East Thurrock 3-4 BSFC

East Thurrock 3-4 Bishop’s Stortford Match Report 10/12/19

 

Bishop’s Stortford progressed to the next round of the Velocity Trophy with a 3-4 win at a wet and windy East Thurrock United.

After defeating the Rocks at home in the league last Tuesday, the Blues travelled to the Essex outfit with both sides naming much-changed teams.

After leading 1-4 at the break, two late East Thurrock goals threatened to send the game to penalties, but the Blues held on to win.

 

The Blues opening goal – credited by the hosts to Mark Haines – was an own goal, deflected in at the near post from a Blues corner inside five minutes from the left hand side.

Jordan Wescott – playing in midfield – saw a good free kick effort go just over Jack Giddens’ crossbar from wide left, before the hosts pulled one back through Captain Ryan Scott, slotting home from close range after Alex Clark had beaten Louie Johnson down the left.

The Blues went ahead again almost immediately, with David Manu making a run down the left, he cut in and played in Johnson, who fed Wescott for an easy tap-in.

Johnson himself was on the scoresheet minutes later, after Shomari Barnwell had turned his man in the left channel, he passed across the box for Johnson to convert with a sliding finish.

Clark beat Johnson again down the left, but his over-hit cross couldn’t find a team-mate, before Haines miscued a clearance into Scott’s path, but the Rocks skipper could only shoot directly at Haines from the edge of the box.

Ex-Blue Darren Foxley shot from the left channel but it hit the side-netting, before Giddens punched Wescott’s free kick into the path of Ben Sampayo, who could only side-foot back to Giddens from 16-yards.

Bradley McClenaghan read a pass well and intercepted in the attacking half, and played a through ball to Manu but he couldn’t keep it in to cross for team-mates.

Sampayo stopped a promising move by the Rocks, before playing in Manu on the left, who ran half the length of the pitch to win a corner.

And from that corner came the Blues’ fourth goal, Wescott’s kick towards the near post was headed up into the air by a defender, and Barnwell was underneath it and beat the man on the far post with a looping header – his fifth goal in six cup games this season.

Debutant Ashley Merritt may have made it five before the break, but Giddens was out well to deny him after he had beaten the offside trap.

 

Half time 1-4

 

The rain intensified in the second half, making conditions underfoot less than ideal if you wanted to stay on your feet.

As a result, shots were miscued off the surface, like Clark’s curling effort which missed the target by a good 10 yards, before Fred Burbidge and Barnwell somehow kept the ball out of the net from a corner that went across the face of goal.

Clark had another effort, this time finding the target, but it was straight at Burbidge, before Burbidge struggled to grip the ball from Scott’s shot, but he managed to keep it out on the goal line.

Burbidge gad come out to take the ball but slip while coming out, and a shot from the edge of the box was headed away by McClenaghan. Burbidge then misjudged a bouncing ball, which nearly resulted in a goal.

A well-worked corner came to Nasha on the edge of the box, but he skied his shot before there was a lengthy stoppage after a melee for a tackle on Jayden Sweeney by Jack Coventry.

Haines was beaten trying to play the offside trap, allowing Clark in behind the defence who shot low past Burbidge.

Sean Bonnet-Johnson scored past an unsighted Burbidge from the edge of the box to reduce the deficit to just one, but it was too little too late and the Blues will be in the pot for the next round.

 

Full time 3-4

 

TEAMS

 

East Thurrock United XI

1: Jack Giddens

3: Jordan Brown

4: Amos Nasha

5: Ryan Scott © (Goal 14’)

6: Steve Sheehan

7: Darren Foxley

10: Sean Bonnet-Johnson (Goal 90+2’)

11: Alex Clark (Goal 85’)

12: Ayodeji Olukoga

15: Jason Ring

19: Can Ariglu (Coventry 46’)

 

Subs

16: Jack Coventry

 

Bishop’s Stortford XI

 

1: Fred Burbidge

2: Ben Sampayo

3: Jack Johnson (Warman 66′)

6: Ryan Henshaw © (Sweeney 46’)

11: David Manu

12: Jordan Wescott (Goal 18’)

14: Matt Baxter (Merritt 12′)

17: Mark Haines

18: Bradley McClenaghan

19: Louie Johnson (Goal 22’) (Thomas 65’)

20: Shomari Barnwell (Goal 41’)

 

Subs

4: Jack Thomas

5: Sam Robbins

8: Alex Warman

15: Ashley Merritt

16: Jayden Sweeney

 

Attendance 75