Brentwood Town  0-1  Grays Athletic

Dorchester  6-1  Billericay Town

East Thurrock United  0-2  Wealdstone

Barnet  2-0  Southend United

—————

FULL TIME:  A full blooded game, plenty of commitment, low on quality.  Grays probably just about deserve their win.  But only just.  And oh my, what another disappointing night for our sides.

That’s about it chaps and chapesses.  Until the next time, enjoy the week, and your football.

—————

Injury time:  A hard fought game.  Does it have a sting in the tail?  Neil Cousins is now on for Daryl Robson

90th min – The lino’s flag saves Brentwood’s skins as a Jack West shot was goalbound.

88th min – Jared Small replaces Joao Carlos for Grays.

85th min – A host free kick from wide on the left comes to nought after Abs Thompson was impeded.  But at last Brentwood are getting forward.

80th min – Sam Bantick comes on for Lewis Frost, seconds after the ball is cleared off the Brentwood line after panic from a corner on the left.  The visitors are well on top but, encouragingly, haven’t killed the game off as they should have done.

78th min – A bout of handbags breaks out, but we don’t know why, too busy excitedly chatting about seeing Ross County in the Champions League.  Grays get the free kick, but it’s cleared.

75th min – Grays in control here.  A corner on the left and Junior Baker heads just over the bar.  Bloomin’, blinkin’ cold too.  Not looking froward to the trudge back to the rail station one bit.

73rd min – Danny Bunce goes forward menacingly for Grays, but from 20 yards out, clears Doddinghurst Road with his shot.

69th min – All of our local sides fortunes have gone completely Olly Murs.

So here’s some good news for a change.

65th min – That should have been 2-0.  A corner on the right isn’t cleared, and from 12 yards out, Jack West has a free shot, level with the far post, but hurries and puts it wide.

62nd min – Clearly frustrated, Lewis Frost gets himself booked for a reckless tackle on Jeff Hammond.  Ouch.  I could feel it from here.  Reckless but not pre-meditated.

59th min – Nice little shimmy from Daryl Robson on the left touchline, halfway inside the Grays half.  He passes to Lewis Frost on the edge of the Grays area.  His shot is still heading somewhere in the direction of Chelmsford.

57th min – Back to long hoofs and effort.  “Great kick”, says one Grays defender to his keeper, as it goes straight out of play.  Terrible second half so far.

52th min – The ref gives someone on the Grays bench a piece of his mind after he’d been the subject of that person’s mind pieces a bit too often.  Chided like a naughty kid.  Chortle.  Meanwhile, a Grays corner on the right is defended.  And then the left.

47th min – Nice run from Abs Thompson on the left who passes to Abs Seymour on the edge of the area, and ….. oh, you know the rest.  On the A12, that shot.

8.53pm – Kick Off!  Oh, go on, then.

—————

HALF TIME:  After matching the visitors for so long, it really is hard lines on Brentwood.  There’s been a cigarette paper between the two sides.  The game is all about goals, though, and the visitors put the one clear-cut chance they had away.

Right, off for a Bovril and thermals.  Laters.

—————

43rd min – GOAL! ….. Brentwood Town 0,  GRAYS ATHLETIC 1   Rough justice on the hosts as JACK WEST gives the title chasers the lead from close-range.

Plenty of time to come back though.

38th min – In frustration, Abs Seymour mistimes a tackle completely and takes out Grays’ Craig Pope on the right hand touchline just inside the Brentwood half.  Could easily have been a yellow but the ref decided a chat and a coffee and doughnut would suffice.

34th min – Should have been 1-0 to the hosts.  Great work by Daryl Robson and Lewis Frost through the middle of the park puts Abs Seymour clear on the edge of the area but he blasts the ball over the bar.  Great chance, that was.

30th min – Now its’ Grays turn to put the ball in the net, through Jack West, but long after the ref had blown his whistle.

28th min – Really opening up now, both sides using their pace.  Abs Seymour again caught offside in a menacing position and then a Grays corner on the right caused a moment or two of panic.  Good stuff.

24th min – Abs Seymour tumbles in the Grays box but the ref says no can do.

Not bad so far.

18th min – Proper action at both ends.  Abs Thompson is presented with a clear shot at goal on the edge of the Grays box but shoots over.  Then Grays immediately go down the other end with a hit and chase, Joao Carlos causing keeper Richard Wray to momentarily fumble before collecting at the second attempt.

16th min – Ross Wall smashes the ball home from around 18 yards, but the ref had blown some time before he whacked it, for offside.  Just as well it went in or it’d have been a yellow card.

12th min – I’d like to say how well worked the last couple of Brentwood moves have been, and what Abs was involved, but the view is so restricted it has deemed such a task impossible.  It’s why I love the non-league game, chortlesome little quirks like that.

8th min – Nice passing between home midfielders set Abs Seymour away on the left,  Unfotunately he was a mile offside, and even more unfortunately the lino didn’t have a view as restricted as ours.  Pah.

5th min – Lots of shouting, swearing, and ball in the air.  Not much in the way of settling down.  Which sounds more like my stomach.

7.52pm – Kick Off!  Oh yes!

—————

7.51pm – The minute’s silence for Brentwood stalwart Les Harris is respected superbly.

7.47pm – Nice of you to come out. sides.  Minute’s silence coming up soon, though, for the passing away of a club committee man.

7.40pm – Again, the press box has filled out.  Again, we got here first.  Again – chortle.  Even if about half of the Land of Leather End half is blocked from view.

7.35pm – Team News:  Brentwood Town line up with:

1. – Richard Wray

2. – Martyn Stokes

3. – Ted Llewellyn

4. – Greg Cohen

5. – Darren Blewitt

6. – Sam West

7. – Abs Thompson

8. – Daryl Robson

9. – Ross Wall

10. – Lewis Frost

11.  – Abs Seymour

Subs:

12. – Ryan Doyle

14. – Neil Cousins

15. – Connor Witherspoon

16. – Sam Cross

17. – Sam Bantick

I would say something more about the team but my fingers are too cold to.  Ooh, it’s a cold ‘un.

7.30pm – A very busy night for our sides.  Billericay Town are in dire need of some points.  Second bottom of the Conference South, they have games in hand, but are five points adrift of safety, with an inferior goal difference.  They need to start winning quickly.

East Thurrock United are firmly embedded in mid-table security.  Their match away at Grosvenor Vale, way back in the summer, was a classic that we gave the live treatment to.  And seeing as its the Rocks, anything can happen.

Looking through the pro ranks, there’s an FA Cup replay, and Southend Unted face up to the ageing maestro Edgar Davids as they travel to Barnet.

North of the border, and unbelievable as it may seem, Ross County’s unlikely but emerging Champions League bid takes them to Aberdeen.  They are no strangers to unlikely European glory themselves either, when mighty Real Madrid succumbed to the Dons 30 years ago.

It’s gonna be one of those nights, you know.

7.25pm – A very good evening from a very chilly Arena.  Having been a-moving and a-grooving with the Drive show just an hour or so ago, it’s now time for a bit of football moonlighting.  Hurrah!

It’s been an ill wind blowing for Brentwood Town the past few days with the fixture backlog taking its toll.  Three tricky away matches in the space of four days, the most recent involving many hours of travel, have resulted in zero points and Town all but out of the play-off picture.  It sounds crazy but their season is just about over with 20 games left!

For tonight’s opponents, though, their season is very much alive.  Grays Athletic have enjoyed their switch to Rush Green, and it’s exemplified by their position in Ryman One North.  In second, and within touching distance of perennial leaders Maldon & Tiptree should they win their games in hand.

We know, however, that with Brentwood Town, expect the unexpected.  If they can’t go up, they may very well stop someone else from doing so.  This could be, yep, a cracker!

You know the drill.  Keep refreshing the page every few minutes and all the fun of the football fair will be yours.

GAME ON!