Barkingside 2 Park View 0

Thurlow Nunn South Division, Monday January 24th

Cricklefield was my venue for Monday evening and it saw an own goal from Maxwell Ntim and a James Peagram header enough to seal Barkingside all three points against Park View in a Thurlow Nunn South contest in Seven Kings.

Side had been unbeaten in four games since since getting heavily beaten at Frenford in November, however that run came to an abrupt end at the weekend when they were beaten 0-4 at home by Harwich & Parkeston, so the hosts really wanted to bounce back in this one and get their outside chances of a play off place back on track, they began the evening twelve points off fifth placed Benfleet who occupy the final place in those positions.

Benfleet did have two games in hand though, and Side had more chance of catching fourth placed Wivenhoe Town who were fifteen points ahead of them but Side had five games in hand, however as said it was an outside chance, so three points here was a must.

Park View themselves came into this one sat in 14th position, seven points and two places below their opponents, and not in the best of form, there last win came back on 27th October, a 5-0 home win over Newbury Forest, with their last point coming at Hackney Wick on 27th November, so a run of six defeats in seven since that win in October, so there were not many who felt they could win this one based on form.

Four of those defeats had been just by the odd goal though, so they were well in a lot of those games, with Saturday's loss a 3-4 score line at home to high flying Burnham Ramblers, so Barkingside might not find this contest as easy as the form suggests.

But it didn't take Side too long to find the net, and it wasn't even one of their players that did this, as a free kick sent into the box saw Ntim attempt to head the ball away, but instead of doing this glanced the ball on towards his goal, and see the ball go over a stumbling Ibrahim Nuhu, his own keeper, and into his own net for a rather bizarre own goal, which kind of set the tone for the evening.

Peagram, who has spent the best part of an hour in goal for Side at the weekend after keeper Duncan Smith had been sent off, was back to his more usual position of centre forward, and after he had missed a good chance to double their lead, he did manage to do this in the 27th minute when a cross from the left found him in the box, and he sent a deft header back across keeper Nuhu and into the far corner.

It ball seemed to take forever to find the far corner though and it all happened in slow motion, with keeper Nuhu unable to get across to stop it, and Barkingside now had a commanding lead and grip on proceedings heading into the final quarter of the first period.

Smith, who was back in the Side goal for this one, did make a decent stop as Park View finally got some sort of attacking play into their game as the half drew towards it conclusion, and they had a spell early in a second period that just became worse and worse to watch as both sides seemed to be going through the motions and had accepted the 2-0 score line.

And that is how it was to end too, with Side netting a good three points and bouncing back from Saturday's debacle, whilst Park View's miserable run continues, meaning it leaves the hosts now just nine points off the top five in eleventh, and the visitors still in fourteenth with not much more to play for now other than pride.

Side next travel to Coggeshall United at the weekend who are in a similar position to themselves, so should be a tight competitive encounter that, whilst Park View travel to the Royal Oak and Harwich & Parkeston who of course thrashed Side in their previous game, so that is sure to be a tough game and one Park View despite Harwich's lowly position as they proved at Cricklefield at the weekend.

Full time Barkingside 2 Park View 0