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
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