|
|||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
|
CANVEY LOSE IN FLOODLIGHT FIASCO A top of the table clash that promised to be high on drama quickly turned into a dreadful tragedy for Canvey Island tonight but then ended up in pure farce as the dismal game was played out in the gloom. When the floodlights failed in the 75th minute it was with a sense of deja-vu that the players left the pitch in the near-darkness, remembering when the lights went out against St Albans on 1st December after 60 minutes and also against Purfleet on 22nd December after 79 minutes. With a formal inspection of the ground this week to confirm that it meets Conference grading requirements, some electrical work seems to be imminent for the humble Park Lane ground. In front of a massive Tuesday night crowd, many coming into the ground late such was the queue at the turnstile, this game was set to be a decisive six-pointer between two clubs who are breaking away from the rest of the Ryman pack as the front runners in the championship race. Because of their superb FA Cup run and their impressive 27 games without defeat (a record that was lost on Saturday at Burnley) Canvey are hot favourites for the league honours. But it would be wrong to ignore what has been going on at Stonebridge Road since the beginning of the season. Gravesend may have been waiting quietly in the wings as Canvey’s understudy, but they proved that they are more than ready to come centre-stage and into the limelight, should Canvey experience a wobble. And what a wobble it was. Canvey tried so hard to play the sexy style of football that has impressed FA Cup fans up and down the country but, put simply, Gravesend wouldn’t let them. For long periods of the game Canvey’s play almost mimicked the style adopted by the lads from Kent and there was far too much ‘big boot and hoof’. For G&N the style works; they have some massive players and their forwards are fast. It’s not an attractive style to watch, but it was getting them results. During the periods when Canvey kept the ball low, when they built their attacks by clever passing and creative use of space, they looked like the Canvey we all know and love, but whether it was down to exhaustion after the efforts at Turf Moor, whether it was down to bad luck or whether it was down to G&N closing them down extremely quickly and not giving them room to breath the result was the same – Canvey simply could not get hold of this game in the way they should have. The tone of the evening was set as early as four minutes when No. 11 Jimmy Jackson was sent over a nice cross from his left and he volleyed home an unstoppable shot from the edge of the penalty area. The visiting Red Army was delirious whilst the Yellow Army was left wondering what had happened. Still, Canvey often concede an early goal and usually manage to fight back and eventually win after being one goal down. Canvey’s best efforts on goal in the first half invariable came down the left and always involved the creative Spencer Knight. Although the middle of the field was crowded, whenever Stimson or Miller could push the ball to the left, Knight was in oodles of space and he looked sharp. Sadly, the finishing in front of goal was just not up to the usual standard with top scorer Lee Boylan and Paul Cobb unable to connect with the crosses. Chris Duffy (was he on fire tonight, or was he on fire?) got in the best Canvey shot of the evening when he hit a dangerous looking volley from just outside G&N’s area after 34 minutes but was desperately unlucky to see it take a late deflection and pass by the far post for a corner. Half Time Canvey 0 Gravesend & Northfleet 1 Just after the break it looked as if Canvey would turn in another of their dynamic second half performances and take the game. They were playing well but, sad to say, they just could not break down one of the strongest defences they have played against all season (including Burnley). Paul Cobb even hit the post on 49 minutes and perhaps that let-off for the visitors should have told the home fans that tonight it simply wasn’t going to happen. There are some games where, call it Lady Luck, rub of the green or pure cussedness, the ball just will not go into the net. This was one of those games. Nothing was going right for the Islanders and Gravesend were happy to exploit that situation. Their game now was one of lob and run and on the few occasions where they got through the off-side barrier they found the speed of Steve Ward or the superb tackling of Peter Smith too much. Even then there was Ashley Harrison to get past and that was as difficult as ever. Until the 75th minute that is when Francis Kuku managed to sneak in and tap home a cross that came into the area courtesy of a free-kick just outside the 18yd box. That made it 2 – 0 and the well taken goal was a suitable reward for the well constructed game-plan engineered by manager Andy Ford. Such was the electric response from the G&N fans that the floodlights immediately failed and Park Lane was plunged into half-darkness. The PA announced that the game would stop for 15 minutes whilst repairs were made although before that time limit was up the rest of the lights failed and we were now in total darkness. Shame to say, but Canvey fans thought that there must be a God after all and that the game would be abandoned – phew! In the darkness two streakers took advantage of the moonlight and took a naked lap of honour around the ground. They didn’t seem to mind the cold and when half the lights came back on as they were half-way round they carried on regardless, much to the amusement of both sets of fans. What happened next was total fiasco. The lights couldn’t be fixed completely and just two towers were illuminated – the other two completely dead. G&N were obviously keen to get the game finished so that the result could stand. Canvey seemed far from happy and it appeared to be with a degree of reluctance that Glenn Pennyfather led his team back onto the half-lit pitch for a restart over 30 minutes after the initial stoppage. What had previously been a hard fought game now appeared to turn sour with three Canvey players booked and another sent off in the remaining 15 minutes of the game. The team that had strutted their stuff so proudly at Turf Moor were now totally frustrated - and it showed. There were several attempts on goal at both ends but Canvey were not playing the sort of football to grab three back. So what does it all mean? Well, even the most ardent fan knows that Canvey will have to lose the odd game over the rest of the season, as will Gravesend. Canvey are still top although the gap is getting narrower. Although G&N looked strong, do they have the strength in depth to keep up the pressure when the time comes, as it has for Canvey, when six key players are unavailable? That remains to be seen. But what is certain is that these two clubs are set for a nailbiting three months as they fight to the death for the one position they covet the most - top of the league on the most important day of the season, 27th April 2002. Match Report by Merv Teams
Weather Conditions: Cold but dry. What did you think of
today's match?
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
