Brentwood Town  3-1  Potters Bar Town

Billericay Town  v  Farnborough – POSTPONED

East Thurrock United  2-0  Enfield Town

Southend United  2-2  Brentford

Accrington Stanley  0-2  Dagenham & Redbridge

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FULL TIME:  And what a cracking afternoon’s entertainment it’s been.  Potters Bar could easily have rolled over but they never let Brentwood relax for a second.  The hosts, to their credit, took their chances and weathered the Potters Bar storm.  Great stuff.

Until the next time, enjoy the weekend, and your football.

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90+2 – A Brentwood break, and Alex Read is all on his own inside the Potters Bar half.  Their keeper races out, the ball is lobbed, but goes aganisingly wide.

Injury time:  240 seconds of it.  Play now more end-to-end.

88th min – More moans from the dug-outs.  This time about a player not being able to get back onto the field, which they claim was 3 minutes.  More like 45 seconds but hey, you can’t tell these chaps.  Brentwood at last ease pressure with a corner on the left, which they use to run down the clock.

85th min – Just as I say that …. The visitors beat the offside trap on the right, Ottley comes out to narrow the angle for the incoming shot and deflects it brilliantly for a corner.  From that, there’s a scramble, and a shot is cleared off the line.  Crikey.

81st min – Today’s attendance is 90.  Doesn’t sound much but it’s a 50% increase on the last home gate.  Excellent.  Meanwhile, Potters Bar are huffing, but not puffing any chances out.  There’s urgency but now lacking creativity.  Phew.

76th min – And there’s another, Lewis Frost replacing Daryl Robson.

74th min – Oops, should’ve said Sam Bantick has replaced Abs Seymour for Brentwood.  But I forgot.

71st min – Ah, the familiar sound of home supporters berating the ref or lino when things start to go against them.  Chortle.  Who can blame them?  The Potters Bar pressure continues, with the Brentwood back four being fully stretched to prevent shots from coming in.  Hanging onto their lead though.  At the moment.

66th min – GOAL! ….. Brentwood Town 3,  POTTERS BAR TOWN 1  Ooh, is a comeback on?  Another visitors break down the right, a low centre inside the area, and DANNY AILEY shoots into the roof of the net.

So nope, it ain’t over at all.

63rd min – GOAL! ….. BRENTWOOD TOWN 3,  Potters Bar Town 0  Totally against the run of play, too.  A rare break, a trip inside the area, a penalty, and ALEX READ puts it away.

Game over?

60th min – Have to say it’s all Potters Bar at the moment.  Finding success down the right and almost pulled a goal back when a lovely through ball to the onrushing striker ended in a shot on the edge of the Brentwood box that Ottley done well to parry away.  Next goal is absolutely crucial.

55th min – Seeing the lino jump up and down like a Mexican jelly bean reminds me of the cramp I’m getting in my thigh sitting on these plastic seats.  Ouch.  Meanwhile, too much Potters Bar pressure for my liking, a few corners being conceded, even if Ottley has only had one easy save to make in the last five minutes.

48th min – Reece Ottley has to go smartly down at his near post to stop a shot from the right just inside the area.  Bright start to this half from Potters Bar.

4.06pm – KICK OFF!  Blimey, they’re late.

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HALF TIME:   And an immensely entertaining 45 minutes it’s been.  A good first five minutes, the next quarter of an hour they just cancelled each other out, then – boom! – two goals and Brentwood were well on top.  The missed Potters Bar penalty might have made their heads drop further, you’d have thought, but since then they’ve been the better team.  If they get one back it’ll be a cracker.

Right, off for a Bovril and pair of gloves.  Laters.

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44th min – Not an encouraging shout from the visitors full back to his centre half.  “Wes!  Kick it to anyone you can see!”  Chortle.

41st min – A bit more urgency from the Hertfordshire side, who are now gaining free kicks in menacing positions and corners.  Reece Ottley still not tested yet though.

36th min – POTTERS BAR MISS A PENALTY!  A foul on the very edge of the area.  Is it just outside or just in?  The ref, close by, blows for a penalty immediately.  To cheers and chortles all round, Danny Ailey”s penalty is not so much blazed over the bar but put into orbit.  Oh yes!

32nd min – Nice work again on the left from Ted Llewellyn and Abs Seymour on the left, there’s a low centre at pace into the six yard box, but somehow Alex Read puts it wide of the far post.  Cracking stuff from the hosts.

30th min – And Darren Blewitt almost makes it 3.  A piledriver on the edge of the box is deflected onto the bar with the keeper helpless.  All Brentwood now.

27th min – Been all Brentwood since those goals.  Potters Bar are understandably shocked, though I guess you wouldn’t have been shocked for me to miss a goal.  I’m just surprised I saw one of them.  Since then Abs Seymour has had another shot go just wide and pressure mount on the away goal.

22nd min – GOALS! ….. BRENTWOOD TOWN 2,  Potters Bar Town 0  Blimey!  A double salvo, first of all DARYL ROBSON shoots home from a pass on the left.

Then ALEX READ doubles the lead as I try to write it up and report it.  I missed it completely!

Still, who’s worried about that?  Liquid football and Brentwood are 2 up.  Oh yes!

19th min – A player is advised by a team-mate on the pitch to “‘Ave a look-in.”  Showing his age there, talking about a kids tv listings magazine from the 70’s.  I liked Catweazle best in it.

14th min – Ooh, that was close.  Abs Seymour ventures to the edge of the area in a central left position.  His shot is on target, low and hard, and the Potters Bar keeper can only parry the ball in front of him.  But there’s no Brentwood player there for the follow-up.  Bah.

13th min – Ooh, a corner on the left for the hosts after a shot was blocked.  Oh.  It’s low and goes straight to a visiting defender.  The bright first few minutes are beginning to give way to the normal hustle and bustle.  Though just then, a Potters Bar shot on the left from about 25 yards out whistled just round the far post.

8th min – As the visitors find some space down the left, which eventually comes to nothing, Blues boss Steve Witherspoon questions where his side’s marking was.  Only not quite as politely.  Chortle.  I hope the mums and das are covering the childrens ears from now on.

4th min – An open start by both sides, obviously pleased to be playing a game after all the postponements.  Ted Llewellyn has linked up well on the left with Abs Thompson.  Nothing clear-cut yet though.

3.01pm – KICK OFF!  And oops, I dropped my camera and stuff.

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2.59pm – The teams come out to a quiet, apathetic reception, the loudest noise being created by cars going by the nearby A12.

2.55pm – I guess they’re renovating the stadium here.  No press box today as it’s occupied by a couple of large loudspeakers.  I can’t shift them.  Next to me are a couple of disgruntled Billericay Town supporters.  I agree it was very late to call off.  But still – chortle.

2.50pm – Team News:  Brentwood Town line up with:

1. – Reece Ottley

2. – Ryan Doyle

3. – Ted Llewellyn

4. – Connor Witherspoon

5. – Darren Blewitt

6. – Sam West

7. – Abs Thompson

8. – Daryl Robson

9. -Alex Red

10. – Steve Butterworth

11. – Abs Seymour

SUBS:

12. – Lewis Frost

14. – Sam Bantick

15. – Greg Cohen

16 – Martyn Stokes

17. – Robbie Rees

I’ve done well there, remembering all those players in order while they were read out, without the benefit of a team sheet.  Or maybe I read the twitter feed.

2.45pm – As far as our other sides are concerned, Billericay Town’s game was suddenly postponed at around 1.45pm.  They really needed the points after a couple of defeats too.  Two points from the relegation zone, the Conference South newcomers are getting to the stage where a run of decent form is a must.

It’s the same deal with the Rocks.  Difficult to beat, admittedly, but drawn far too many games, and three games from a Ryman Premier relegation place mean East Thurrock United have to start turning those narrow defeats into draws, and draws into wins.

It’s not looking much better for our local Football League sides either.  Dagenham & Redbridge have fallen away from the League Two play-off battle, needing a victory to halt an alarming slump in form.  At least Southend United have a bit of glamour, in the 3rd round of the FA Cup, but they too also need a win after a couple of disappointing league losses.

Wow, we’re not doing well between us all, are we?  It’s been gloomier than a lemming feeling a little bit down.  And they say my middle name is Happy …..

2.40pm – Good afternoon, peeps and peepesses, from a dry and surprisingly mild Arena, for today’s little footballing treat.

It’s a bit of a rarity, too, this season – a Brentwood Town league match.  Just 13 of them all season so far.  14th in Ryman 1 North doesn’t look great, but they have a mammoth amount of games in hand on everyone.

Today’s opponents are a case in point.  Potters Bar Town are 10 places and 14 points ahead of their hosts.  The Blues, however, have NINE games in hand on them.  A home win today would make ‘Wood a real play-off threat.  It’s going to be a chortle, if not an out-and-out cracker.

As ever, refresh this page every few minutes, and heaps and heaps of Saturday afternoon footballing fun will be yours, just yours, and only yours.

GAME ON!