Matches

GRAYS GO 4TH AS HENDON PAY THE PENALTY by Steve Boughen

A Freddie Eastwood penalty was all that Grays had to show for this thrilling game.

The first half was only 4 minutes old when Grays had their first attack when a Freddie Eastwood shot was well held by David King in the Hendon Goal. in the 8th minute, Hendon showed that they were not here just to make up the numbers, when a Ricci Crace shot/lob from fully 25 yards sailed over Mel Capleton's head, hit the crossbar and fell into his arms, just as Hendon's Eugene Ofori slid in. Grays then took hold of the game and put almost non-stop pressure on the Hendon defence. 14 minutes gone and a 1-2 between Eastwood and Griffiths came to nothing when Eastwood slipped over. From the clearance Martin Carthy intercepted the ball and shot over. In the 24th minute Wes Daly had a shot well saved by King, whilst in the 27th minute an Eastwood free-kick was put high and wide. A good run by Hayzleden down the middle of the park came to the feet of Carthy who curled his shot just wide of the far post in the 35th Minute. A couple of other Grays free-kicks were wasted before the end of the half to go in at 0-0.

Grays started the second half as they finished the first. In the 49th minute Grays were awarded a free-kick, which was put out for a corner. The resulting corner was cleared. 2 minutes later Hendon, playing in "day-glow" Tangerine shirts, thought that they had scored through Steve Forbes, but this was disallowed for an off-side.

In the 58th minute came the games only goal, when a cross, from the Stand side of the ground, by Griffiths was handled by a defender and, for the second time in two games, Freddie Eastwood put the resulting spot kick past the keeper. With this, the game started to become a bit scrappy. Twice in two minutes Grays were awarded free-kicks just outside the area, but each time they came to nothing. 69 minutes had past when Eastwood, again, set off on a mazy run, skipping over 3 "tackles", and then being pulled up for a foul on the keeper, whilst on 70 minutes Hendon had a penalty appeal turned down.

In the 72nd minute came the games most explosive incident. Capleton came out of his area to clear a Hendon attack, just reaching the ball before Crace, who then "followed through" on the 'Keeper, causing a 17 man brawl. After an couple of minutes trying to calm the players from both sides down, he discussed the incident with both his assistants. The outcome was to send of the Hendon Number 7. Within the next 10 minutes Hendon brought on 3 subs but to no avail. King dropped another Grays free-kick in the 86th minute, whilst Carthy slipped whilst shooting from an Eastwood cross on 89. Four minutes into stoppage time, Ellis Remy replaced Eastwood for the last minute.

Teams:-
Grays Athletic:- Capleton, Williams, Robinson, Lunan, Youds, Daly, Bruce, Carthy, Eastwood, Hayzelden, Griffiths Subs:- Olayinka, Barrett, Remy, Stimson, Bradshaw
Hendon:- King, Duncan, Howard, Ifura, Cooper, Plummer, Crace, Forbes, Ofori, Bates, Cousins Subs:- Cook, Gavin, Forde, Lindsay, Randall

Referee:- S. Brock

Attendance:- 220 approx.

Your comments

That just about sums up the game Steve although i must say our inability to put all the chances away that we create is getting a bit of a worry still we are on a good winning run and that cannot be bad keep up the good work Blues and i look forward to us thrashing Hitchin on Saturday

I just want to let the fans know of what was said by the Hendon Manager prior to the red card tackle. I stand by the opposition dugout during home games and as they came back to defend a Mel goal kick the hendon manager said to his players on the right (Including the guy who tackled Mel) "Just fucking hit them, and i'll pay your fine." This was the mentality of their manager and it really pissed me off cause great players like wayne vaughn are still out of action 'cause of crap tackles and managers with that kind of attitude. On a brighter note the blues are getting stronger and stronger and i am looking forward to our games against canvey and thurrock.

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