Matches

Match Report by Martin Candler

The last time Grays played Weston was in a Conference South game and they were on the end of a 3-0 beating, Freddie Eastwood being substituted early on! Things were a bit different on Saturday as the Blues approached the match with a competitive attitude and a resolve not to give their opponents any chance to gather momentum. John Turner and John Martin personified this commitment and not only shared 3 of the goals but vied for the man of the match accolade.

It was, however, a team effort and the travelling Blues fans witnessed a passing display which had echoes of some of last season‘s stunners. Although it is true that perhaps Weston did not do themselves justice on the day, Grays controlled the game from start to finish. In fact, apart from a great chance in the 11th minute when Ashley Bayes saved a point-blank header from Ryan Harley, Weston hardly got a look-in.

The only criticism of the first half display was that Grays rather over-played and lacked a cutting edge. A catalogue of missed chances from Lee Boylan, Andy Sambrook, Gavin Cowan and Glenn Poole sent both teams in at half-time goal-less. It was a different story in the second half, however, when just two minutes after the re-start Jamie Stuart pounced on a mistake by Walker to feed Lee Boylan and the striker gratefully guided the ball past Ryan Northmore to open the scoring.

With Andy Sambrook and Glenn Poole finding oceans of room on the flanks, Grays stepped up the tempo as Weston visibly weakened under the onslaught and two top-class strikes from Turner in the 67th and 73rd minutes put the Blues out of sight. The first came when he turned his marker on the edge of the penalty area and shot home with cool aplomb. His second was a sweet first timer finishing off a fine, flowing Grays attack. Perhaps the best goal of all came in the last minute when Martin capped an outstanding display by running through the home defence and unleashing an unstoppable drive from just outside the box. It was a treat to see Cam Mawer coming on as sub after his injury problems and he soon showed glimpses of his pace and movement.

A composed performance by the Blues then and one which must give a bit of a boost to their confidence with some tasty League games coming up.

Grays Athletic: Bayes, Sambrook, Stuart, Cowan, Martin, Williamson, Smith(Mawer 80), Nicholls. Poole(Wareham 86), Boylan, Turner
subs not used: Knowles, Moulds, Fernandez

Goalscorers: Boylan(47), Turner(67,76), Martin(90)

Ref: Oliver Langford

Attn: 354

Fans Man of the Match: Turner

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