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CANVEY'S TEN
MEN DO THE BUSINESS... You might think that a team finding itself in mid-table at this stage of the season - not going up, not going down, (let's be fair) not going anywhere - would come to Park Lane and try something experimental, something new or novel, at the very least something exciting. Finding themselves against ten men after a quarter of an hour you would hope that they might even be very daring and try two up front? Not Boreham Wood. They came out of obscurity determined to dig in for a nil-nil draw and, even finding themselves with an extra man, even being one goal behind, they did absolutely nothing to change their fortunes. In the end they lost one - nil and, it has to be said, they were lucky to get nil! That Ashley Harrison was sent off after 15 minutes still takes some understanding. Up to the point where he was 'brought down' by Harrison, Jude Sterling had taken several dives and on at least one occasion those in the crowd who could lip-read saw Mr Pollard tell the lanky No. 6 to 'get up and get on with it!' On 15 minutes he ran at the Canvey defence and did extremely well to find himself in a one-on-one with Ben Chenery, Sterling rounded Chenners and there is no doubt that it was at this point that he was fouled - Chenners almost had his shirt off him. 'Play on,' signalled the referee, giving Boreham the advantage. Then, as Sterling met the advancing Ashley Harrison just inside the box he made a superb dive that already has been nominated for three Oscars - best choreography, best actor and (new award) best kidding of an uncertain referee at any level.
Being down to ten men wasn't Canvey's only difficulty. They were playing with the advantage of the wind, although it wasn't any real advantage at all. It was proving difficult to drop the ball into the danger area, the wind giving far too much assistance and many potentially good balls forward were actually landing in the car park. Noel Imber in the visitors goal also took a long time to get used to the prevailing wind - so many of his goal kicks and free kicks were going straight out for throw-ins.
Half time Canvey 1 Boreham Wood 0 The second half was almost a re-run of the first, minus the penalty. Canvey now had the wind against them and this proved to be something of an advantage as it meant that any long balls forward hung in the air and dropped more favourably for the attack.
Being down to ten men was certainly a burden for Canvey to carry, but they carried it well. They rarely looked to be under any great pressure from a team that, it has to be said, is one of the poorest to visit Park Lane this season. It would have been nice to see the recent goal spree continue but it was perfectly satisfactory to see the one goal lead defended.
Towards the end of the game Steve Ward was forced to limp off with a groin strain, but after the game he re-assured me that the problem is only minor and with the help of 'groin strengthening exercises' (the mind boggles!) he hopes to be fit again very soon. Another three points, the unbeaten run extended to 16 games and, who knows? The Aldershot game is looking more and more important and exciting every week.
Match Report by Merv. Pictures by Ian. Teams
Weather Conditions: Cold, slight rain but a strong wind coming off the sea wall. What did you think of
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Argument was in vain. Mr Pollard pointed
to the spot whilst reaching for his red card and Ash was given instruction to
walk. In a quick re-shuffle it was Jukka 'Rudi' Ruhanen who was
called off and replacement goalkeeper Danny Potter came on in his place.
Poor Danny's first taste of action was to face a penalty, to be taken by No. 10
Gary Dixon. With a terrific dive to his right, Danny got to the ball and
pushed it away for a corner and Canvey were able to breathe again.
Just on the half hour the leagues top scorer
picked up a loose ball that came out of a mid-field scramble and, with 30yds to
run, he started making his way into the opposing penalty area. In spite of
being slightly built, Lee Boylan is amazingly strong on the ball and refuses to
be shaken off. He started his run, beat one man, then another until,
finally, he had only Imber to beat. With a well placed kick he slotted the
ball accurately under the advancing keeper and into the back of the net.
Boreham had little answer to Canvey's direct
approach and, like so many visitors to Park Lane recently, they seemed to
have only one technique - long punt upfield and run/hope. This form of
attack was giving the home defence little or no problem, even without the aerial
command of Gavin Cowan. In fact, apart from the penalty (missed!) the only
other shot on target came on 33 minutes when Leon Bell hit a speculative 25
yarder that hit the crossbar.
The midfield was, once again, superb and even
with one man missing, Kevin Dobinson and Jeff Minton had so much of their own
way. The only Boreham player who was showing any kind of flair or skill
was Oscar nominated Sterling. With his long legs he made it very difficult
for anyone to take a ball off him but, in common with his colleagues, he failed
to make any capital out of his good possessional play. On so many
occasions we saw Wood hold onto the ball, keep it and round Canvey defenders
with it at their feet. Then they fell apart, Nobody had any idea of
what to do with it and apart from taking out high balls, Potter had very little
to do.
Neil Gregory almost took the game beyond reach
on 72 minutes when he got onto the end of a Jeff Minton free kick that floated
across to him, lurking on left hand side of the 6yd box. He did well
with the header, perfect timing, giving just enough pace but, unfortunately, it
hit the side netting and so Canvey had to settle for the single goal lead.