CANVEY'S FIRST DOUBLE OF THE SEASON

Canvey have now scored twelve goals in their last three games against St Albans.  They must certainly see us as their 'bogey' team as St Albans have never actually played badly against the Gulls, but they have never managed to pull anything out of the bag.

Mind you, it was touch and go today, and as the first half drew to a rather boring finish many fans were playing that popular word game, 'Put These Words in the Correct Order' the words being - paint - dry- watching - like...'

The first half lacked any real sparkle, although the standard of football played was very good.  Both teams were keen to play a passing game although St Albans were very much in defensive mood.  They pulled players back and it was obvious that a point would be good enough.  This meant that when their well marshaled defence did clear balls upfield, there was rarely anyone on the receiving end to set up a realistic attack.

The pitch was in very good condition (well done, Mick the Pitch!) and allowed both sides to play open, flowing football.  Unfortunately both teams were lacking that extra bit of sparkle to make the game totally enjoyable.  Moran and Goddard were particularly strong at the back for St Albans although their job was made easier as  Canvey were lacking pace on the flanks.  Although Wayne Vaughan was able to make several dangerous looking breaks, he rarely had anyone forward with him when it counted.  It seemed that St Albans always had a 'spare' man in defence and goal scoring chances were quite rare.

The first half finished at nil - nil and after all the excitement of recent weeks it was quite a let-down for the 805 fans.  The visiting fans from St Albans were in fine voice and seemed to be enjoying themselves, but one sensed that had the scoreline stayed on level terms, they would have been quite happy.  For Canvey, however, things had to change and home supporters, who have come to see Canvey as a second half team recently, were hoping that things might improve in the second 45 minute spell.

Improve, they did.  Steve Tilson almost opened the scoring on 50 minutes when he sent in a thundering shot, forcing a superb save from Richard Hurst who managed to get down and push the ball out for a corner.  Balls then started coming in from everywhere and surely it would only be a matter of time before the floodgates would open.

The game was 57 minutes old when Canvey sent a long, speculative ball forward that didn't look terribly dangerous.  Both Moran and Goddard appeared to have things covered but as goalkeeper Richard Hurst came off his line to clear the backpass, that man Wayne Vaughan decided that the ball was still available.  He raced forward, got in the way and forced the two hapless defenders to fluff the ball, it running into space where Wayno was happy to chase it.  He collected it and then, with great control, slotted it under the approaching Hurst.

This was the signal Canvey wanted.  They stepped their game up a notch and started to dominate.  St Albans had to rely on quick breaks when they wanted to attack but with Steve Ward and Mick Bodley in the back three, there was little opportunity to test Ashley Harrison.  The other man at the back, Micky Bennett, was finding some room to come forward occasionally and in the main it was the Canvey mid-field who were in control.

Alex Inglethorpe sent in a superb drive on 69 minutes that Hurst could only push onto the bar.  Having touched the ball however, Canvey fans thought this automatically played Craig Davidson on-side and so when he crashed in the rebound, fans went into celebration mode.  But the flag was up for a rather absurd off-side decision and the goal was disallowed.

From here, St Albans decided to get stuck into the game.  They went straight onto the offensive and were unlucky to have a request for a penalty turned down when Steve Ward made a rather over-zealous tackle on a dangerous looking forward.  The game now went from being all Canvey to all St Albans.  It was now Canvey who were on the back foot, trying to keep a hold on the game and the points.   It was no real surprise when Gary Ansell grabbed one back on 73 minutes with a superb header and suddenly the game was wide open.

It was a free-kick that brought Canvey back into the arena.  Tilson sent over a well placed kick which looked destined to find Neil Gregory.  However, he was blatantly pushed off the ball but instead of appealing for the infringement, Micky Bennett pulled off a spectacular diving header to send the ball into the back of the net

Canvey were back in front and, once again, they took control of the game.  Crosses were coming in and Hurst found himself under considerable pressure.  When Sammy Cooper came bursting through the box with just 6 minutes to go, Hurst panicked somewhat and rather foolishly made a dive for Sammy's feet, upending him and conceding a booking and a penalty in the process.  Steve Tilson made no mistake with the spot kick and with only five minutes to go, the game was not totally beyond the visitors' reach.

This was an important victory for Canvey.  St Albans had been on a good run and, with all the concentration on the FA Cup, the Ryman league might have been in danger of slipping away.  This result sends out the message that we still want to be part of the league celebrations next May and getting doubles over other clubs will be very much on the agenda over the coming months.

Match Report by Merv. Pictures by Ian.

Weather Conditions: Dry & bright, but heavy pitch. 

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