Waltham Abbey 1 - 1 Grays Athletic

Waltham Abbey started the quickest as they attacked from the whistle and the lively Ayrton Coley ran wide to put the ball over but Steve Cawley’s shot went harmlessly wide. A defensive error allowed Coley through and Craig Pope had to be alert to clear the danger. Grays were under pressure in the early stages as Abbey took the game forward and the Blues defence looked unusually nervous. A back pass put Ali Aksoy under pressure and his miskick went to Tim Shaw who rounded the keeper and fired the ball into the net from an acute angle to give the home side the lead on five minutes. The Blues slowly got into the half and forced a series of corners and a Kenny Beaney free kick was cleared as Grays went looking to get on the score sheet. The Abbey players were looking the more comfortable on the bumpy pitch and a corner from Louis Bristow was cleared away from the head of Shaw and a misunderstanding in defence almost allowed Cawley through. Grays were losing the ball in midfield and a cross by Bristow saw Tom Laxton sneak behind the defence only for his diving header to go wide. Grays started to settle and thought they had levelled when Jean-Michel Sigere put the ball into the net only to find the offsisde flag up. Joao Carlos put a ball through to Junior Baker and Harry Ricketts pulled off a great save with his legs to stop the run. The away side were now pushing forward and a Joao Carlos cross was cleared as Joe Sweeney ran on to the loose ball. A long ball from Sam Robbins late in the half found an advancing Ali Aksoy but his clearance went straight to Coley who lobbed the ball to see it drop over the empty goal for the last action of the half.

Abbey started the second half as they did the first and Robbins released Laxton for Ali Aksoy to pull off a superb save and Shaw’s back up header was cleared off the line by Craig Pope. The away team were now looking settled as they controlled the half and David Cowley was starting to make his presence felt as he ran forward but his well hit shot was saved by the home keeper. A free kick by Harry Agombar was floated into the box and Junior Baker reacted quickly to head the ball into the net to level the game with seven minutes of the half gone. Grays were now controlling midfield and they were on top for long periods of the half. Lee Flynn came on for Danny Bunce as the Blues went looking to add to the goal tally. A David Cowley cross was headed on by Grant Cooper, and Junior Baker was unlucky to see his header go just wide of the post, a Jean-Michel Sigere shot went wide and David Cowley scuffed his shot wide as it bobbled on a rut. The Blues were looking the better team as Eljay Worrell came on for David Cowley to bring on fresh legs but it was a quick break by Shaw that gave Grays a scare but Ali Aksoy was up to the task as he pulled off another fine save to stop the chance. Pushing for the winner Grays were off the target as shots from Carlos, Sigere and Agombar all went wide but it was a cross from Carlos that almost broke the deadlock when he found Baker on the far post but a brave save by Ricketts stopped the pressure. The keeper was badly hurt when he collided with his defender and had to be replaced by defender Dave Ayres. Grays could not take advantage of the situation as they tried hard to break through but stout defending kept them at bay. A late change brought Louis Dennis on for Sigere but the game settled down with honours equal and a replay set for Wednesday at Rookery Hill.

Grays Athletic :- Ali Aksoy, Danny Bunce (Lee Flynn 57), Grant Cooper, Junior Baker, Craig Pope, David Cowley (Eljay Worrell 73), Harry Agombar, Kenny Beaney, Joao Carlos, Joe Sweeney, Jean-Michel Sigere (Louis Dennis 88)