White Ensign 3 Takeley 2

Essex Senior League, Wednesday 6th October

Wednesday saw me make the short trip to Great Wakering for an Essex Senior League contest between White Ensign & Takeley, and a Connor Barnby brace helped the hosts to an entertaining win at Burroughs Park and net a league double over their opponents in the process.

The hosts came into the game with five wins from their thirteen games so far but had smashed eight past Cockfosters at the weekend so were full of confidence no doubt, whilst Takeley have been having a fairly poor season by their standards and were in the bottom half, also with five wins so far this term. Their game had been postponed at the weekend so this was their first outing since the FA Vase loss almost two weeks ago now. Also these two had already met in the league this season at Station Road, and that one saw Ensign run out 2-1 winners.

It did not take long for the action to hot up as firstly the visitors were denied what seemed an obvious penalty after Elliot Long was felled inside the Ensign box, and then moments later in the 2nd minute Ensign went up the other end and took the lead when Dominic Locke was played in and he slotted home to give his side the advantage.

The hosts, who were ruthless at the weekend, had failed to bring their shooting boots here, and missed a number of chances to go further ahead, and just past the half hour mark they were made to pay for these misses when Takeley levelled when a wonderful cross from George Wappett found Kieran Southgate who applied the finishing touch in off the far post, and Takeley somehow found themselves on level terms.

Ensign then struck the bar as they almost restored the lead, and almost fell behind near the end of the first half when a ball slammed towards the far post just failed to find the boot of an attacker, that really would have rubbed salt into the Ensign wounds as it would not have been a deserved lead for the visitors had they grabbed it, and the hosts were left scratching their heads as how they were not ahead at the break, it's fair to say the Takeley goal had led a charmed life so far.

So how would the second period pan out? Well, ten minutes into it Ensign did edge in front when Barnby tried his luck from twenty yards or so out and his shot, which although did dip slightly in front of Sam Soutar in the visitors goal, saw the keeper make a real mess of saving the shot and it slid under his body and into the net, not a moment he will want to relive that's for sure.

It was a deserved lead for the hosts though, but to Takeley's credit they did not give up and battled back to level with twenty minutes remaining when they were awarded a penalty after Glenn O'Hanlon's shot towards goal was blocked with a hand, and Southgate stepped up to ram home the spot kick, and now either side had to chance to go and win this contest.

Takeley were now having a good spell and saw Grant Hayward produce a couple of decent saves to keep the visitors out, however with just under fifteen minutes remaining Ensign netted what proved to be the winner when new signing Timo Monsheju, who had come off the bench, saw an effort saved by the legs of Soutar, but the ball fell into the path of Barnby who from just outside the box rammed a brilliant effort back past the keeper and into the net for his second of the evening and Ensign's third and winning strike.

A very decent game of football, and back to back wins at home for the hosts, and seven unbeaten in the league now too as they find themselves in eighth spot now, whilst for Takeley they fall to a sixth league defeat and are down in 13th spot, five points behind their opponents.

Full time White Ensign 3 Takeley 2