On an afternoon when Grays could have taken a major step towards securing their place in Isthmian 1 North for next season, the Blues delivered one of their poorest performances of the season, handing the three points to their near-neighbours in the table, Mildenhall. There really is no sugar-coating it.

The afternoon began in the worst possible way for Grays. Just three minutes in, a long throw-in from Ben Bradley was flicked on by the head of George Chenery and somehow the ball looped over everyone and into the net, to give Mildenhall an early lead.

Blues struggled to adapt to the slope on the pitch and the strong downhill breeze and the game certainly wasn’t a pretty one. Then, just as it looked like it was going to be a long afternoon for the travelling faithful, a teasing Ned Hepburn free kick was met at the far post by Connor Martin and he headed strongly past Finley Iron in the home goal, to bring the scores level at 1-1.

For the next ten minutes, Grays had their best period of the game. Another Hepburn cross found Ramiah Mills and his shot was deflected wide for a corner, before the returning Tyler Brampton took a turn to centre the ball but Iron was equal to the cross.

Grays fans were becoming annoyed with some of Mildenhall’s robust tackling, with the Blues players getting little, if any, protection from referee, Mr Harvey. Indeed, at one point, your reporter counted eleven fouls in a row committed by the home side, with not a word of approbation from the official. So, of course, the first heavy challenge from a Blues player went straight into the notebook. Yes, Oscar Shelvey went in strongly, but he had already been sent flying several times by opposition challenges that went unpunished. All we ask for is consistency.

Then just before the break, George Marsh came to Grays’ rescue when Jordan Nicholson broke free. Tyler Brampton got back to make things more difficult and Marsh got down well to save the shot.

Half time : Mildenhall Town 1 v 1 Grays Athletic

The second half was however, nothing short of a tale of woe for Grays, with Finley Iron in the home goal having next to nothing to do and certainly no shot to save.

Jake Chambers Shaw had the ball in the net for Mildenhall but was clearly offside before the same player should have scored when Marsh dropped a cross but the home captain blasted the ball high over the bar, via a deflection, from close range. He then headed the resulting corner straight into Marsh’s clutches.

Grays only real chance of the half came from a Ramiah Mills long throw which was helped on by Oscar Shelvey to Charlie Stimson who headed just over.

The game turned with fifteen minutes to go when from a cross into the Grays box, referee Mr Harvey blew his whistle and pointed for a penalty kick. No-one in the crowd, from either side, had any idea what the offence was and there was (just as at Downham last week) no appeal from the home side for an infringement. It just sums up the Blues situation at the moment. Ryan Sharman gratefully accepted the opportunity to make it 2-1 to Mildenhall.

Things went from bad to worse for Grays just before the final whistle, when Ben Bradley used the wind effectively to bend the ball into the net straight from a corner, giving the home side a clear 3-1 lead. And there was still time for Marsh to be called into action again to deny Callum Anderson with a good save.

In the remaining games, Grays cannot afford to have any more afternoons like this one, where they were second in just about every department against a side that showed more determination and commitment to grind out the result.

The chance to make amends now comes at the more familiar surroundings of the EMR Stadium with home games against Brightlingsea Regent and Concord Rangers, sandwiching a bank holiday encounter “away” at landlords Tilbury.

Final score : Mildenhall Town 3 v 1 Grays Athletic

Grays Ath : Marsh, Brampton (85, Jude), Norton, Stimson, Walker (85, Remi-Dee), Martin, Hepburn (85, Wade), Shelvey, Chapps, Paxman (57, Ogunrinde), Mills

Sub not used : Tawiah