THAT'S  MORE  LIKE  IT!

Alright, it took two bites at the cherry, but eventually Canvey came through and booked their ticket to a home tie against Kings Lynn in the next round of the FA Cup.  Whereas Saturday saw a pedestrian-like performance from the Islanders, tonight everyone was up for it.  You sensed from Neil Gregory's third minute goal that tonight was going to be quite a different game.  And different it was!

It was certainly a spirited performance from Braintree.  They played well, exceptionally well.  But this was the best they could do.  Canvey, on the other hand, always had a bit more in reserve.  The build up play was superb, the defence was solid and it was only the finishing in front of goal and a bit of hard luck that stopped this being a runaway win.

Football is full of 'might-have-beens' and both sides will talk about the 'near misses', the 'just overs' and the 'lucky saves' for some time.  For Braintree it must have been heartbreaking to play so well and come away with nothing.  For Canvey, however, only the most blinkered Irons fan would disagree - they controlled almost all the game, they played the better football, they were the superior team.

It was an exciting game from the off.  Braintree had to attack if they were to have any hope of taking the game and this suited Canvey fine.  It left some space at the back for Vaughan, Parmenter and Gregory to exploit.  The cross that Neil Gregory volleyed into the back of the net with the game just a few minutes old was a disastrous start for Braintree, but it created just the buzz that Canvey needed.

Leon Gutzmore was in the starting line-up for The Irons and he always looked tasty when he ran at the Canvey defence.  It was a slippery surface at Cressing Road and early in the game we saw several Canvey defenders slip and fall as Gutzmore ran through, setting up a perfect cross to the head of Kirk Game, only to see the ball go just wide.

Wayne Vaughan was impressive again tonight.  He never stops chasing and his dogged determination sets him apart from many others.  But the service he was getting tonight from Neil Gregory and John Kennedy made him look especially dangerous.  He was through and on the point of scoring on 20 minutes but was illegally pulled off the ball and so his shot didn't amount to anything.  "Play on," said Mr Tate the referee.  The ball went straight down to the other end where Braintree forced a corner. " Goal Kick," said Mr Tate, making his second mistake in as many minutes.  Ah well, that's football.

But when Vaughan was brought down by 'keeper Dean Mahoney five minutes later there could be no mistake.  A shot by Tilson was only parried by Mahoney and as Vaughan went to pick up the rebound the 'keeper brought him down.  Tilson made no mistake with the spot kick and Canvey were on their way.  They settled down and played some very attractive football.  Bennett and Davidson were superb in defence, being set a great example by Mick Bodley in the middle.  When it comes to overlapping runs there are few better than Peter Smith.  This all added up to a terrific performance.

Canvey carried their two-nil lead to the half time whistle, in spite of one or two scares from Braintree, but the first half certainly belonged to the visitors.

Canvey's second half started as the first one finished, with Steve Parmenter coming close.  Everyone was fighting for the ball, they were closing down the opponents and generally putting Saturday's poor performance behind them.  For Braintree, Nicky Smith was not quite so effective and found it difficult to control the Irons game in the way he did a few days ago.  No 4 Gavin Cowan was looking good again in defence and No 3 Mark Jones was exploiting space on the flanks.

Near misses kept coming, mostly from Canvey but certainly not exclusively.  On the hour Canvey took their foot off the pedal for a moment and this was the signal for the home side to step up their game.  Canvey's defence had to work hard to keep Gutzmore and his lads at bay.  This spell lasted for 20 minutes or so and it was on 81 minutes that substitute Tommy Noble put himself on the scoresheet.  Having pulled one back, Braintree obviously sensed they could go the whole way and played accordingly.

Canvey brought on Andy Jones and Sammy Cooper and, having fresh legs on the field, they gradually got their grip back on the game.  There were two more penalties, one apiece for Tilson and Reinelt and there was perhaps a sense of relief when Mr Tate eventually blew the final whistle after two minutes extra time.

On reflection the 3 -2  scoreline was just a bit flattering to Braintree.  True they played exceptionally well, but on the day, Canvey played even better.  The Irons put up a brave performance, forcing the draw at Park Lane and coming so close at Cressing Road, but The Gulls eventually came good and justice was done.

Match Report by Merv.

Weather Conditions: Mild, dry evening.

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