Grays left Heybridge empty handed on Saturday, in a game that exposed shortcomings against a side that had been on a poor run. What Heybridge may have lacked in confidence and form, they made up for with hard work, organisation and commitment

There was only one change to Grays starting line up from the midweek draw with Walthamstow; the departure of Luke Hirst, meant a recall for the now well-again Callum Fitzer. Both sides were missing key players, with Heybridge forced into using former Aveley and Brentwood midfielder, Connor Witherspoon, as a centre half.

The first half took some time to get going. Following a Grays corner on 11 minutes, Sam Bantick was fouled outside the "D". Macaulay Joynes' free kick was on target with Swifts' goalkeeper Alan Fleischer making a bit of a meal of a routine save.

On 20 minutes, Swifts had the first good chance of the match. A simple long ball from the back caught Grays backline out, with Andrew Fennell one on one with George Marsh who did well to block the shot. Fennell's movement up front was causing problems and on 30 minutes he got free again on the right, firing in a cross shot that Marsh gathered cleanly.

On 34 minutes Grays manufactured their first attacking move of any note. A ball in from the left from Joe Paxman was met by Callum Fitzer's stooping header that was well saved by Fleischer by his right hand post.

Marsh was called into action 5 minutes later as Jack Adlington-Pile wriggled free on the edge of the box and got a shot away, that was well covered by Blues number 1.

Grays best chance of the half came on 42 minutes as a crossfield pass from Harry Hope found Tyler Brampton breaking into the box. Tyler chose to go for goal when the cutback was on but crashed his shot high into the side netting.

Half time : Heybridge Swifts 0 v 0 Grays Athletic

If that all sounds reasonably entertaining, some perspective was given at halftime by the under 8's penalty competition which received far more appreciation from both sets of supporters than the preceding 45 minutes.

The second half started with some more intent from both sides. On 47 minutes Heybridge brought on 6 foot 4 inch winger, Samuel Adeyeye for Makhaya James. The youngster, who once signed professional forms with West Bromwich Albion, brought skill, strength and awareness to the Swifts attack.

Swifts recent signing, Shad Ngandu, was having a real battle in central midfield with Sid Walker. On 60 minutes he got away from Sid for possibly the first time and drove on toward the box, letting fly with a shot that George Marsh saved comfortably.

Midway through the second half, Grays made their first change with Jayden Silcott-Brown coming on for Callum Fitzer, who appeared to have tired.

With 68 minutes gone, Macca broke forward and released Jayden on the left who cut back and crossed to the back post. Sam Bantick was waiting, but his first time volley went across and away from goal, back to Jayden whose own effort was blocked away for a corner.

There was similar frustration when Jayden and the tireless Harry Hope combined to find Bantick alone at the far post and less than 10 yards out. The ball was dropping but a goalscorer like Sam will have been very frustrated with his cushioned first-time effort that never troubled Fleischer.

The key moment came on 77 minutes. Adeyeye had already shown some quality with his control and intelligent running. Receiving the ball on the right, he backed Macca into the box where any mistimed challenge meant a penalty. Adeyeye then turned Macca inside out, at one point sitting him down, before picking the perfect cross to the willing Andrew Fennell who finished well at the near post.

The situation cried out for The Blues to get bodies further up the pitch and build pressure in Swifts half. Instead it was Heybridge pressing for a second. They botched a 3 on 1 break when substitute Mason Gillam was unnecessarily caught offside.

On 89 minutes, Adeyeye again made space for a drilled cross which Tyler, running back towards his own goal, tried to clear for a corner. Ironically the attempted clearance was as well struck as anything Grays tried all afternoon and on target, forcing a tremendous save from George Marsh.

Into injury time and a nasty clash of heads between Tyler and Dylan Logan led to the only bookings of the afternoon from referee, Mr Marr, (who in my view had a very good game), presumably for afters between Tyler and Shad Ngandu. Tyler was forced off leading to a very belated entrance for Elton Gjonbala, who might have been used earlier.

There was still time for a mix up following a drop ball to present Ngandu with the chance to shoot into an empty net, albeit from deep in his own half, which he was unable to take.

So, in summary, a dispiriting display against opponents to whom we must give credit. Yet again we were unable to convert any of the chances we were able to create and we were indebted to George who was clearly, in my view, our man of the match.

Whilst this was our first defeat in seven league games, we have only won one of those games, a bit of a smash and grab against Brightlingsea. We have not converted draws into wins and a return of 6 goals scored in our last 10 league games speaks volumes.

Again we defended in numbers, leaving little effective support to Harry Hope who worked his socks off all afternoon, often battling three Heybridge players on his own. Despite this set up, Heybridge still found ways to create the best chances of the game. They occupied the space afforded them in front of our midfield and at times gave us a lesson in intelligent running off the ball. Had they brought their shooting boots, or George not been on top form, it could have been a more comfortable win.

Given the circumstances, it was always likely to be a close, nervy game, where set pieces were going to be key. Disappointingly again, the home side made the best of things. Blues had plenty of corners in the second half but more was needed to convert these into meaningful chances.

We now have a couple of Cup games versus Southend and then Redbridge to try and find our mojo, before returning to the league on Friday 31st October away to Bowers and Pitsea, who are really flying right now. Hopefully, Darren will have more players available and we can get ourselves on the front foot.

Final score : Heybridge Swifts 1 v 0 Grays Athletic

Grays Ath : Marsh, Brampton, Joynes, Walker, Jude, Turner, Paxman, Shelvey-Negus, Hope, Fitzer (68, Silcott-Brown), Bantick