Barnston AFC 4 Catholic United 1 - Goals from Ryan Gilbert, Fred Dewar, George Myers & Lewis Sonnex saw Barnston AFC net third straight league win of 2026 as they defeated Essex Olympian Premier leaders Catholic United

Essex Olympian League Premier Division, Saturday March 14th

Mid March and a pleasant sunny day (mostly) saw me head into the beautiful Essex countryside and Barnston for an EOFL Premier Division contest between Barnston AFC & league leaders Catholic United at the excellent facility that is High Easter Road.

The hosts were embarking on their first ever season in the EOFL after their switch over from the Essex & Suffolk Border League Premier Division and after finding the change of divisions a tad tough earlier in their campaign, they were now finding their feet and had been in decent form since the turn of the year, in the four games they had managed to play three wins had come from them, including back to back in the league. 

That good run of form would be put to the test against a Catholic side who had pretty much lead the standing all season, however, the visitors had stumbled recently after a pretty much perfect season up till recently, after five straight wins going either side of new year, the next five in all competitions saw them win only once, and last weekend they suffered a very disappointing 5-2 defeat in the Essex Premier Cup semi final, so this was certainly not an easy game to forecast the outcome.

This was despite the gap between the two in the division, Barnston down in 10th spot and thirty four points behind the leaders, but with both sides going through differing fortunes lately it certainly meant a tough competitive contest was on the cards, Barnston knew if they could win they could climb into the top half of the league and into eighth spot, there highest position for some time and probably all season.

For Catholic they came into this one with seven point cushion to their nearest and probably only challengers for the title in Shenfield AFC, a win and a slip up from the second placed side could see that gap open further, but any slip up from the leaders and that gap could be down to just four points, so two very different outcomes were possible, what were we going to get?

The visitors certainly were the ones on the front foot in the opening few minutes but it was the hosts who were to grab the lead after nine minutes as after an initial effort had been blocked, Ryan Gilbert was on hand to ram the ball into the roof of the net from close range and hand Barnston an early advantage, an advantage they doubled midway through the first period, David Limber forcing a save from visiting keeper Owen Wells but he could only parry across goal into the path of Fred Dewar who made no mistake by collecting the ball and firing home.

How would Catholic respond, they had plenty of attacking flair but thus far had been unable to find a way through, they almost did when Mike Clark got a sight of goal but when it looked for all money it would be 2-1, his effort was superbly saved by home keeper Harrison Mott, and the hosts could enjoy a two goal cushion at half time, and the league leaders were in danger of slipping up again and seeing that lead cut even further at the top.

The visitors knew they needed the next goal and needed it promptly after half time, and they did just that two minutes after the restart when Clark allowed the ball to go across himself before he turned and smashed a left footed effort beyond keeper Mott and momentum looked to be well and truly with the visitors and I felt it was only a matter of time before they got back on level terms.

Fin Woods, who has been having a decent game down the left hand side, then sent in a lovely cross to substitute, sixteen year old Archie Armstrong, and his lofted header almost found the net as the hosts really had to dig in and prevent Catholic from getting back on level terms, but once they had got through this tough period, they begin to threaten themselves once again, and had two golden chances to restore their two goal cushion.

Substitute George Myers found himself in on goal but his shot across goal was brilliantly tipped just wide of the far post by Wells although the referee gave a goal kick, and then Lewis Sonnex lofted a effort just off target when it looked nailed on he would find the net, but with just under fifteen minutes remaining Myers would find the net and the hosts would have a third as Sonnex did well down the left before his ball into the six yard box was touched on by Limber and onto Myers before the ball ended up in the net, and the hosts now had some breathing space.

Could Catholic quickly find a second goal to reduce the arrears and make the final part of the game tense for the hosts, well no they couldn't and in fact it was Barnston who would add another before the game was done, Sonnex pinching the ball off a defender before striding into the box and firing home with three minutes of the ninety to go, game set and match you could say, and the hosts and netted a fine win over the faltering league leaders. 

Full time Barnston AFC 4 Catholic United 1

Let's now see how this result and others results today affect the table, firstly here are the other scores on the doors from the EOFL Premier today followed by the up to date table:-

ACD United 2-1 Herongate Athletic

Corinthians 1-4 Leigh Ramblers

Hashtag United Reserves 2-5 Harold Hill

Runwell Sports 0-5 Old Chelmsfordians

Shenfield AFC 5-3 Old Southendian

Sungate 1-4 Bishop's Stortford Swifts

Wakering Sports 0-0 Harold Wood Athletic

Barnston's win takes them up to eighth spot and the top half of the division, defeat for Catholic, only their third of the season in the division, sees their lead cut to four points after Shenfield AFC netted five at home in an entertaining match against Old Southendian, third placed Old Chelmsfordians netted five at Runwell Sports but realistically their title defence is probably to far out of their reach now unless the top two drop more points.

It's getting tight down at the bottom, Runwell are right in a relegation dogfight after today's thumping loss, they are only three points above the bottom two, ACD netting a huge win against third bottom Herongate today to close the gap to just two points from safety now, and bottom side Harold Hill smashed five past Hashtag United as both sides in the relegation places gave themselves more hope they could get out of it.

The bottom six are only separated by seven points, and with the bottom two both winning and the sides just above the drop zone all losing, it's certainly made that battle very interesting indeed. It appears with the season coming to it's latter stages now, we could have a title showdown and also a relegation battle between several teams, so it sure looks like it will be a very exciting end to this campaign!!!  

Colchester United 0 Crawley Town 0 - EFL League Two clash between play off chasing Colchester United & relegation threatened Crawley Town ends all square in tepid goalless affair in North Essex

EFL League Two, Friday 13th March

A rare football league game for me came on the frightful Friday 13th as I made my way up to The Community Stadium in Colchester as Crawley Town were visiting Colchester United in a league fixture with both sides in need of points for differing reasons.

The Us began the weekend four points outside the play off places down in 12th spot which is bang in the middle of the division, only six points separated seventh placed Grimsby Town, who occupied the final play off spot in seventh, and 13th placed Fleetwood Town, so a very tight part of the league several sides, including the Us, looking to get themselves top of that pack and in the top seven.

The hosts form since the beginning of February had been inconsistent though, three wins, three losses and a draw, so some good performances mixed with some awful ones, although their last outing saw them net a 2-1 win away at Newport County, a side who like tonight's visitors are in danger of being relegated out of the football league altogether, so The Us knew they were facing similar opposition in this contest.

Crawley sat just a point above Barrow in third bottom and second bottom Newport County and the drop zone before kick off and knew if they could grab a surprise win here would pull a gap of four points ahead of the weekend fixtures, on the flip side though they knew defeat here could see them vulnerable and find themselves in that drop zone if the bottom two picked up wins later on in the weekend. (Only two points separated Crawley in 21st and bottom side Harrogate in 24th).  

However, Crawley's form is alarming since the beginning of February, their last win came at the end of January where they picked up seven points from three games, but since then it's only three points from a possible twenty one, four defeats in seven games, which is relegation form sadly for them, although they picked up a decent point at home to Swindon Town last time out, could they build on that and get themselves away from the danger zone?

The visitors actually started the better but once the hosts had got up to speed it was they who had the first effort on target when a lovely move saw a cross diverted towards his own goal by defender Scott Malone who was trying to stop the cross coming in, and visiting keeper Jacob Chapman had to scramble across his goal to tip round the post, but this was pretty much the only save the Crawley keeper had to make in the entire game.

And in a first half devoid of many goal scoring chances, it was Crawley who came closest to breaking the deadlock when Malone almost turned provider down the other end, crossing for Dion Periera whose downward header was saved well by the knees of Us keeper Matt Macey, but it was no surprise that the first half ended goalless with both sides struggling somewhat in the final third.

The one bright spark from the hosts was speedy winger Kyreece Lisbie, who was causing the visitors some alarm down the flank, but even he could not provide a killer pass or touch to help the hosts get in front, the visitors were just happy to sit in and prevent the hosts from breeching their back line, the most serious of pressure they did come under came in the final quarter of the game where they faced a barrage of corners, Jaden Williams then fired over a decent chance and Will Goodwin saw a close range effort blocked too.

Goodwin then was sent clear of the visiting backline but instead of shooting at goal decided to pass across goal to try and find team mate Williams but failed to find him and the chance was gone, much to the frustration of the home support, and that frustration could have grown when Crawley saw a Ronan Darcy effort saved at the near post by Macey, and earlier in the half they saw an effort flash across goal and inches wide of the far post in a rare break up the pitch.

However, it seemed inevitable that the game would end goalless, and so it did, meaning the hosts missed the chance to close in on the play off places, whereas the point for Crawley could be very valuable indeed in their battle against the drop and they will now hope the teams around them fail to pick up points, as do The Us who could lose ground to the top seven places come the end of the weekend if the sides above them pick up points too.

Despite the goalless draw it was lovely to spend the evening watching it with my brother Marc who is over from Norway for the weekend, so this made the evening enjoyable despite the lack of goals on offer.

Full time Colchester United 0 Crawley Town 0

Ilford 5 Athletic Newham 1 - Braces from Daniel Izekor & Soloman Ofori help Ilford thump Athletic Newham to strengthen their position inside the top five of the Essex Senior League & enhance their play off chances

Essex Senior League, Wednesday 11th March

It was more Essex Senior League action for me on Wednesday night as I made a trip to Seven King and Cricklefield Stadium for a match between play off chasing Ilford and an Athletic Newham side who were trying to pull themselves away from the drop zone of the division.

The Foxes have surprised many this season with their lofty position in the table, but they are more than deserved of this top five position with only eight games to go, they came into this one in fourth spot and having the chance to increase the gap to the sides on the cusp of the play off positions too, that gap was five points ahead of this game.

They would also close the gap to third placed Barking as well if they could pick up maximum points, and they were on a run of five unbeaten in the league as well coming into this contest, and up against an Athletic Newham out only above the bottom two on goal difference, it was surely a home win right?

Well, not quite, as despite their latest form and having not won in the league since January 3rd, they have put in some decent performances and have held Little Oakley & Woodford Town to draws as well as pushing the likes of SOUL Tower Hamlets and Barking all the way too, they just haven't got the results to show for their efforts, so Ilford knew they would be in for a tough game, as we all thought they would be, and an exciting close contest was indeed expected, despite the positions and gap between the sides in the league table.

However, what was to follow in the opening forty five minutes was anything but, as The Foxes put in one of their best showings in the first half all season as they blew away their opponents, it took them less than a minute to go ahead, Daniel Izekor breaking the offside trap to bear down on goal, although initially it appeared he had blown the chance by not shooting and trying to round keeper Harvey Simson, he did manage to fire the ball across goal from the left and see the ball cannon into the net off defender Jonathan Ogubsanya who could do nothing to prevent this happening and see the hosts lead after just 52 seconds.

And it was only the fourth minute when Ilford doubled that lead, Izekor going through clean on goal once again, and this time he made no mistake by slotting beyond Simson into the far corner, Newham had no answer to this onslaught from the hosts who then made it 3-0 after just twelve minutes when, you guessed it, Izekor broke the offside trap for a third time, and he had all the time in the word to pick his spot and fire in off the post.

It had been an unbelievable start from Ilford, and they looked like scoring every time they came forward, they did have to wait twenty five minutes for the next goal though, but it was worth the wait, Soloman Ofori receiving the ball inside the box before shifting the ball inside onto his right foot and curling an absolute beauty beyond Simson into the top corner, 4-0 at half time and game over, a truly superb first half performance from the play off chasing side, and Newham just needed to tighten up and try and put in a positive second half showing otherwise they were going to be embarrassed.

Ofori and Ilford only needed five minutes of the second half to add to their tally, the diminutive attacker getting in behind the back line before slotting past Simson into the far corner, fair play to Newham though as they kept plugging and did make more of a fist of it in the second period, and were rewarded with a consolation goal late on as substitute Chuks Ozor got in on goal to slot nicely beyond hosts keeper Wilkinson Boateng.

However, it was a rare positive on the night for Newham who were well beaten, especially first half where all the damage had been done, mostly inside the first fifteen minutes, and they remain just above the bottom two on goal difference, a goal difference got battered in this one, only two better than West Essex now who are the side occupying the second bottom spot.

Ilford would have been disappointed at conceding so late on and not getting that clean sheet, but this was a rare blip in what was otherwise a terrific night for them, it strengthens there position in the top five and also enhances their chances of finishing in the top five come the end of the regular season, they have an eight point gap to sixth placed Woodford now and are three points behind third placed Barking, things are looking good for the hosts you could say.

Full time Ilford 5 Athletic Newham 1

 

Hullbridge Sports 4 Frenford 2 - Two goals from Ellis Devereux plus strikes from Archie McFadden & Jack Unwin help Hullbridge Sports roar back from two goals down to defeat bottom side Frenford in their Essex Senior contest

Essex Senior League, Tuesday 10th March

I was over at Lower Road in Hullbridge this evening for an Essex Senior League contest between mid table Hullbridge Sports and bottom side Frenford with the visitors desperate for points to get themselves out of what looks increasingly like an impossible task of survival this season, but until they are mathematically not able to get out of the bottom two, they will keep fighting no doubt. 

It would be a tough assignment against Hullbridge though who since their new management had taken over sixteen games ago had won eleven of those in all competitions and had completely transformed the club which looked lost before Mark Harrison & Liam Wallace came in, and they demand 100% from their players no matter what so Frenford were certainly going to find it hard to get anything from this contest.

The hosts did find themselves in no mans land really though in mid table, and probably too far off a late play off charge, fourteen points off the top five with only nine game to go, but they would want to finish the season as well as possible and take some momentum they had built into the summer, with a top ten position very much on the cards, things though were not so rosy for the visitors.

They sat bottom of the table, and ten points from safety and ten points behind second bottom too, and with only nine games left it was looking rather bleak, but, if they could pull off a win here then it may give them renewed hope that they could pull off the great escape, although with their last win being on December 27th and on a run of eight games without victory and only picking up two points in that time, it didn't look likely this would be the outcome.

Football can be a funny old game though can't it, and the visitors were much the better side in the opening forty five minutes, they had created the better openings in the game before taking a 27th minute lead when Sports didn't clear their lines on a couple of occasions before Tomm Troubridge found himself free inside the box to finish across keeper Michael Bett into the far corner to give Frenford a shock lead.

And just before half time they doubled that lead in fine style, David Knight producing a superb back heel into the net from close range to send the bottom side into half time two goals and good value for it, Sports had been very disappointing thus far and certainly needed a big improvement in the second period if they were to prevent a surprising loss at home.

Their frustrations were becoming evident early in the second half, after one of the management received a yellow card for arguing with the referee, Connor Hart was then sin binned for the hosts just before the hour mark for back chatting the referee after they felt another decision had wrongly gone against them, and Frenford looked comfortable and with an extra man to come for the next ten minutes, and two goals up, things looked very good for them and not so good for the hosts.

Kelson McFarlane was introduced to the action for the hosts soon after and once Hart had come back onto the pitch with just over twenty minutes to go, Bridge netted one back as a lovely pass from McFarlane found Ellis Devereux who sent a lovely finish across keeper Dominic Alexandru and in off the post, and from that moment you could see the home side grow in belief and confidence, and four minutes later came one of the goals of the season, the ball sitting up nicely for Archie McFadden who then smashed an unstoppable effort flying past Alexandru from way out, it was an incredible strike, and the game was suddenly all square from nowhere!!!

Momentum was all with the hosts now, but Frenford to their credit should have gone back in front moments later but somehow headed wide from point blank range, but then they were reduced to ten men with around ten minutes remaining after Shad Ngandu was given a straight red for serious foul play in the centre of the park, and now they had to try and see out the game with a man light and a Hullbridge side smelling blood.

And in the 87th minute came a moment that visiting keeper Alexandru would want to forget, a long ball forward saw Jack Unwin chase after it and saw Alexandru totally mis kick the ball trying to clear under pressure, and when Frenford could not recover this, Unwin duly sent the ball into the empty net to give them the lead and complete an incredible turnaround, and there was still time for them to add another goal deep into stoppage time.

Another substitute Mo Malik was brought down inside the box by Troubridge after the attacker had got past him, and Devereux stepped up to send the penalty beyond Alexandru and cap a wonderful second half comeback from the hosts, which did not look likely after an hour that's for sure, and that strike from McFadden most certainly was one of the best goals I have seen for a while.

Well done to Hullbridge then who turned this around so well to grab another three points and take them four points off the top ten now, but for Frenford this will be hard to take after being in such a good position, and their survival chances look very slim now, ten points from safety with just eight games to go, it's going to take some run now to see them have a chance of survival.

Full time Hullbridge Sports 4 Frenford 2

Leigh United 3 Grays Athletic 2 - Hosts Leigh United go four points clear at top of Essex County Women's Football League Division One after edging out fourth placed Grays Athletic in a very entertaining battle at Chase High

Essex County Women's Football League Division One, Sunday 8th March

It was a rare Sunday outing for me but I was over at Goals (Southend) at Chase High School for an important game at the top of the ECWFL Division One as league leaders Leigh United were taking on Grays Athletic, the two had met back on January 18th in a cup tie, which was won 3-2 by Leigh, however their was some off the ball trouble shall we say so this one could be spicy as well as competitive.

Added to that the importance of the contest, it was the first one in their league campaign against each other, Leigh came into the contest top by a point over East Thurrock, six ahead of third placed Hutton Development (who had a game in hand) & twelve ahead of today's opponents although Grays did have three games in hand, so if they could win this battle today it would be possible for them to catch the leaders if they won those games in hand.

But if Leigh could edge to victory in this one, then they would open up an even bigger down to the ones below, and strengthen their chances of winning this division and also gaining promotion to the Premier Division, I also had a personal attachment to this contest, my friend and next door neighbour Chantelle Boland was part of the hosts team so it would be nice to finally see her in action in the midfield area.

Who would grab the early initiative then? Well, it was the hosts who got the ideal start after just two minutes when heading home a corner from close range, and truth be told had they been more clinical in front of goal early on they could have been three goals up, but they failed to capitalise on their early dominance and as the half wore on Grays got themselves more and more into the contest, and probably should have been level at the break, they missed a golden chance right at the end of the half, but early in the second period they would level.

The half was barely 45 seconds old when Leigh were caught cold as the visitors got in behind the hosts backline to finish beyond the keeper, and it had set the game up perfectly for a second half battle to see who would prevail, momentum seemed to be with the visitors now but Leigh struck twice in eight second half minutes to seemingly grab control of the game.

In the 52nd minute they got in on goal to fire beyond the keeper to make it 2-1, and then a lovely pass from my next door neighbour Chantelle Boland sent a teammate clear who rounded the keeper, kept her composure, and fired into the empty net, a two goal cushion for the home side, with half an hour to go, job done right?

Well, it wasn't going to be straightforward that's for sure, and Grays fought hard to try and get back into the contest and make the final minutes very interesting, and with sixteen minutes or so left, they pulled a goal back when a long bouncing ball wasn't dealt with by the hosts, and the visitors nipped in to beat the keeper to the ball and find the net, setting up a nervy last fifteen minutes for the home side.

Leigh did have chances to seal it late on, but couldn't, and that meant it was a very nervy last few minutes and only a super save from their keeper and a wonderful last ditch block right at the end prevented Grays from grabbing a share of the spoils, but Leigh did hold on to net a very important win and repeat the score line from the cup game they played out in January.

I must say it was a brilliant watch, two superb teams playing against each other, and played in the right way too, which was good to see, hard but fair, and it's a shame one team had to lose, although I was glad Chantelle was on the winning side and I didn't bring her or the team bad luck!!! I really enjoyed the contest, so good players on show, and I am sure Leigh enjoyed it too after picking up the points.

Full time Leigh United 3 Grays Athletic 2

There were four other games in the division today so let's have a quick look at those results and also the table after all of today's contests.....

Results

Brett Vale 0-6 Wickford Town

Broomfield 1-1 Great Bradfords

Clacton Regent 0-1 Hutton Development

Emerson & Upminster 0-2 South Woodham Ferrers United

Table

Leigh United's win today takes them four clear at the top, yes teams below them have games in hand but you would rather have the points, and they are in a very strong position with a handful of games remaining to win the league and promotion, Grays are now fifteen points behind the leaders and today's loss was a blow to them catching them by the end of the season.  

Hutton Development netted a narrow win over Clacton Regent meaning they increased the gap to Grays below them so it looks harder for Grays to even break into the top three of the division now and will have to rely on others faltering in order to do this, Broomfield & Great Bradfords shared the spoils to remain eighth and sixth respectively, giving Broomfield another point to edge them even further away from bottom few places, Great Bradfords point moves them closer to fourth spot.

Finally down the bottom Brett Vale's tough season continued as they were beaten 6-0 at home by Wickford Town, the hosts are still to pick up a point this season and Wickford's win put's four points between them and the teams immediately below them, one of those sides, Emerson & Upminster, lost at home to a South Woodham Ferrers United team who are only five points off a top four position now.

Anyway, that's all for the ECWFL Division One for the weekend and for this blog, I hope you all enjoyed reading and on International Women's Day it was also a pleasure to go and cover a very enjoyable contest between some good female players, thanks for reading and until next time, bye bye..... 

Braintree Town 1 Wealdstone 4 - Micah Obiero nets brace as Wealdstone record important win against Braintree Town to pull themselves further away from Enterprise National League drop zone as hosts remain three points from safety

Enterprise National League, Saturday 7th March

It was a rare National League encounter for me on the first Saturday in March, and it was a return to Cressing Road for the first time in a number of years to watch a very important game down the bottom of the division, fourth bottom Braintree Town taking on Wealdstone side who were only three places above them and six points better off.

The hosts also knew that if they could get the win today they would go level on points with fifth bottom Brackley Town and only be in the bottom four on goal difference after Brackley were beaten 5-3 at Boreham Wood in the early kick off in the day, Wealdstone knew that if they could win they could put nine points between themselves and the relegation places, so either way it was a big game in terms of the shake up down in that area of the division.

The hosts form though since their last win at the end of January against Eastleigh hasn't been great, although not the worst either, if that makes sense, in six games they have won one, against the bottom side Truro City, drawn against Sutton United and Solihull Moors, but they have lost three of their last four including a stoppage time loss at Gateshead in midweek who are also in the bottom four with them.

Wealdstone though have been even worse, in their last six league games since the start of February they have only picked up four points,  three of those came in their last home league outing against Brackley Town and they came into this off the back of a home loss to Morecambe who are just below Braintree, they have reached the semi finals of the FA Trophy though so this has certainly boosted the clubs morale in a tough period of results, how this one would go was anyone's guess, it was an important game so who could grab the early advantage?

The Stones actually began the game the better of the two sides, but in the 12th minute Braintree were given a golden chance to get themselves in front when Zavier Massiah-Edwards was brought down inside the box, and John Akinde, who was copping quite a bit of stick off the Wealdstone fans behind that goal due to his ex-Barnet connections, fired home the spot kick to hand Town the lead, against the run of play it has to be said.

However, if the hosts thought this would change the momentum they were to be very disappointed as Wealdstone did not let that set back deter them, and five minutes later were level when Nathan Tshikuna chopped back onto his left foot before firing into the bottom corner, and then nine minutes after that they led when hesitant defending from the home side allowed Micah Obiero to muscle his way past his markers before finishing from close range.

It was a deserved lead for the visitors, and quite frankly they could have been further ahead at half time, Braintree just looked physically and mentally worse than their opponents who were certainly finding their form in this contest, and Town were still suffering a hangover from that long trip to Gateshead and that late late disappointment, but they did manage to get to half time only a goal behind but needing much improvement if they were to get back into the contest.

After the hosts almost gifted Stones a third early in the second period they actually then had their best period of the contest and were finally putting the visitors under some stress in their final third, but Wealdstone kept them at bay and then hit them with a killer third goal with fifteen minutes or so remaining, substitute Sean Adarkwa seeing his effort parried across goal but into the path of Obiero who had the simple task of tapping home in front of his adoring fans behind that goal.

Braintree tried to find a second goal to make the final moments more interesting, and they almost got one when Lewis Walker struck the post after good work down the right, had that have gone in who knows, but in the end Wealdstone were more than worthy of the points and added another goal deep into stoppage time with the last kick of the contest, Junior Tiensia bursting down the left before his ball across goal was slid home by hosts player Matt Dibley-Dias although I thought it was Stones player Dylan Kadji, and I'd rather give it to him than have the own goal, but whoever got the final touch, it mattered not for the visitors who recorded a fine win and a very important win too.

It means Wealdstone are now nine points above the bottom four and up two places to 16th in the table, and only three points off a top ten position, whereas for Braintree they actually slip a place to third bottom now after Morecambe picked up another three points today after a 5-0 win at Sutton, but they still remain three points from safety so in terms of that they are no worse off, but things need to improve sooner rather than later if they are to have a chance of survival.

Full time Braintree Town 1 Wealdstone 4

Basildon Town 2 Barkingside 0 - Goals from Lucas Polyblank & Josh Davenport help Basildon Town continue unbeaten run after victory over bottom side Barkingside on a foggy night in South Essex

Thurlow Nunn First Division South, Wednesday 4th March

It was a second Thurlow Nunn South match up in two nights for me as I made my way over to The Hive in Gardiners Close for a game between Basildon Town & Barkingside, the hosts came into this one on a five match unbeaten run in all competitions and were looking to pick up more points to not only take themselves further away from the bottom three but also get themselves closer to a top ten position in the division.

Visitors Barkingside had more pressing matters on their minds, they sat bottom of the division and seven points from safety with nine games to go, obviously three teams may not go down when the season is all said and done, but they didn't want to take that risk and finish in those bottom three positions, a win could take them off the bottom of the table although second bottom Enfield Borough, who were a point ahead of them, have six games in hand, and were also in action this evening.

It was imperative then that Side started winning sooner rather than later, but they came into this one having lost five on the bounce and only netting one goal in those games in total, not brilliant form and not what you need when your fighting for your Senior status, and after just two minutes it had already become a difficult night as a thumping effort from range by Lucas Polyblank saw the keeper misjudge the effort and could only help it on its way into the net although their was a lot of power and swerve on the shot.

Foggy conditions had greeted the players from minute one, although conditions were not to bad for the majority of the opening forty five minutes, but after that early goal many expected the visitors to crumble and see Bas Town go on and take control of the contest, but this didn't materialise and a even first half ensued, Town did have a few moments where they fired balls across the box but were not converted, and Side had their moments too, the best one seeing home keeper Joe Durrant thwarting the visitors from a one on one situation.

The game then was in the balance at half time, but the increasing fog, which by the second half was becoming worse, meant that many of us could not make out what was going on when the play was on the far side of the pitch, although obviously the players and officials could see, which was the main thing, we could see enough to make out a superb save from Durrant to deny a superb effort from the visitors, whilst down the other end multiple blocks on one occasion denied the hosts a second goal to seal the game.

Both teams battled hard in the foggy conditions and it looked as though that early goal would be the only goal of the night, that was until the 87th minute when Bas Town did finally seal the points, a flick on saw Josh Davenport ghost in behind the back line to fire an effort beyond the keeper, thankfully I could see that just about, and it meant three points to the hosts which takes them 12th and only a couple of points off the top ten now.

For Side it's now six straight defeats and another game where they drew a blank, they played ok tonight but haven't got anyone to put the ball in the net, had they had this it could have been different, but they still find themselves bottom and with Enfield drawing this evening are now two points behind them and still seven off fourth bottom Dunmow Town, worrying times for Side then, their Senior Status hangs in the balance right now.

Full time Basildon Town 2 Barkingside 0