Football, someone once said, is a funny old game. Having won their opening three pre-season friendlies against higher-division opposition, Grays travelled to Buckhurst Hill FC, recently promoted to the Essex Senior League, knowing it would be no easy encounter. Blues fan equally have seen too many of these fixtures in recent years to take anything for granted – and so it proved.
Grays started much the brighter but despite an array of corners and shots couldn’t find the early goal to settle the nerves. Buckhurst Hill also played brightly, looking to exploit the space in behind, as the Blues pushed men forward. The deadlock was broken on 13 minutes when Corey Davidson spread the play beautifully from right to left, finding Aron Gordon, who jinked into the box and finished smartly inside the near post, for a 1-0 lead.
But again, despite Ryan Melaugh finding acres of space down the left and Callum Watts playing the “terrier” role in midfield, the home defence held tight. Blues fans were concerned to see Geoff Okonkwo leave the field injured on the half hour and soon after, keeper Danny Sambridge was called into action for the first time, pulling off a point blank save to deny the lively Buckhurst Hill front line.
Half time Buckhurst Hill 0 v 1 Grays Ath
Early in the second half, Bantick, Moses and Osude all went close for Grays and Don Tantale had the ball in the net, but was denied by the linesman’s flag for offside.
The longer the game went at 1-0, the trickier the assignment looked and so it proved after 75 minutes, when Grays failed to clear the ball from their own box and were left looking for a flag that never came as Lou Winter poked home from close range, for an equaliser that had, in all fairness, been on the cards for some time.
But this served as a wake-up call for Grays and a fine Courteney Homans volley just missed the target. And it was heartbreak for Buckhurst Hill in the final minute of the 90, when they were unable to cope with the power and skill of Sam Bantick, who rifled home a last gasp winner from inside the box.
Final score Buckhurst Hill 1 v Grays Ath 2
On this performance, Buckhurst Hill can look forward to their first season in the Essex Senior League with some promise and we wish them every success. For the Blues, a salutary reminder that there are no easy games and that progress, especially in the cup competitions, relies on killing off spirited opposition such as this.