CANVEY GO TOP
(For a couple of hours, at least!)

Canvey continued their recent excellent run by taking another well deserved three points today against a rather dismal Harrow side.  It's always difficult playing against poor opposition and the necessary impetus to lift the game is sometimes hard to generate.  But it was generated, once the first goal went in, and from there on in there was only one team in it.

The victory takes Canvey top of the league - the highest they have ever been - even if results later today have the effect of bringing Canvey back down a couple of places.  A just reward for what appears to be an extremely strong and hard-working squad who seem to get better and better as the season goes on.

It all started calmly with Canvey making some dangerous looking raids on David Hook's goal early in the game.  Andy Jones came very close in the opening minutes when he tried so hard to convert Steve Parmenter's excellent cross/shot.  Had he not been pulled back by his shirt by Harrow's Sean James he might well have connected and the rout may have started earlier.  But referee Mr Woodward waved play-on and the opportunity was lost.

Jonah came close again just eight minutes later when he broke through and sent in a corker of a shot from 15yds that Hook just managed to tip over the bar.  By now the Harrow defence was in a fair degree of disarray with plenty of arguing between the players on the pitch.  No 8 John Hurlock (having something of a bad hair day) was particularly vociferous, both to his colleagues and to the crowd.

The Harrow defence never really got to grips with the situation all afternoon and everyone was wondering not IF Canvey would score, but WHEN.

As the stalemate drew on, Canvey appeared to take their foot off the pedal and for the last 15 minutes of the first half, Harrow's midfield gradually seemed to get better and better.  Their passing was sharper and crisper than Canvey's and they used space to great advantage.  But all this was in the middle of the field and not, where it counts, in front of goal.

Ashley had quite an easy afternoon although he was involved in an altercation with Junior Hunter when the visiting No 7 rather stupidly feigned and injury, claiming to have been kicked by the Canvey 'keeper, and was booked for his trouble.

And so the first half finished level, although fans around me were still confident that Canvey, becoming more and more a team of the second half, would come back from the break and eventually tie the game up.

That's exactly what they did.  They came out for the second half and for the third time in seven days, they went straight into top gear and started running the game.  Steve Parmenter came very close on 49 minutes when the ball came out to him just as he was running into the area.  On this occasion he took his eye off the ball and hit it far to high and far too wide.  But lightening struck twice and a minute later he found himself in an identical situation.  This time he kept his head down, kept his knee over the ball and hit a perfect shot that went straight into the back of the net, in spite of taking a slight deflection on the way.

This was the fillip Canvey needed.  They now lifted their game and there was never, ever, any doubt about which way the game would go.  There was no individual star of the game, this was a great team performance in which every player played his part.

Junior Hunter was rather sadly carried off in the 53rd minute when he suffered a broken right ankle and this was the last straw for the visitors.  They never really got back into the game and everything was sewn up in the 55th minute when Parmenter was brought down just inside the box just as he was breaking through for goal.  Mr Woodward had no hesitation in pointing at the spot, just as Tilson had no hesitation in slotting the ball far to David Hook's left hand and into the back of the net.

In the 70th minute Jeff King made a rather unique tactical move by making a triple substitution, taking off Jones, Parmenter and Clark and bringing on Cooper, Gregory and Vaughan.  It was an inspired move and three pairs of fresh legs up front now ran the Harrow defence ragged, making opportunities for each other and generally enjoying themselves.

Goal number three came just a minute later with a superb one-man effort from John Kennedy.  He picked the ball up 30yds deep and just kept running and running towards goal.  He had three players snapping at his ankles and a keeper advancing on him but still he kept going and scored a peach of a goal.

When the final whistle went after some 10 minutes of stoppage time, this excellent result for Canvey was extremely popular with the fans, most of whom had missed Canvey's away victories at St Albans and Sutton United and only had the memories of that sad defeat against Farnborough at the start of the season.

It's early days yet but this squad, with its strength in depth, has loads and loads of potential and there is no reason why they can't go all the way.

Match Report by Merv. Pictures by Ian.

Weather Conditions: Bright and sunny.

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