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ANOTHER THREE POINTS IN
THE BAG Canvey are on a roll. The recent run of wins, both in the league and in the various cup competitions, means that the King’s Men are riding high and (much to the surprise of many, I’m sure) are gradually creeping up the table. But after watching the victories at both Heybridge on Saturday and last night at Bishop’s Stortford I have to admit, Canvey do seem to be holding something back. Not a lot, but enough to take the edge off what might have been a sparkling performance. Perhaps their minds were on a certain game to be played next Friday night? For all that, Canvey went into this game giving a lot of respect to Bishop’s Stortford – the hammering they gave The Gulls at Park Lane at the start of the season is still fresh in the memory. In spite of their lowly position, Stortford have nicked some valuable points off formidable opposition – including league leaders Aldershot who have only managed two draws this term. With a good atmosphere, in spite of the rain, the game got off to a cracking pace and the home defence found itself under a great deal of pressure. On just 7 minutes Jeff Minton hit the side netting to the right of Desborough’s goal, following a free kick just outside the penalty area. Less than a minute later and Lee Boylan hit another attempt on goal into the side netting, this time to the left of the goal. Then just a few minutes later Gavin Cowan had a strike on target but this time his long, hard and low shot was well saved by the ex-Canvey ‘keeper. And so it went on, with Parmenter, Duffy and Gregory all taking it in turns to head, chip or blast in Desborough’s direction. It took 35 minutes before Stortford made a genuine raid on Ashley Harrison’s goal. It came about following yet another long hoof out by the home defence but this time Vinnie John eluded the off-side trap and managed to get himself into a one-on-one with Ash. Showing a degree of bravery that bordered on the suicidal, Ash came out quickly and smothered the shot to safety, forcing a corner for Stortford and attention from Harry Johnson for himself. Ignoring the danger of upsetting readers from Bishop’s Stortford, I have to declare that this was really one way traffic. Not the prettiest of games and still a few problems with the defence not getting the ball out quickly enough or accurately enough, but effective all the same. Whereas Canvey were building their attacks, sometimes with great difficulty due to being man-marked so closely, the home side was relying rather heavily on long, high balls to the front line. All too often the front line found itself off-side, or even missing altogether. On 38 minutes Canvey got off the mark with goal number one. It came from the head of tall defender Gavin Cowan who had come forward to make a target for Steve Parmenter’s free-kick, taken out on the right flank. Cowan climbed high and hit home the most powerful of headers that was unstoppable. Would the floodgates now open? Unfortunately, instead of Canvey capitalising on their lead, they lost it within just a few minutes. It was Stortford’s only real shot of the game so far, but Trevor Paul grabbed the equaliser on 41 minutes and it was back to being even-stevens. But although the scoreline was even, the balance of play certainly wasn’t and Canvey had it all to do again. Half time Bishop's Stortford 1 Canvey Island 1 The second half got under way and the tea in the home changing rooms must have contained some magic potion because a totally different Stortford side came out. There was far more creativeness, more decisiveness and they started to take the game to Canvey - to be pro-active instead of re-active. They kept this up for a full 15 minutes and during this time Canvey had to defend hard. This is where the back three of Ward, Chennery and Cowan came into their own, Cowan in particular getting involved in the thick of things. But good though their defending was, they were still not clearing the ball upfield with the speed or accuracy required. Stortford gradually began to tire and the boost Canvey needed to get them back on track came just on the hour when Minton came up to take a corner from the left. He struck the ball to the far side of the 6yd box where Cowan (again) managed a great knock-down to Boylan. With supreme skill he managed to collect the ball, control it with half a turn he blasted home from short range to put Canvey back into the lead. Mark this one down as contender for Goal of the Season. Canvey were now back in control and when Bertie Brayley came on for Steve Parmenter on 73 minutes the pressure on the home defence was increased still further. Brayley did particularly well with one cross that found Neil Gregory just on the edge of the 6yd box. Greggers unleashed a deadly shot that hit the crossbar, lifted the uprights by at least an inch out of their sockets, ran along the face of the bar and then eventually fell to safety. Desborough can consider himself lucky he didn’t get a hand to it! With the referee adding on four extra minutes (for what reason only he would know) the game came, eventually, to its conclusion. Another league victory, three more valuable points and Canvey in third place in the league. And, hopefully, still something in reserve for Friday. Match Report by Merv Teams
Weather Conditions: Heavy drizzle and cold. What did you think of
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