Grays Athletic 1 - 3 Tilbury

Grays started the brighter with Craig Pope looking to open the Dockers with some accurate passing and it was Danny Bunce who had the first chance when his free kick was saved by James Marrable and Louis Dennis saw his follow up saved again. Some neat play between Lee Flynn and Joao Carlos saw Kenny Beaney’s shot go just over. The Dockers defence were well organised and hustled the Blues for every ball with Emiel Aiken marshalling the midfield and he almost put Jack West through and only a sharp tackle stopped the forward movement. Grays were struggling with the head wind and a mis-understanding at the back saw Aiken intercept the ball to put West through. The forward hit the ball well to put the away side one up with ten minutes gone. The Blues tried to up their game but the Tilbury defence closed down quickly to frustrate the home attacks. A free kick by Bunce dipped wickedly in the wind and almost crept under the bar to be tipped over by Marrable. Another free kick by David Cowley was headed over from close range as the chances came to Grays. Carlos crossed for Dennis to hit low but a fumbled save and clearance kept the ball out. Dennis and Jean-Michel Sigere both missed chances as half time beckoned but a quick clearance from Joe Nightingill caused panic in the home defence and during the melee Aiken pounced on the loose ball to double the Dockers lead just on the whistle.

From the restart Tilbury immediately attacked and before Grays could settle, a header from Aiken was headed off the line by Flynn ahead of claims for a goal. Some good passing movement saw Grays start to get on top and a break by Dennis saw him fouled in the box for a penalty to be awarded. Bunce added to his tally by slotting the ball into the net to halve the deficit. Grays were still struggling to control the wind factor with some long, wayward passing but Tilbury couldn’t quite get on top. Mo Modine saw a shot saved by Andy Hall and a long shot by Nightingill went over. The home side were still looking to level the game and pushed forward. Pope found Beaney in the middle and his cross was met by the head of Sigere. A superb diving save prevented the forward from scoring. A series of corners for Grays saw Marrable showing his class as held a Dennis shot and tipped over a swinging corner from Carlos. A shot from Beaney went just over the bar as it looked only a matter of time until the Blues levelled the match but they had to be aware of the quick break. West ran clear only for Hall to pull off a great save. The Blues brought on Joe Sweeney, Eljay Worrell and Jared Small for Flynn, Cowley and Bunce as they switched to a 3-3-4 formation and piled on the pressure. Pope hit a Carlos corner over, Sweeney broke clear but saw his shot held, Dennis shot wide and Small couldn’t control the ball when clear. A free kick by Grant Cooper saw nine Blues in the Tilbury box as they looked for a last minute goal but it was the Dockers who wrapped up the game when a long clearance went straight to West to run clear and hit the ball past Hall to finish the scoring and give Tilbury a hard earned victory.

Grays Athletic :- Andy Hall, Lee Flynn (Joe Sweeney 78), Junior Baker, Grant Cooper, Craig Pope, David Cowley (Eljay Worrell 75), Kenny Beaney, Danny Bunce (Jared Small 88), Joao Carlos, Louis Dennis, Jean-Michel Sigere.