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2018-19 SEASON REVIEW – “THE MIDDLE THIRD”
GAFC OFFICIAL NEWS4 Feb 2019 - 11:04
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Read The Wanderer's Review of the Middle Third of the Season
2018-19 SEASON REVIEW – “THE MIDDLE THIRD”
We completed the first third of our season on 31 October last year, sitting in eighth place in the Bostik League North Division after ten league games, with fif- teen points from four wins, three draws and three defeats. We had been elimi- nated from the four cup competitions entered, with just a solitary FA Trophy win from the five ties. With just the league to concentrate on and twenty-eight games to play, we began the middle third of the season with a home game against our oldest rivals, Tilbury on 3 November. In my opinion, it was the best Tilbury side we have met since we returned to the Isthmian League eight years ago in the 2010-11 season. We edged the game 3-2, after Tilbury were reduced to ten-men after seventy-three minutes. It was good to see the returning Kieran Bishop among the scorers, with another returning striker, Tommy Wade, adding much- needed power to our front line.
This win was the first of four in November, bringing Jamie Stuart his first Bostik Manager of the Month award with a 100% record. A 2-1 away win at Felixstowe followed, with Bishop scoring again after the ever-green Joao Carlos had given us a comfortable two-goal lead in the first half. An early second-half goal meant we had to defend well to maintain the advantage for nearly forty-five minutes, which we did and could have won more convincingly with better finishing. Better fin- ishing did follow at home to Dereham, with a 5-1 hammering, despite falling behind after just seven minutes. Tommy Wade scored a double and central defender, Michael Finneran netted his first for the club. Our final game in November at AFC Sudbury celebrated, to the day, the 130th anniversary of our first-ever game on 24 November, 1888. It started badly as we fell two goals behind to a rampant team, who had beaten Brentwood in a 5-3 thriller earlier in the week. Defender, Michael Toner, gave us a foothold in the game as he reacted quickly from a corner to smash home from inside the six-yard area.
The second half saw us take control, with Wade equalising from close range and Mitch Hahn scoring a wonder goal with a volley from a great diagonal pass from Toner, to give us three points and put us in the final play-off position. The Manager of the Month “curse”, struck with a vengeance in our next four games. Down to ten men before half-time, we lost 1-0 at home to play-off and possible title contenders, Heybridge Swifts, although our second half perform- ance deserved something from a tight game. A 2-1 defeat at Barking followed in a game that could have been different if Bishop had scored from an early one-v- one. At 2-0 down we looked a poor side, but a late flourish, including a deflect- ed header from Bishop, gave us some hope, but we failed to create another mean- ingful chance to earn a point. On a wet and cold mid-December afternoon, we only took a point from a Basildon team missing a number of the players who had taken them to the top of the league earlier in the season, following a well-publi- cised budget cut. The 2-2 draw was another disappointing outcome, leaving us shy of the play-off zone before Christmas.
After the postponement of the lucrative Boxing Day derby with Aveley, follow- ing the tragic death associated with the club, we went into the New Year with a fixture at East Thurrock, the current temporary home of Romford, who were struggling near the foot of the table. It was a real New Year hangover as we went down to an eighth-minute goal, with a static defence allowing a free shot to be guided past Clarke Bogard. A slightly improved second half performance gave us plenty of possession, but not the cutting edge to earn anything against an oppo- sition who had now beaten us in four consecutive games. In your writer’s mind, it raised serious questions about the desire and commitment of the squad, with five more testing games to come in January. The first test was passed, against one of best footballing sides in the Division, Bury Town, who were on the edge of the play-off zone. It proved to be a good match. We just managed to score one more than them on the day with three quality strikes – two from Bishop and one from Aron Gordon, who had been brought on to add some pace to the flanks. It worked a treat as he was put through by Hahn, out-stripped the defence and expertly placed his shot wide of the keeper. Bury has chances to grab a point, but, for once, it was our opposition who lacked that cutting edge in the final third of the pitch.
Four Essex derbies completed the middle third of our season, starting with a dif- ficult trip to another of the pace-setters, Maldon & Tiptree. We went a goal upfrom a neat finish by Charlie Allen, after good work by Kieran Bishop, but our defensive frailties were exposed twice in a four-minute spell, midway through the first half. It could have been worse, with Maldon missing a couple of good chances to put the game beyond our reach. An injury to Mitch Hahn brought about a change in tactics at the start of the second half, releasing Joao Carlos to push up into his familiar role on the left flank. After a couple of near misses, we equalised from a corner. Bishop reacted quickly a couple of yards out with neat back-heel past former Blues’ keeper Ben McNamara, to give us a deserved share of the spoils. A resurgent Witham Town came to Parkside and although we could have taken the lead in the first half, our second half display fell below the stan- dard expected of a team with any aspirations to a top-five finish. A defensive lapse from a corner saw us concede a poor goal and despite a late rally, we failed to trouble the scorers and slipped to ninth in the table.
The delayed Boxing Day game against our high-flying landlords, Aveley, on a very chilly Wednesday January evening provided great entertainment for a decent 391 crowd, which had us wondering how many more may have come along to a Bank Holiday game during the day the month before. The seven-goal thriller swung backwards and forwards, but Aveley, with a physical presence and some clinical forward power which reminded your writer of a number of the teams we played in our last spell in the Premier Division, proved their Premier Division credentials. We conceded early and late to lose a game that we had led 3-1 up to a few minutes before half-time, with good goals from Alberto Pinto, Charlie Allen and Joao Carlos. In the end, our defence was no match for the liveliest front line we have played against this season. The game at Canvey was like so many I have seen us play over the years at Park Lane. We were out-bat- tled in the first half and did not have enough fire-power to get us back in it in the second half, when we were already two down from some very poor defensive play. Even with the strong wind behind them in the second half, Canvey ran the clock down with frustrating regularity and we slipped to a 2-0 defeat against the poorest Canvey side I have seen for many years, which doesn’t say much for our performance on the day.
It was our fourth defeat in January, with our last nine games yielding just five points since 1 December. This was after those four straight wins in November and put us well outside contention for a top-five finish. In summary, before this weekend’s round of games, we sat in ninth place in the league, with thirty-two points from twenty-three games, eight points off the play-off area and - hopeful- ly, not relevant at the end of the season – fourteen points above the second rele- gation pace, currently occupied by Romford, who have already beaten us once this season. The middle third of the season has seen us take seventeen points from thirteen games, with five wins, two draws and six defeats with twenty-four goals scored and twenty-three conceded.
We move into the final third of our season today, with another Essex derby and a score to settle. Coggeshall Town walloped us 4-0 on 27 October on their excel- lent West Street pitch. I’m sure our team will be determined to make the most of this opportunity to even things up and get a win on the board as we welcome them to Parkside. We also have another fourteen challenging league fixtures ahead of us. There are eight Essex derbies against Bowers, Great Wakering, Heybridge, Tilbury, Basildon, Barking, Brentwood and Romford – five away and three at home. We also have long trips to Dereham, Bury and Mildenhall to test our resolve on out travels and three other home against teams that have lengthy journeys to us – Soham, Felixstowe and Sudbury. With forty-five points to play for, it would be nice to think the players can roll up their sleeves and give us a rousing conclusion to a season that is in danger of seeing us fall away to mid- table mediocrity – or even worse – a lower third finish. Off the field, we continue the battle to secure a piece of land to “Bring Grays Athletic back to Grays”. Thurrock Council is consulting on their new Local Plan for the area and we have the chance to make our voice heard. Supporters have until 8 March to register their views, details of how to do this are contained in the Special Feature on our recent Annual General Meeting elsewhere in today’s programme. Please use this opportunity to show just how much you care for our community football club.
The Wanderer
We completed the first third of our season on 31 October last year, sitting in eighth place in the Bostik League North Division after ten league games, with fif- teen points from four wins, three draws and three defeats. We had been elimi- nated from the four cup competitions entered, with just a solitary FA Trophy win from the five ties. With just the league to concentrate on and twenty-eight games to play, we began the middle third of the season with a home game against our oldest rivals, Tilbury on 3 November. In my opinion, it was the best Tilbury side we have met since we returned to the Isthmian League eight years ago in the 2010-11 season. We edged the game 3-2, after Tilbury were reduced to ten-men after seventy-three minutes. It was good to see the returning Kieran Bishop among the scorers, with another returning striker, Tommy Wade, adding much- needed power to our front line.
This win was the first of four in November, bringing Jamie Stuart his first Bostik Manager of the Month award with a 100% record. A 2-1 away win at Felixstowe followed, with Bishop scoring again after the ever-green Joao Carlos had given us a comfortable two-goal lead in the first half. An early second-half goal meant we had to defend well to maintain the advantage for nearly forty-five minutes, which we did and could have won more convincingly with better finishing. Better fin- ishing did follow at home to Dereham, with a 5-1 hammering, despite falling behind after just seven minutes. Tommy Wade scored a double and central defender, Michael Finneran netted his first for the club. Our final game in November at AFC Sudbury celebrated, to the day, the 130th anniversary of our first-ever game on 24 November, 1888. It started badly as we fell two goals behind to a rampant team, who had beaten Brentwood in a 5-3 thriller earlier in the week. Defender, Michael Toner, gave us a foothold in the game as he reacted quickly from a corner to smash home from inside the six-yard area.
The second half saw us take control, with Wade equalising from close range and Mitch Hahn scoring a wonder goal with a volley from a great diagonal pass from Toner, to give us three points and put us in the final play-off position. The Manager of the Month “curse”, struck with a vengeance in our next four games. Down to ten men before half-time, we lost 1-0 at home to play-off and possible title contenders, Heybridge Swifts, although our second half perform- ance deserved something from a tight game. A 2-1 defeat at Barking followed in a game that could have been different if Bishop had scored from an early one-v- one. At 2-0 down we looked a poor side, but a late flourish, including a deflect- ed header from Bishop, gave us some hope, but we failed to create another mean- ingful chance to earn a point. On a wet and cold mid-December afternoon, we only took a point from a Basildon team missing a number of the players who had taken them to the top of the league earlier in the season, following a well-publi- cised budget cut. The 2-2 draw was another disappointing outcome, leaving us shy of the play-off zone before Christmas.
After the postponement of the lucrative Boxing Day derby with Aveley, follow- ing the tragic death associated with the club, we went into the New Year with a fixture at East Thurrock, the current temporary home of Romford, who were struggling near the foot of the table. It was a real New Year hangover as we went down to an eighth-minute goal, with a static defence allowing a free shot to be guided past Clarke Bogard. A slightly improved second half performance gave us plenty of possession, but not the cutting edge to earn anything against an oppo- sition who had now beaten us in four consecutive games. In your writer’s mind, it raised serious questions about the desire and commitment of the squad, with five more testing games to come in January. The first test was passed, against one of best footballing sides in the Division, Bury Town, who were on the edge of the play-off zone. It proved to be a good match. We just managed to score one more than them on the day with three quality strikes – two from Bishop and one from Aron Gordon, who had been brought on to add some pace to the flanks. It worked a treat as he was put through by Hahn, out-stripped the defence and expertly placed his shot wide of the keeper. Bury has chances to grab a point, but, for once, it was our opposition who lacked that cutting edge in the final third of the pitch.
Four Essex derbies completed the middle third of our season, starting with a dif- ficult trip to another of the pace-setters, Maldon & Tiptree. We went a goal upfrom a neat finish by Charlie Allen, after good work by Kieran Bishop, but our defensive frailties were exposed twice in a four-minute spell, midway through the first half. It could have been worse, with Maldon missing a couple of good chances to put the game beyond our reach. An injury to Mitch Hahn brought about a change in tactics at the start of the second half, releasing Joao Carlos to push up into his familiar role on the left flank. After a couple of near misses, we equalised from a corner. Bishop reacted quickly a couple of yards out with neat back-heel past former Blues’ keeper Ben McNamara, to give us a deserved share of the spoils. A resurgent Witham Town came to Parkside and although we could have taken the lead in the first half, our second half display fell below the stan- dard expected of a team with any aspirations to a top-five finish. A defensive lapse from a corner saw us concede a poor goal and despite a late rally, we failed to trouble the scorers and slipped to ninth in the table.
The delayed Boxing Day game against our high-flying landlords, Aveley, on a very chilly Wednesday January evening provided great entertainment for a decent 391 crowd, which had us wondering how many more may have come along to a Bank Holiday game during the day the month before. The seven-goal thriller swung backwards and forwards, but Aveley, with a physical presence and some clinical forward power which reminded your writer of a number of the teams we played in our last spell in the Premier Division, proved their Premier Division credentials. We conceded early and late to lose a game that we had led 3-1 up to a few minutes before half-time, with good goals from Alberto Pinto, Charlie Allen and Joao Carlos. In the end, our defence was no match for the liveliest front line we have played against this season. The game at Canvey was like so many I have seen us play over the years at Park Lane. We were out-bat- tled in the first half and did not have enough fire-power to get us back in it in the second half, when we were already two down from some very poor defensive play. Even with the strong wind behind them in the second half, Canvey ran the clock down with frustrating regularity and we slipped to a 2-0 defeat against the poorest Canvey side I have seen for many years, which doesn’t say much for our performance on the day.
It was our fourth defeat in January, with our last nine games yielding just five points since 1 December. This was after those four straight wins in November and put us well outside contention for a top-five finish. In summary, before this weekend’s round of games, we sat in ninth place in the league, with thirty-two points from twenty-three games, eight points off the play-off area and - hopeful- ly, not relevant at the end of the season – fourteen points above the second rele- gation pace, currently occupied by Romford, who have already beaten us once this season. The middle third of the season has seen us take seventeen points from thirteen games, with five wins, two draws and six defeats with twenty-four goals scored and twenty-three conceded.
We move into the final third of our season today, with another Essex derby and a score to settle. Coggeshall Town walloped us 4-0 on 27 October on their excel- lent West Street pitch. I’m sure our team will be determined to make the most of this opportunity to even things up and get a win on the board as we welcome them to Parkside. We also have another fourteen challenging league fixtures ahead of us. There are eight Essex derbies against Bowers, Great Wakering, Heybridge, Tilbury, Basildon, Barking, Brentwood and Romford – five away and three at home. We also have long trips to Dereham, Bury and Mildenhall to test our resolve on out travels and three other home against teams that have lengthy journeys to us – Soham, Felixstowe and Sudbury. With forty-five points to play for, it would be nice to think the players can roll up their sleeves and give us a rousing conclusion to a season that is in danger of seeing us fall away to mid- table mediocrity – or even worse – a lower third finish. Off the field, we continue the battle to secure a piece of land to “Bring Grays Athletic back to Grays”. Thurrock Council is consulting on their new Local Plan for the area and we have the chance to make our voice heard. Supporters have until 8 March to register their views, details of how to do this are contained in the Special Feature on our recent Annual General Meeting elsewhere in today’s programme. Please use this opportunity to show just how much you care for our community football club.
The Wanderer
Further reading