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CANVEY COME GOOD, Well, it was certainly touch and go, but eventually Canvey grabbed all three points, thanks to three very well taken goals by Forbes, Johnson and Kennedy. But Canvey didn't have it all their own way and many Boreham Wood fans will have gone home tonight thinking, 'We woz robbed!' Although the game got off to a cracking start with Canvey looking hungry for action, it didn't last long. Very quickly it descended into something of a dull affair with neither team pulling anything exciting out of the bag. Bertie Brayley was criticised by some fans for being too greedy and not passing when others were in better shooting positions but, in reality, if he hadn't got in the shots he did, Wood's goalkeeper Noel Imber would have had nothing to do. Victor Boyle-Renner played well for the hosts and almost set things up for the talented Corey Browne when he sent in a peach of a low cross to the near post, only to see the No. 8 put his shot just wide. This was not an isolated assault on Canvey's goal and there is no doubt that Ashley Harrison was far busier than Noel Imber. It was thanks to some superbly timed tackles from Steve Ward that Boreham Wood didn't snatch an early goal and they might consider themselves unlucky that they were thwarted by a Canvey defence which was playing with far more determination than the Canvey attack. As things weren't going their way, Canvey did the inevitable and, in desperation, reverted to the long, high ball up the middle tactic. It sometimes works but when Neil Gregory has been all but taken out of the game by No. 3 Scott Honeyball - certainly true in the air - it came to absolutely nothing. Nothing was coming down either flank and there were far too few balls being played to feet. Canvey looked to be going nowhere. They didn't win a single corner in the first half, compared to Boreham's six. Canvey's best effort of the first half came just before the whistle and it was a terrific shot by Chris Duffy from 20yds out that went just wide. Duffers was set up well by John Kennedy but this shot apart, Imber went in for the break without really having done much to earn his money. But the dull game wasn't all the fault of Canvey. Bore'em Wood played a spoiling tactic for almost all the game and took every opportunity to slow things down. They were slow to take throw-ins and goal kicks, they went down for the slightest knock and even the dug-out joined in by refusing to send replacement balls onto the pitch with any kind of urgency (they appeared to run out of balls altogether at one point). Half time came and it was quite a relief to the fans. Perhaps something would happen in the second session. Half time Boreham Wood 0 Canvey Island 0 Bertie Brayley almost got the second half off to a brighter start when, after only 2 minutes, he forced a good save from Imber; his first. But, sadly, this was not the start of a Canvey revival. In fact it was quite the opposite. For long periods Canvey just could not find a yellow shirt. They stuck to some strange game plan of sending long, high balls forward which only had the effect of making Honeyball look good. Few balls found Neil Gregory's head. Boreham Wood, on the other hand, were pushing the ball all around the park with precision and accuracy. They got to just about every 50/50 ball and they also got to the second balls. When the defence cleared a ball, it fell to a midfielder. When a midfielder pushed a ball forward, it fell to a forward - just as you would expect. For Canvey, on the other hand, possession was proving to be something of a nightmare. This was due in part to not getting the rub of the green and partly due to lack of accuracy and poor timing. Things started to look up for Canvey on 63 minutes when Chris Duffy chased a ball to the bye-line and hooked it over into the 6yd box. Two Wood's defenders went to clear the ball, both failed and the ball eventually landed perfectly for Scott Forbes to rush in and head home from 3yds. It was a good goal and fans hoped it might be the turning point for Canvey. Certainly from that point on things started to improve and Canvey were playing better, but the bad news was, so were Boreham Wood. Boreham won a free-kick right on the edge of the Canvey penalty area on 74 minutes and it looked dangerous. The Canvey wall lined up but Scott Honeyball made it look easy as he sent the ball directly to the back of Harrison's net. The scores were back to level. Then, reminiscent of the game at Aldershot, everything suddenly came together for Canvey in the latter part of the game. Passes were now finding their mark and Imber was suddenly very busy. But there was nothing he could do about Ross Johnson's scorching 12yd shot on 82 minutes. He didn't even see it. The goal was made by Scott Forbes who collected a ball on the left flank and he jinxed his way to the edge of the 18yd box before getting in a deadly cross to Johnson who was running into the area. He connected well and Canvey were back in front. Canvey fans now had something to sing about and the team lifted their game accordingly. They were now running the game and were in control. So when Canvey won a free-kick just two minutes later there was a certain optimism in the air. The original free-kick, taken by Jeff Minton, was blocked by Corey Browne and that looked to be it. But Kennedy was on hand to pick up the rebound and, with a slight deflection from Jeran Meah, he hammered it into the back of the net from 20 yds. If only Canvey could have played in this style from the beginning. The old problem of inconsistency still haunts them and this seems to be the major stumbling block this season. When they are good, they are terrific and I for one haven't seen a better team this season. But when they are mediocre... Still, a 3 - 1 win is still a good win, even if takes a long time in coming. And what good preparation for the big one next Saturday at Slough. Match Report by Merv Teams
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