Grays Ath 2 v 1 Hornchurch
Grays perfect start to their pre-season continued on Wednesday night with a 2-1 win against Hornchurch; their third victory in a row, all against higher-division opponents.
Blues made a flying start, when with less than a minute on the clock, good work by Kieron Jones found Brian Moses on the edge of the Hornchurch box and he finished smartly for a 1-0 lead. And it could so easily have been two, when moments later, Josh Osude ran the length of the pitch with the ball and only a last-ditch tackle prevented him pulling the trigger.
This all stirred Hornchurch to raise their game, playing some smart quick-passing football. But the Grays defence, missing captain Lewis Clark, held resolute and keeper Danny Sambridge remained largely untroubled.
Grays’ new midfield combination is starting to gel well, with Jones, Osude and the returning Corey Davidson all looking industrious. Sam Bantick spent most of the half out wide left but he nearly doubled the lead shortly before the break with an outrageous attempt to chip the keeper from fully 45 yards. Backpedalling furiously, the Hornchurch goal-minder recovered to tip the ball over the bar.
Hornchurch then nearly profited from some hesitant Blues defending, with Sambridge forcing the play wide and Geoff Okonkwo clearing up.

At the start of the second half, manager Lewis Dark started to ring the changes, giving a number of the younger squad members a chance to stake their place. Just eight minutes into the half, one of the replacements, Callum Watts won a crunching tackle on the half way line, followed by good work by Osude and Bantick, the ball ending up with the charging Watts again, who struck a fine finish to make it 2-0.
Hornchurch increased the tempo, but remained wasteful in front of goal. Not until the 75th minute were the Blues defence finally breached, when a long ball split the line and a confident finish brought the score back to 2-1.
Aron Gordon played a lively half and he nearly created a final chance for Grays, with one of his traditional lung-busting runs, but the cross was well cleared.
So another excellent win for the Blues, with a real sense of drive, energy and commitment running throughout the squad, which all bodes well for the coming season.