Buildbase FA Trophy First Qualifying Round, Saturday September 25th
My Road To Wembley for the FA Trophy began on the Island on the last Saturday in September as Canvey Island welcomed Coggeshall Town to Park Lane for an all Isthmian North tie, and Matthew Price netted a second half hat-trick to help the home side ease through to the next round after a dominant win.
Both sides have had similar starts to their Isthmian North campaigns, the hosts sit smack bang in mid table having picked up nine points from their five games, whilst Coggeshall were three places and three points behind having picked up just the one win so far but had drawn three if their six games so were at least hard to beat, but maybe the hosts, who were yet to lose a league game thus far, were slight favourites perhaps.
The hosts only loss this campaign so far came in the Emirates FA Cup when they were beaten at home by Bedford Town in a replay at Park Lane following a goalless draw in Bedford prior to that in their First Qualifying Round tie, whilst Coggeshall were dumped out in the round before when losing at home to Berkhamsted, but both sides now turned their attentions to this FA competition and knew a nice run would certainly help their respective clubs.
The hosts certainly set the tone for the contest early on, thumping a header against the bar and then seeing another terrific chance thwarted by the visitors keeper Matthew Cafer, and for the majority of the half Canvey were on the front foot but despite their dominance, they could not find that breakthrough, with Coggeshall's only effort seeing Bobby Mason superbly tip a long range effort wide.
The visitors did miss a sitter towards the end of the half at the back post, but they had been second best throughout most of the opening forty five minutes, but as said Canvey could not muster a breakthrough and the sides went into the break goalless, and both knowing if the scores were to be level at the end of ninety minutes, the lottery of penalties would have been needed to settle this one.
In the end though that was certainly not needed, as after Coggeshall almost caught a sleeping Canvey cold at the start of the second period, sending an effort across goal and wide after some sloppy play by the hosts, it was pretty much one way traffic as Canvey took complete control of this tie.
After the home side had got through but struck straight at Cafer, they finally broke through just before the hour mark when the superb Evans Kouassi cut inside and fired an unstoppable left footed effort into the far corner, and Kouassi was then to turn provider when his ball through to Price saw the striker fire emphatically beyond Cafer to double the Gulls lead, and at that point you felt it was probably game over with 66 minutes on the clock.
And with nine minutes remaining the hosts definitely sealed their passage into the next round when Jamie Salmon, who had controlled most things in midfield along with Elliott Ronto, played a wonderful diagonal ball over to the far side where another superb player, Tobi Tinubu, let the ball hit his chest to take it past the full back, before playing a ball into the six yard box where Price was waiting to convert from close range, it was a beautifully worked goal it must be said.
Tinubu, along with Ben Sampayo, had tormented their opponents all afternoon down both flanks, and Ronto, who I had already mentioned, grabbed an assist of his own with a minute of the ninety left when he found Price who strode through to fire home a superb finish to complete his hat-trick and cap what was a fine afternoon for The Seasiders.
Their only blemish was conceding two minutes into stoppage time when Sam Bantick found some space in the Canvey box to send a header beyond Mason into the far corner, which would have annoyed skipper Michael Finneran and his back line, Finneran by the way was as commanding as ever at the back, and overall he would have been happy with his sides performance as they strolled into the next round and set up an away tie against Southern League South Central side Ware at Wodson Park in two weeks time.
Full time Canvey Island 4 Coggeshall Town 1
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