and it also ended am unbeaten run of fourteen for the hosts too, so congratulations to the visitors who were pushed all the way by a side two divisions below them.

Canvey will now be able to focus on their main aim this season, promotion to the Isthmian Premier, this has been a good run in the Trophy but they came up against a Tonbridge side who just had that little bit extra on the day, and well played both sides in what were awful conditions, I now await to see who Tonbridge Angels draw in Round Three…

Full time Canvey Island 0 Tonbridge Angels 1

 

 

  

Whitburn Junior 5 Livingston United 3

East Of Scotland League, First Division Conference X, Saturday November 20th

A first for me on Saturday saw me at my maiden Scottish football game, an East of Scotland First Division Conference X encounter between Whitburn Junior & Livingston United, and it saw the hosts net five as they came out on top in an eight goal thriller at Central Park.

I was up in Whitburn for a housewarming on the Friday night and discovered the local football team were indeed at home on the Saturday, so I thought perfect, as their Central Park ground was half a mile walk from my hotel, so it was the obvious choice amongst many fixtures in that area that was for sure.

The East Of Scotland League is made up of four divisions, Premier, 1^st Division Conference A, B & X, and this encounter was in the latter of those, Whitburn have had a decent season so far, they sat fourth in the standings (it is an eleven team Division) having won eight, drawn two and lost three of their thirteen games so far.

Livingston United were only two places and six points below their opponents, but it looked much more than that when you saw that the visitors had won six, drawn two and lost five of their thirteen games, goal differences were much much different too, Whitburn’s was plus eighteen whilst Livingston United minus three, so a home win would be expected no?

Both teams had won last weekend though, Whitburn won a big local derby at Armadale Thistle, the team directly above them in third, whilst Livingston United also won on the road at seventh placed Stoneyburn to put a seven-point gap between them and their opponents as a result, so both sides were coming into this one with confidence.

However, on my way up to Scotland on Friday I saw on Twitter that the hosts manager Jamie Sandilands had resigned from the club and taken up the managerial reigns at Rossvale FC who ply their trade in the West of Scotland Premier Division with immediate effect, a blow to the hosts a day before this game then and left me scratching my head thinking had a brought them bad luck!!!

Their current coaching team therefore stepped up into the management positions and they quickly acted to bring in former manager Robert Lee to assist them with the coaching, how would they do in their first league game in their new positions, we would find out soon enough.

After obtaining my Scotch Pie and Irn Bru (well I was in Scotland after all so have to try the local cuisine) I can confirm the pie was good although the drink was a bit too sickly for my liking, but nonetheless a good way to get me ready for this contest, and before I speak about the action on the pitch I was told about this level not having a linesman, and so it proved.

Basically there is a referee, who makes all the calls including offsides, which no doubt causes a world of issues for him and the clubs involved, there are two people with a flag, one from each club, but all they do is stand around the half way line on each side and flag if the ball goes out for a throw in, that is literally all they do, it’s certainly different up here in that respect at this level.

To the game then and the hosts opened the scoring just before the midway point of the first period when their number nine received a quickly taken corner from the right, burst into the box before curling a delightful effort with the outside of his boot into the top corner, the home side had certainly been the better up till that point so deserved that lead.

Seven minutes before the break Whitburn made it two when lovely play saw their eleven break the offside trap down the right before his ball into the box was swept home by the hosts skipper into the far corner of the net, and then two minutes before the break it was 3-0 as Livingston’s defence was carved open again as eleven did well down the right hand side before playing a ball across to ten who was in acres of space and he strode in to slot home, and Whitburn had a three goal cushion to take into the dressing room at the break.

And when seven produced a fabulous finish five minutes into the second period, receiving a pass and firing an unstoppable shot in off the bar to make it 4-0, you felt this could be a absolute drubbing, but it did not turn out that way in the end as the hosts rather took their eye off the ball for the final half hour or so.

They gave away a penalty around the hour mark, and although the home keeper saved this with his legs, the visitors continued to have a decent spell and pulled one back with just under twenty minutes remaining after a lovely flick released their seventeen in on goal and he slotted home, giving them a consolation at least.

With twelve minutes left though the game suddenly took a different complexion when Livingston pulled another one back as the home side went to sleep once again and allowed a simple ball over the top to be run onto by the sixteen who strode in and thumped home, and suddenly you could sense the nervousness amongst the home contingent, surely the visitors could not pull of a remarkable recovery?

Whitburn had been in cruise control at 4-0, but they needed something to spark them into life again, and that came with nine minutes to go when they eased everyone’s nerves by grabbing a fifth after their eighteen volleyed home from inside the box, and that was pretty much that, and although the visitors did add a late third when a lovely one two on the edge of the box released seven in on goal and he fired into the bottom corner, it was job done for the home side.

An interesting last quarter of the game then after the home side had been in total control, no doubt their new management duo would not have been happy with how they let their opponents back into this contest, but the post Jamie Sandilands era did begin with three points, also fair play to Livingston for not giving up at 4-0, many sides may have done, so that was a credit to them for sure.

A thoroughly enjoyable visit then to Central Park, a very good watch and lots of goals, what more could you ask for, and as the home side say….”Mon The Burnie!!!”

Full Time Whitburn Junior 5 Livingston United 3

 

 

Hackney Wick 0 Coggeshall United 1

Thurlow Nunn Division One South, Wednesday November 17th

Wednesday night saw me back at my spiritual home of football in the shape of Spa Road, Witham, as Hackney Wick and Coggeshall United did battle in a Thurlow Nunn South contest, and visitors skipper Lewis Soraf netted the only goal of the game to continue his sides decent form.

Hosts Wick have been having a decent season so far and in touching distance of the top five, however recent form has been mixed, and they were welcoming a Weavers side who had won their last three conceding only one goal and netting ten, with two of those wins against sides who are also vying for play off spots.

And a win for Coggeshall in this one would see them level on points with their opponents in eighth and just five points off that all important top five, whilst Wick knew if they could muster the points in this one they would be only two points off fifth placed Wivenhoe Town with a game in hand to boot.

A tight contest, unsurprisingly ensued, and the winning moment came just past the half hour mark when a shot towards goal from outside the box found Soraf inside the area, and he managed to control and before poking an effort into the bottom corner of the net before he was mobbed by his happy teammates.

Both sides did have other openings too in the first period, Wick did see a cross shot thump against the far post in what was their best opening, and into the second period Wick again found the woodwork from another cross shot, whilst The Weavers saw long range efforts to close to the keeper who managed to save comfortably.

Wick though did more of the pressing in the second half, as they tried to find a leveller, but Coggeshall stood firm and showed why they had conceded very little over the last three games, but Wick missed a glorious chance near the end when they struck the bar once again before the rebound was somehow headed over from point blank range, and after several tense minutes of stoppage time, the visitors could celebrate a fourth straight win.

It was a very hard fought one though, but a win is a win as they say, whereas Wick, who have now lost two straight, will wonder how they didn't find the net in this one. Both are now five points off the top five but will no doubt be in the mix for a play off place come the end of the season, along with quite a few others I suspect, should be some battle that.

Full Time Hackney Wick 0 Coggeshall United 1

 

St Margaretsbury 0 Takeley 1

Essex Senior League, Tuesday November 16th

Tuesday night saw me over at The Recreation Ground for St Margaretsbury against Takeley in an Essex Senior League contest, and an early Theo Campbell header proved decisive as the visitors took all three points to go into the top ten.

The hosts have struggled somewhat this season, and you have to go back to September 21st for their last win, since then they have only picked up two points from a possible twenty one, although one of those draws was at Enfield which also saw their only clean sheet of the entire season so far, however they were up against a Takeley outfit who have also had a rather mixed campaign so far themselves.

Recent form saw them lose three in a row, with two of them heavy losses, but they did manage to pick up a win at the weekend but this has been a season of struggle for what we are used to seeing from the Station Road side, so which way would the game go?

As it turned out it was settled ultimately by a seventh minute header, and in the hosts eyes, one that should not have counted, as a ball into the penalty area from the left found Campbell all alone with not one defender anywhere near him so he had the simple task of nodding home, leaving the hosts stunned no flag had gone up, I could not tell from my angle if it was offside or not, but it wasn't given, so the goal stood.

Both sides struck the woodwork in the remainder of the opening forty five minutes, whilst St Mags also saw an effort ruled out for offside, although this one was more clear cut, however, the second forty five minutes probably belonged to the hosts as they had the better openings, well, pretty much all the openings that materialised in the second period.

Takeley did have a couple of openings but these were not threatening, but they dug in very well to put in a solid defensive display and frustrate their opponents, and sadly the game ended in a rather unsavoury affair after a melee involving most of the players, this spilled over into the next attack as Kieran Southgate, who had wound up some of the home side, was hacked down halfway up his leg by central defender Aiden Reid, who was shown a straight red as a result.

A rather fractious end then, and not a classic by any means, but Takeley won't care as they climb into tenth after a very hard fought win, whereas St Mags, who will feel hard done by for not getting anything from this contest, remain in 17th and winless in eight league games now.

Full Time St Margaretsbury 0 Takeley 1

 

Ilford 2 Woodford Town 1

Essex Senior League, Monday November 15th

Monday night saw me over at Cricklefield for an Essex Senior League contest between Ilford and Woodford Town, and it saw the hosts come from behind to end a day where they celebrated their 140 years of history with three precious points.

It was a big day for the Foxes as they marked 140 years of history with a exhibition of this in the Cricklefield clubhouse along the corridors and upstairs in the bar, and they even had a visit from the mayor too, and an attendance of 120 for the game was also a decent return for them as they looked to try and claim all three points against a decent Woodford side who had netted ten goals in their last three away games, winning all three.

In contrast Ilford's last three home games ha yielded no goals and five against having lost all three in a season of ups and downs so far, so on paper it looked likely the visitors would net a win here, and after a pretty poor opening half hour which saw the only chance a brilliant long range effort from the visitors tipped onto the bar by host keeper Aires Ferreira, and although Woodford tucked home the rebound, the offside flag had gone up.

Twelve minutes before half time though Woodford did grab the lead when Richard Asamoah cut in from the right wing into the box before slotting past Ferreira from the angle to send the noisy visiting Woodford Towners wild, however just moments later Ilford had the chance to make a swift reply when they were awarded a penalty, but skipper for the evening Dion Lewis-Kirwan saw his spot kick saved by Eddie Allan, so the visitors held a slender lead going into the break.

The Foxes had responded well to going behind and had ended the half well despite this penalty miss, and they continued this momentum into the second period and levelled six minutes after the break in spectacular fashion as a lovely long ball from Jerold Cobblah found Emerson Dju, and the latter controlled the pass with his chest before volleying superbly over keeper Allan for a superb goal.

And five minutes after this the hosts were awarded another penalty, and this time the spot kick duties were given to Reece Sayers, and the Foxes number ten duly sent Allan the wrong way and Ilford now had the lead, a lead they were not to relinquish, and therefore picked up a well earned three points and end a momentous day for the club on a high. 

The result sees Ilford up a place to 15th whilst Woodford stay in 11th following this defeat for them, ending that recent good form away from home, whilst Ilford of course netted their first goals at home since the start of October and ended their recent poor form at home. The Foxes welcome league leaders Walthamstow to Cricklefield at the weekend in an Errington Challenge Cup Preliminary Round tie, Woodford don't play again till next Wednesday when they welcome Saffron Walden to Ashton's in a Peter Butcher Memorial Trophy Preliminary Round contest, both will be tough games that's for sure.

Full time Ilford 2 Woodford Town 1