Canvey Fail To Impress

How is the poor match reporter supposed to write about this team of ours?  There have been some fantastic performances this season.  When they play in the way they did against Port Vale and Southend, no superlative is too much.  When they score nine goals in two games like last Saturday/Tuesday, the compliments simply flow off the keyboard.  However, when they play the way they did today at Chesham what adjectives do you use to describe the performance?  Mundane, mediocre, lackluster, ordinary, dull, boring, unexciting, dreary or quite simply, second rate.  Take your pick, any one will fit the bill.

Chesham had the best of the opening ten minutes and then the game evened out so that we had two teams playing at what looked like 60% of their potential.  Certainly neither team was pulling out too many stops and perhaps the travelling Yellow Army was expecting too much, following the fantastic success of the past week or so.

Ashley Harrison was being given some nightmare back passes to clear but nonetheless, much of his kicking was far short of his usual high standard.  For the rest of the team, it is hard to explain why the ball rarely found its target.  This was a heavy pitch but in spite of the uneven surface and large areas of sand, probably the best surface the team has played on for several weeks.

Following last week's superb performances from Tilly, Duffers, Parms, JK and Wayno, nobody could understand why none of them could replicate anything like their usual impeccable form.  These are the guys who can really make a difference and when they 'click', the team 'clicks'.  But today, gone was the magic, the pizzazz and the wizardry that tore apart first Heybridge and then Sutton.  Jeff tried several different combinations with his tactical substitutions in an attempt to rekindle the irrepressible Canvey flame, but nothing seemed to shake the team up sufficiently to make any real difference.  The flame just wouldn't ignite.

Canvey's only goal was well taken by Steve Parmenter but it came about following a fumble by Delroy Preddie in the Chesham goal.  A long free-kick came into the area, was knocked goalwards by Wayne Vaughan but the keeper couldn't hold onto it and he palmed it away, straight onto Parms' head.  He nodded it into the goal, over the keeper's head, and everyone thought this was the beginning of great things to come.  Sadly, they were wrong.

Terry Bowes grabbed one back for the home side on 42 minutes following a mix-up in the middle of the park that allowed the nifty No. 7 to run towards Ashley's goal virtually unchecked.  He slotted it past Harrison with a fair degree of skill and Chesham were back on level terms.

From this point on the game slipped away into nothingness.  My notes show that for the remaining 48 minutes nothing much happened.  Certainly Canvey didn't make anything happen.  They didn't win the 50/50 balls and rarely got a second touch to other balls.  Without being condescending to the home team, they were nothing to shout about but Canvey couldn't beat them.  

So what does this do to the promotion chances?  It now rests with Farnborough to start losing a few points, but one has to be honest and say that if Canvey expect to go all the way with performances like this, it simply ain't gonna happen.

But it won't be performances like this, will it?  We all know that between now and the end of the season there will be more terrific performances, more dazzling displays and more Canvey magic.  All this from the team that, on their day, can take on and beat all comers.  On their day.  Sadly, today wasn't their day.

Match Report by Merv. Pictures by Ian.

Weather Conditions: Bright, sunny afternoon on a heavy, well sanded pitch.

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