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PLEASING, SATISFACTORY OK, this was not a nail-biting, life or death, edge of your seat promotion/demotion classic. It was, after all, only the Bryco (who?) Cup. The only reason Canvey fans might know who the present holders of the cup are is because it’s Northwood (truly!) who knocked us out this time last year. But with no FA Cup run to look forward to, no championship title run on our hands (yet), perhaps the lads thought that the Bryco – actually, the Isthmian League Cup sponsored by Bryco – might be worth a shot. And they certainly did give it their best shot. In something of an unfamiliar experimental mood, Jeff King decided to change things around a bit and play some youth rather than experience. Straight in came Michael Lee and Lewis Lilly and, sitting on the subs bench, Steve Corbell, John Stewart and John Watson. All hastily signed up during the afternoon ready to make their step-up to fame and fortune. Certainly for Michael Lee it was the opportunity to show certain other experienced players what fire, determination and commitment really means. Perhaps generously, but I gave him my Man of the Match award for his commitment alone. Within the first 10 minutes it became clear that both sides, free of any great league pressure, were prepared to knock the ball about and make a game of it. True this competition lacks any real urgency, but in its place we did see some entertaining football. Hayes had the best of the opening chapters, but it wasn’t too one sided. Micky Bennett looked very comfortable in the middle and he had quite a bit of freedom to come forward and do his share of annoying Hayes’ keeper Chris Andrews. His header on 14 minutes was powerful but just a bit too high. By return, only a few minutes later Kevin Warner forced Ashley Harrison to make one of many good save throughout the evening. Warner was on the receiving end of a pin-point accurate cross from the left and had he hit the ball first time I don’t think Ash would have got near it. But instead he wasted too much time trying to get a second touch, enough time in fact for Wardy to come in close enough to put him off his shot. Michael Lee, wearing JK’s No 2 shirt, had a nervous start but once he warmed up he started sending over the sort of service that strikers like Neil Gregory would die for. Unfortunately tonight several of these crosses were squandered. Over the course of the evening Lee Boylan, Steve Parmenter and Bertie Brayley were all guilty of squandering chances but perhaps there are times when the ball just won't bounce and you have to live with it. As the first half went on, Canvey began to create more and more scoring chances and Andrews was certainly the busiest of the two keepers. Half time Hayes 0 Canvey 0 The second half was a re-run of the first except both team stepped their play up by at least half a gear. Canvey continued to come forward and had even half their attempts gone in, we would have been looking at a lead of at least four goals. The only goal of the evening came in the 61st minute and it was Craig Davidson who managed to convert yet another Michael Lee cross from the right. Crow connected with the ball beautifully (with his head) but he also connected with the upright (with his knee) and missed most of his goal celebrations, receiving attention from Harry Johnson instead. And so it continued. Both teams looking goal hungry without actually looking ravenous. Hayes ran at the Canvey defence but, unlike the Purfleet game, they stood firm. Having Ben Chenery back made a big difference and it allowed Steve Ward a little more room to strut his stuff. He even managed to come forward on a couple of occasions but still couldn’t be persuaded to shoot. The game might have gone to extra time had Ash not made two superb saves in the dying seconds, one from a dangerous looking free-kick on the edge of the box and another from a cross from the right that came dangerously close. Some people thought the referee had gone into extra time, but with at least seven extra minutes on his watch, he finally blew to signal a pleasing Canvey win, reward for a perfectly satisfactory performance featuring industrious debuts from at least three Canvey youth players. Match Report by Merv Teams
Weather Conditions: Mild, dry evening. What did you think of
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