Billericay’s trip to south-east London ended in a third consecutive defeat. In a scrappy match at Welling, a scrambled Aaron Barnes effort from close range proved to be the deciding factor between the two sides. The Blues now only sit above bottom side Braintree on goal difference.
After beginning his reign with a much-needed win against Slough, incoming manager, Jody Brown, has in recent weeks had time to reflect on the size of the considerable task ahead. He deserves patience and time to sort out the many issues left behind, most notably due to the inadequate squad of players bequeathed to meet the challenges of step two football.
Failing to score against a home side that have conceded twenty-nine goals in the previous eleven matches shows the paucity of creative options and striking capacity. Home goalkeeper, Jack Sims, had a relatively untroubled afternoon. That Welling have only kept clean sheets against Braintree and Billericay demonstrates the current predicament.
With defeats in key matches against Hemel, Tonbridge, and Welling, the Blues are already in dangerous territory alongside Essex neighbours from Cressing Road. With only one team to be relegated this season, Billericay have some breathing space and solid survival options. Brown is seeking to add to his playing options and striking reinforcements cannot come soon enough.
The manager will get full backing from the club to set about his considerable task. The mistakes of the past cannot be righted by a couple of training sessions and a good team-talk. Fundamental change is taking place and new players have begun to arrive. More are expected in the near term that should lift the quality of resources available and enable positive results to be achieved.
Jody Brown shouts out instructions from the bench at Welling. Photo Courtesy: @nickyhayesphoto
The manager has already acted in defensive areas, bringing in ex-Spurs academy right back, Tariq Hinds. He must, however, also rue his misfortune at new centre-back Aaron Ekumah’s hamstring injury and the idiotic, post-match, red card for dissent picked up by loanee left-back, Toby Stevenson. Until his lapse, the defender from Bromley had been one of the few positive factors in the match, with a display at several notches above the level of previous incumbents.
Welling fashioned the first opportunity through Dutch winger, Che Krabbendamm. He picked up possession deep in the opposition half creating a shooting chance for on-loan striker Danny Parish. His effort was straight at Bailey Vose. The two could have been team-mates if a loan spell in Essex had not ended with injury after a single training session. His bad luck followed him here as the ex-Maldon hitman limped off after the break with a recurrence of an ankle injury.
In a match low on attacking talent from either side, Billericay relied on a set piece to create a chance. Charlie Lee, skippering the side, sent a sent long throw into the danger area. Flicked on by Michael Chambers, the sole survivor in the Essex side of the pre-lockdown match at Park View Road in March 2020, Anderson Pinto blazed over from six yards.
Just past the half hour Lee smashed a half chance wide from just outside the penalty area. Created by Stevenson, who made a series of attacking incursions down the left side, his performance was eye-catching. Now subject to a three-match ban for his indiscretion, the initial month loan period would need to be extended for him to feature again. Stevenson showed enough here to warrant further consideration.
Welling’s Krabbendamm, given licence to roam across the pitch, was impressive just behind the strikers. The ex-Anderlecht academy alumni showed his technical prowess with a curling free kick that clipped the top of the bar. Organising attacking play, his influence was only curbed after Blues midfielder, Frankie Sutherland, elected to shadow him in advanced areas.
An attacking presence down the left was not the sole preserve of the visitors. Welling wing-back Kristian Campbell grew bolder in the second half and advanced notably higher. His storming run and fizzing cross demanded a finish.
Midfielder, Olumide Durojaiye, was perhaps the wrong recipient. He got in a tangle as the ball arrived and the close-range chance was gone. Barnes’s follow-up strike from the right was pushed aside by Vose for a corner.
Rowan Liburd, returning to his former employers, was not able to give the Wings fans opportunity to regret his departure. A lack of service, and a couple of crosses that he failed to connect with, reflected the dearth of attacking possibilities. A willing worker, he has toiled gamely in the centre-forward position but had no clear-cut chances to work with.
Liburd’s hold-up play is a useful option, which has served the team well on occasion. Turning away from two Welling players as he took control of the ball, Liburd’s ability to find a quick pass to Joe Felix initiated a promising counter. Striker Kweku Lucan, positioned on the right side, swiftly took over, cut inside the covering defender, only to curl narrowly over the bar.
With neither side looking capable of breaking the deadlock, Brown sent on Bagasan Graham, his most attractive attacking option left on the bench. Exiting Lee, who had performed creditably, the Blues decision to exit a defensive midfielder against an unthreatening Welling side seemed a prudent choice to make.
Graham immediately raised enthusiasm. A jinking run past four players, ended by a crude challenge, was a clear signal that the home side would be tested for the remainder of the match. The ex-Chelmsford winger went closest for the Blues with a fierce shot headed for the top corner that was impressively diverted one handed by Sims for a rare corner.
Billericay’s Bagasan Graham takes on Maxwell Statham and fires at goal. Photo Courtesy: @nickyhayesphoto
With the match entering the final ten minutes, thoughts of a goalless encounter being played out likely entered the heads of both sets of fans. It wasn’t to be. A hurried clearance from Barnes down the right seemed to offer not threat as Chambers was overwhelming favourite to clear.
With Bradley Stevenson chasing what looked a lost cause, the striker managed to out-pace the Billericay centre-back to take possession. His deep cross was met by a fierce drive from Campbell that Vose pushed out. Barnes reacted quickest to seize on the loose ball and fire home on eighty-one minutes.
Aaron Barnes is on hand to finish from close range for Welling. Photo Courtesy: @nickyhayesphoto
With Blues chasing an equaliser, Welling sought to profit on the counter and almost made it safe with a second goal. Trinidad & Tobago striker, Daniel Carr, on a substitute, sped past Chambers and drew a fine diving save to his right from Vose. Moments later, another counter saw Stevenson misjudge a cross that he will likely reflect that he should have finished off.
It did not matter in the end. A weak Ekpiteta header in the closing seconds proved to be the sum total of the Blues reply as they slipped to another defeat on the road.
Line-Up’s
Welling United
13 Jack Sims; 3 Aaron Barnes; 4 Maxwell Statham; 5 Bradley Pearce; 6 Ademola Shokunbi; 7 Daniel Parish (12 Joseph Muscatt, ’57) 8 Olumide Durojaiye; 9 Afolabi Akinyemi (23. Daniel Carr, ’68); 11 Kristian Campbell; 16 Arthur Penney; 18 Che Krabbendamm (22. Bradley Stevenson, ’68). Subs Not Used: 2 Chibuike Ezennolim; 15 O’Shane Stewart;
Goal: ’82 Barnes (Assist: Campbell)
Billericay Town
1 Bailey Vose; 2. Charlie Lee (17 Bagasan Graham, ’68); 5. Marvel Ekpiteta; 6. Michael Chambers; 8. Frankie Sutherland; 9. Rowan Liburd; 11. Joe Felix; 12. George Wind (7 Darren Foxley, ’87); 15. Toby Stevenson; 19. Anderson Pinto; 20. Kweku Lucan (16 Denilson Carvalho, ’87). Subs Not Used: 4 Lawrie Wilson; 18 Tariq Hinds.
Attendance: 564
