Canvey Hit Sutton For Six

Anybody who was lucky enough to be at Park Lane tonight saw a real feast of football.  Six superb goals and three more valuable points would have been good enough, but the real treat was the terrific performance from a Canvey team that was simply bristling with enthusiasm and fire.  From the off, Canvey put themselves into the driving seat and apart from conceding two goals, they stayed there for the whole night.

It would be so difficult to pick a man of the match for this game.  Chris Duffy was back on form and seemed to be enjoying his overlapping runs down the left.  Wayne Vaughan celebrated being back in the starting line-up by netting two great goals.  Steve Parmenter had a stunning game and all the regulars did their usual best - only better.  But special mention must be made of Steve Tilson.  He was in total control in the middle of the park, he scored a superb goal, he made another even better one and generally, his threaded passes practically tore the Sutton defence in half.

Canvey went straight onto the offensive and forced their first corner inside 60 seconds.  Then they maintained the pressure and it almost paid off when Neil Gregory headed a Tilson corner only inches over after ten minutes.  It was that man Neil Gregory who came close again five minutes later when he was put through for a one-on-one with Gareth Howells, but the keeper came out well and narrowed the angle and the chance was lost.

Sutton came into the game for the first time of the evening when Neil Baker broke through after 16 minutes and his dangerous looking shot took a defection before going wide for a corner.  But forays into the Canvey half like this were rare and the strong looking Canvey defensive line of Ward, Chenery and Bodley left very few chinks for the visitors to break through.

Tilly was involved in the first goal when he slotted a perfect pass through for Wayne Vaughan to run on to.  Wayno controlled the ball well and pushed it under the advancing Howells to give Canvey a well deserved lead.  The surprise was that it had taken so long to get off the mark.  With Neil Gregory winning most balls in the air and John Kennedy winning most balls out on the right, it surely was only a matter of time before more goals would come.

Sutton's attacks were coming mostly through No. 11 Nko Ekoku who always looked fast and dangerous, but his support was limited, the visitors finding the muddy conditions in the middle not at all to their liking.  Nick Williams forced Ashley Harrison to make one good save, but most of the balls that came Ash's way were bread and butter stuff and rarely looked dangerous.  Unlike Howells that is, who was having trouble holding on to some terrific long shots and he dropped the ball on more than one occasion, both from Parmenter and Duffy, but wasn't punished for it.

Half time came and the score was one-nil.  The scoreline did not reflect the one-way traffic that was the reality.  "Surely more goals will come in the second half," fans were saying.  They didn't know what a treat they were in for.  Within a minute Vaughan had grabbed his second of the game.  It was a goalkeeping error that let him through and Howells must still be wondering how he could have fluffed such a simple kick.  He totally missed the ball as he came out to the edge of the area and Vaughan had all but given up the chase.  But as soon as he saw the ball bobble past the hapless keeper, he was on to it and sent it sweetly into the empty net.

But Sutton wanted to make a fight of it and within two minutes Nick Williams had pulled one back for the visitors.  It was a well taken goal by Nick Williams who sent in an unstoppable cross from 25yds out on the right.  This had the effect of lifting Sutton and they looked as if they might get back into the game.  But Canvey had other ideas!

It was 51 minutes when Tilly came up to take a corner at the sea-wall end.  The cross was good and Mick Bodley met it with a dangerous looking header that Howells couldn't hold.  The ball was scrambled away, but only as far as Greggers who was lurking on the edge of the 6yd box.  The shot was unstoppable and Canvey had extended the lead once again.

But lightning does strike twice in the same spot because just a few minutes later Sutton bounced back once again.  This time it was Paul Whitmarsh who sent a high ball over from the right that was just out of Harrison's reach and it went over him and into the net.  The score was now at 3 - 2 and was getting more exciting by the minute.

Ekoku was the target man for the visitors and he played his part well up front.  At the back Ryan Palmer was fast and thwarted many a Canvey attack with his speed and strong tackles.  But this was a Canvey team that was on top form tonight and, in spite of the heavy and wet conditions, they managed to make their passing accurate and telling.  The football was a joy to watch.

Tilly's goal was a peach.  He played a superb one-two with Vaughan and ran through into the penalty area with the ball at his feet.  Although he was being closed down, he took his time to steady himself and then, with the outside of his boot, he sent in a shot that curled around the keeper, inside the post and into the back of the net.  The score was now 4 - 2, and getting better all the time.

To celebrate his great game, it was Chris Duffy who was next to get onto the scoresheet.  It all started with some good interplay between John Kennedy and Steve Parmenter out on the right.  The cross went out to Duffers on the left and it was a joy to watch him beat one player before sending in an unstoppable right footed shot that the keeper just couldn't get to.  5 - 2.

The last goal was all down to Steve Tilson.  He collected a ball on his chest some 12yds out with his back to the goal.  He turned, jinxed his way past everyone and made his way to the bye-line, from where he knocked it back directly onto Steve Clarks boot.  He set it up so well that it would have been impossible for Clarkie to miss.

Paul Fairclough, the Stevenage manager was in the crowd and he must have been impressed as he watched the Gulls romp home in style.  It was a true team performance and Canvey were strong in every department.  Once again they adapted well to the terrible conditions whilst their opponents struggled to keep the ball moving with any degree of accuracy or control.  Sutton did make some good breaks and their two goals were good ones, but the bottom line is, they were outplayed for 90% of the evening and can have few complaints about the impressive scoreline.

Match Report by Merv

Weather Conditions:  Dry, clear cold night.

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