Barkingside 2 Whitton United 3 (Buildbase FA Vase 2^nd Qualifying Round)

Report by Scott Lanza

Barkingside’s lack lustre first half performance is probably what ended their Vase campaign as they were unable to claw back the 3-0 half time deficit – although they were able to pull two goals back in the second period.

The hosts created the first real effort in the 10^th minute when Mattheus Santos passed to Tony Cookey which needed Ross Welton to come off his line and block the ball away for a corner.

However the Thurlow Nunn Division One outfit broke the deadline two minutes later when a ball over the Side defence fell kindly to Franco Mallardo who rammed the ball past Will Hunt.

However Santos was soon back causing problems at the other end, playing a diagonal pass to Cookey who cut inside, then hesitated, giving Scott Marjoram time to make the tackle and then take possession of the ball and therefore snuff out the chance. Another ball over the top soon was in the possession of Cookey but he was again prevented from shooting by Gavin Flurrie who put in a solid tackle to dispossess the Side frontman.

But Whitton were deadly upfront themselves and a   free kick needed Euan Taylor-Reid to head away for a corner under pressure from Breadman. The resulting corner worked its way to Harry Wales  who was able to rifle off a shot that Hunt tipped away. Whitton kept up the pressure and another  free kick almost crept in but Hunt was able to back pedal and pull of a great save to tip the ball over the bar.

However this spell of Whitton pressure soon bore fruit with Wales heading the resulting corner beyond Hunt. Barkingside’s tails were well and truly down after falling even further behind and their visitors then gave themselves a three-goal cushion when Lloyd Clarke sent over a delightful ball from the right touchline that Ryan Rampley controlled before firing a right-footed shot past Hunt.

Side were able to rally slightly before the half was out as Taylor-Reid had a double-dip effort seeing his initial shot blocked by a defender and then seeing the rebound stopped by the Whitton keeper. A Santos free kick was also floating towards the top right hand corner that Welton punched clear. However the final chance almost saw Whitton exploit Barkingside’s defensive frailties as Alex Breadman latched onto a ball through the middle which Hunt had to charge down with his legs.

Inesh Sunithran came on in the 52^nd minute and almost made an instant impression by putting in a ball from the right that Cookey almost turned in. A nice following move involving Bradley Joseph, Raphael Duyile and Sunithran also had the Whitton defence under pressure as the Side upped their game.

Hunt however had to be at his best to tip a well-placed Breadman header onto the post and away for a corner.

Barkingside then scored two goals in quick succession to put themselves back in the tie. The first goal came in the 71^st minute when Duyile chased down a through ball and was able to place his shot under the Whitton keeper and then five minutes later reduced arrears even further when a corner swept across the Whitton goalmouth where Cookey was lurking and he was able to head the ball home.

A perfect turnaround almost happened when Jezz David went agonisingly close with a header from another Barkingside corner. However Hunt had to pull off a late save at close range to deny Rampley.

Barkingside’s second half performance possibly deserved to get them a reply but sadly Whitton’s first half prowess in front of goal was enough to see them through.

Barkingside: Will Hunt, Joe Newbold (Raphael Duyile 56’), Michael Sherwood (Ricardo Bailey 52’), David Etcheri (Inesh Sunithran56’), Euan Taylor-Reid, Michael Bottone, Bradley Joseph, Jezz David, Michael Ogboin, Mattheus Santos, Tony Cookey.

Scorers – Raphael Duyile (71’), Tony Cookey (76’)

Whitton United: Ross Welton, Josh Hitter (Zehnn Young 82’), Harry Wales (Josh Stevens 72’), Gavin Flurrie, Scott Marjoram, Ryan Rampley, Niall McPhillips, Alex Breadman, Franco Mallardo, Lloyd Clarke.

Scorers – Franco Mallardo (10’), Harry Wales (23’), Ryan Rampley (34’)