A slipshod first half performance from Grays Ath on Tuesday night effectively put pay to their chances of ending a string of poor results, against an AFC Sudbury side who showed for periods how the game can be played at this level. Not until the second half, did the Blues produce what they are capable of and were maybe unlucky not to come away with a share of the spoils.

From the off, Sudbury were quickly into their stride against a Grays side who all too often, at present, are slow coming out of the traps. Indeed, there were only four minutes on the clock, when the lively Callum Harrison swung in a corner which was sweetly met on the volley by centre-half Adam Bailey-Dennis for the opening goal of the game. And it was nearly 2-0 just minutes later. Macaulay Joynes’ clumsy tackle on Tom Maycock, for which he was rightly booked, resulted in a free kick 25 yards out, from which Harrison drew a good save from Danny Sambridge.

Sudbury were full of attacking movement, running from deep, with right back. Liam Bennett, a persistent threat down the flank. The Blues, with Mitch Hahn in the unaccustomed position of centre forward, broke occasionally but neither he nor Joao Carlos could fashion any meaningful attempt on goal.

Sudbury’s second was not long in coming though. Sambridge was forced into some desperate defending and with the visitors attacking in numbers, the ball eventually broke to Harrison, who slotted calmly into the unguarded net, for a 2-0 lead – no more than was deserved. The home faithful were becoming fearful at Blues’ failure to hold onto the ball against Sudbury’s energetic pressing and running.

As the half wore on, the game became stretched with both sides winning a succession of corners. But all too often the delivery failed to cause any great alarm. However, just before the half-time whistle, a whipped-in corner from Mitch Hahn finally paid dividends, when Sudbury defender Lewis O’Malley lost his bearings and headed into his own net- reducing the deficit to a barely-deserved 2-1.

Half-time : Grays Ath 1 AFC Sudbury 2

Whatever was said in the dressing room during the break must have hit home, with Grays coming out a different side. Tony Stokes replaced Sam Girling and Steve King came on for Reuben Soares Junior soon after. Slowly the Blues began to assert a dominance in the game, with Joao Carlos starting to see much more of the ball, making a number of his signature runs down his favourite left wing. On 68 minutes, one darting break was unceremoniously stopped by the visitors’ Ben Hunter, who went into referee Kirsty Dowle’s notebook and a minute later, Carlos set up Nathan Fox who rifled a 20 yard shot onto the crossbar via the keeper Paul Walker’s fingertips. And then on 75 minutes, great hold-up play by Tony Stokes set up Ryan Sammons, who again rattled the bar from even further out.

Blues’ job was made all the harder shortly afterwards when after a couple of hard challenges from Sudbury that went unpunished by referee Dowle, Steve King jumped into a tackle on the edge of the Grays box and was perhaps somewhat unlucky to be shown the red card – especially given that throughout the night the referee had been keen to let play flow and had not pulled back every minor indiscretion. From the resulting free kick, Harrison again took charge but saw his effort fly narrowly over the goal.

Even with ten men though, Grays fought hard to find the equaliser, and in the final minute of added-on time, Stokes thought that he had found the answer, only to see his close-range shot cleared off the line by Bennett, just as he was about to wheel away in celebration. It had turned into one of those nights.

Final score : Grays Ath 1 AFC Sudbury 2

Blues fans were left wondering why again the team put in such a lethargic and uninspiring first half performance, only to show what they can do when they put their minds to it, later in the game. A frustrating result that makes it just one win in the last 13 league games for the Blues, a statistic that needs to be halted, and fast. Coming up in the next week are two tricky visits to East Anglia for fixtures at Dereham and Bury Town; with pressure mounting for Jim Cooper’s side to bring home some points back to Essex from their travels.

Grays Ath : Sambridge, Sammons, Joynes (Kayembe 89mins), Miller, McQueen, Clark, Soares Jr (King 58mins), Fox, Hahn, Girling (Stokes h/t), Carlos

Unused subs : Pearce, Adebiyi