Benfleet 0 Coggeshall United 0

Thurlow Nunn Eastern Senior South, Wednesday August 18th

My third game in three days saw me at a second Thurlow Nunn Eastern Senior South of the week, and I was over at Park Lane as Benfleet and Coggeshall United played out an entertaining goalless draw.

The hosts were looking to build on their second win of the season at the weekend, seeing Cornard United off 3-0 at Park Lane, whilst The Weavers had recorded their first win of the campaign at the weekend too after three straight losses to start the season before that, no doubt they were looking to also build on that win over Frenford at West Street.

The visitors were dealt a very early blow though when centre half Jack Hayes had to be stretchered off after coming off worse in a 50/50 challenge, and his replacement Elliott George and the rest of the backline had to do plenty of defending in the opening forty five minutes as Benfleet created the better chances that came, with the best chance seeing Cameron Harris (his father Neil was present in the stands) head towards goal and thwarted by a super save by Lewis Down, tipping the ball onto the bar.

Coggeshall did have their openings as well and saw their best chance cleared off the line, but at the half the hosts were probably the happier of the two and probably felt they should have been in front, and they were then thwarted again by Down as he tipped another header over the bar superbly early in the second period, but the hosts were then dealt a blow themselves when striker Harry Doyle had to leave the field after popping a shoulder, which meant Billy Bonham-Dare, a striker I have seen plenty of times at Olympian side Wakebury, take his place up front with Callum Fitzer.

Fitzer was lively all evening and almost embarrassed keeper Down when the Weavers stopper tried to run the ball out, but Fitzer was too quick and nipped in to fire a ball across a gaping goal but none of his teammates could get on the end of it, and then Bonham-Dare, who also looked lively, nearly set up Fitzer in the box, but luckily for the visitors a covering defender managed to get in the way.

Bonham-Dare then so nearly put Benfleet ahead when Fitzer fired in yet another decent ball and the young striker could only poke wide of the post, but as the half entered its latter stages it was Coggeshall who should have won it as they passed up some wonderful opportunities, and they all involved the dangerous Josce Syrett.

The striker did brilliantly well down the left before firing in a ball which was somehow missed by a teammate from point blank range after keeper Florent Gislette somehow blocking the effort, and then Syrett then burst through down the right but an awful finish dragged wide meant that chance went, and then he fired a wonderful ball across goal soon after but Romario Maloney could not get on the end of it.

So no goals and a point a piece, typical as both sides had seen thirty goals combined in all their games so far this season, so 0-0 was not a result many expected, but it was an entertaining game nonetheless so can't moan too much. Benfleet do move up to sixth though whilst Coggeshall United remain 18th and pick up a first clean sheet of the campaign, a welcome stat after conceding twelve in their first four games.

Full Time Benfleet 0 Coggeshall United 0