Croydon  Lucky  To  Get  Nil

Normal service was resumed at Park Lane tonight. Forget fixture backlogs and tired players, Canvey really turned it on and they were magnificent.  Anybody who wasn't there missed a veritable treat of football.  It was fitting that local hero Gary Britnell came on at half-time and was greeted by a sincere round of applause from fans and players alike.

Canvey went into the driving seat from the off and there were near misses from Wayne Vaughan and Chris Duffy from as early as 3 minutes.  But it wasn't the attempts on goal that were exciting the fans, it was the style and flair the team was showing in order to get into the danger area.  The passing was neat, crisp and sharp and a joy to watch.  Croydon did manage to get into the Canvey penalty area but it was more a series of quick raids rather than constructive midfield play.  The best chance fell to Omari Coleman on 25 minutes when he picked up on a rare mistake by Canvey's defence and closed down on goal with determination.  His shot, however, was far too wide.  Not to be left out, Graham Harper tried to get onto the Croydon scoresheet just a minute later but he only manage to hit Canvey's post.

That was it for Croydon for the rest of the evening.   From here on in they were often spectators as Canvey got back into control and ran the remainder of the game.  Wayne Vaughan started it all off in the 40th minute when he converted an Adam Miller cross from close range.  It was a well taken goal by Wayno although all the hard work had been done by the very talented Miller.

Chris Duffy got goal number two and this time it was a cross from Steve Tilson that split the defence open.  Tilly sent over a superb ball from the left flank and it seemed to fall almost in slow motion as Duffy came in ahead of his marker and slotted home from 10yds.  Les Cleevely was getting annoyed with his defence for leaving so many gaping holes.

The best goal of the evening, without doubt, belonged to Steve Tilson.  Those of us standing behind the goal saw him come into the penalty area and bend a fantastic shot around the advancing Cleevely and into the top left-hand corner of the net.  The ball moved through almost 45 degrees, such was the spin Tilly put on it.  The score was now three-nil and everybody thought it couldn't get much better.  They were wrong.

The tiredness of recent days seemed to be forgotten as Canvey started to play exhibition football.  Adam Miller was again superb, Chris Duffy was back to his excellent best and John Kennedy seemed to have the ball fixed to his boot, such was his control.  There wasn't a weak player on the field and the feeling was good.

Wayne Vaughan got his second goal of the evening and Canvey's fourth. just on the hour.  This time Chris Duffy was the feed man when he sent over a first time ball from the right.  It landed on Wayno's boot and he buried it with his first touch.  Poor Les Cleevely was left to admonish his defenders for their sloppy work at the back but Canvey were in celebration mode.

Steve Clark got number five and it was a text-book header.  Again Chris Duffy created the cross and Clarkie rose majestically above the defence to hit it perfectly with his forehead.  He chose his spot, never took his eye off the ball and it rocketed home.

A well deserved victory for the team that has just about finished the fixture list from hell.  They dominated the game for almost all the 90 minutes and Croydon, apart from one or two attempts, never really got near Ashley Harrison's goal.  Even when they did, Ash was as brilliant as ever and the scoreline, at 5 - 0 was quite deserved.  Croydon were lucky to get nil.

Full Match Report by Merv

Weather Conditions:  Dry but cold evening

What did you think of today's match? 
Who was YOUR man of the match?
Any comments at all on the match?
 
Share your thoughts on the
Discussion Board