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Goodbye - Whatever Cup It Was Canvey bowed out of the Ryman Full Members Cup tonight and the hundred or so fans who turned up at Purfleet (they still outnumbered the home fans) seemed quite relieved when the final whistle went. This was a difficult match to write about. On the one hand it was as boring as watching paint dry, on the other, Canvey produced some terrific mid-field football that was a joy to watch. But nobody on the terraces could build up any enthusiasm for this one, an attitude that seemed to be shared by some of the Canvey's forwards. Chance after chance was made by the industrious midfield, but nobody up front seemed to be in the mood to score. Purfleet gave as good as they got and everybody thought they would go into the lead when they were awarded a penalty in the 15th minute. Ashley Harrison brought down one of the Purfleet forwards as he attempted to go round him for a scoring opportunity. Ashley was booked for the offence and perhaps he was lucky not to be sent off. Buglione came up to take the spot kick but, incredibly, Ash pulled off a great save and pushed the ball over the bar for a corner. As the first half went on, Purfleet can consider themselves unlucky not to have gone into the lead on a couple of occasions, the crossbar being Canvey's most spectacular and unorthodox defender. At the other end Canvey were making chances themselves, but here it was poor finishing that kept the score at nil - nil. Purfleet kept hitting the crossbar, Canvey kept hitting outstretched legs and bodies. It looked like nobody was going to score and it was getting colder and colder. Then, on the hour, an uncharacteristic mistake by Ashley saw a shot by Ling slip through his usually dependable arms and Purfleet were in the lead. Canvey managed to step up the pressure and played the ball from one flank to the other. Their passing was sharp and accurate, it was quite entertaining, but it never went anywhere. It seemed that Canvey wanted to walk the ball into the net as no one seemed prepared to take a shot. As we got closer to the final whistle there developed almost a fear amongst the Canvey fans that should the team get the equaliser, it would mean another half an hour's play. With the grass getting whiter and whiter as the temperature dropped, the prospect was not a happy one. It was almost with a sigh of relief that fans around me welcomed the final whistle. It means that Canvey are out of the Full Members Cup, but with the all the other excitement at Park Lane - premier title to chase and the FA Trophy next Saturday - who really cares? Match Report by Merv Teams Canvey - Ashley
Harrison, John Kennedy, Craig Davidson,
Ben Chenery, Mick
Bodley, Adam Miller, Adam
Tanner, Chris Duffy, Steve
Clark, Wayne
Vaughan, Steve
Parmenter, Subs: Gary
Britnell, Andy Jones,
Steve
Tilson, . Weather Conditions: Cold, crisp evening. What did you think of
today's match?
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