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Inconsistency Costs
Canvey Dear - Manager Jeff King said, on BBC Essex after today's game, that he thought Canvey, 'Played excellent today." Sorry Jeff, but the view of the game that you get from the top of the tower must be quite different from the one the rest of us get from the terrace. Of all the descriptions I heard around me of today's performance, excellent was certainly not one of them. Fans wanted to know why we can't play a consistent game for 90 minutes. Make no mistake, if Canvey could have kept up the flowing, passing and determined style of play witnessed in the first half-hour for the entire game, they would have won this one by at least three clear goals. Up to the point when Hayes scored their first goal, Canvey were running the game, and running it well. This short spell of the game was certainly excellent. They kept Bossu's goal under constant pressure and had they had just a tiny bit of luck, they would have built up a considerable lead. Lee Boylan came close after just 40 seconds and after that Jeff Minton and Neil Gregory tried so hard to get onto the scoresheet with shots coming in every few minutes. But once Hayes did score, Canvey lost their shape, lost their purpose and lost Jeff's excellence. Hayes got right back into the game and, in spite of being quite an ordinary looking outfit, Canvey just couldn't find a way through. Gone was the flair and passion and it was back to mediocrity. Until the last 10 - 15 minutes when, once again, Canvey cranked their game up and threw everything at Bossu, their reward coming in the dying moments with an equaliser from Lee Boylan. All this season Canvey fans have been frustrated at the way their team demonstrates spells of terrific football, good enough to beat anybody, but then, for long periods, they revert to 'hump it and lump it' tactics that are as entertaining as they are effective. If only they could develop some sort of consistency. Today's game started with Canvey on terrific form and the combination of Lee Boylan and Neil Gregory up front looked dangerous from the off. After Boylan's early near-miss it was John Kennedy's turn to be unlucky when his shot, from a Matt Jones cross, took a deflection and went just wide. From the ensuing corner Lee Boylan's header was finger-tipped over by Bossu for yet another corner. From this one Jeff Minton got in a thundering smash that was heading directly for goal, until it took an unlucky deflection from (of all people) Boylan. When the goal came it was a first for new boy Gavin Cowan. It was yet another Canvey corner that was flicked on by Gregory and it fell beautifully for Cowan who had come forward to the right hand side of the 6yd box. He converted beautifully and the lead was a deserved one. Surely there would be more to come? Canvey continued to dominate, with the visitors making the odd foray to the sea-wall end. They didn't really look like scoring. But score they did and their equaliser came as the result of a free-kick just outside the Canvey penalty area and, to be honest, it was rather a fluky affair. The kick was taken with a simple sideways knock to Dean Clark who half-hit the ball along the floor towards goal. On the way the ball took a cruel deflection off Mark Brennan, past Ashley Harrison and onto the Canvey upright. It then bobbled along the line and eventually went in off the other post. All the time Ash trying to make some sort of contact. The goal was very much against the run of play but it signalled a downturn in Canvey's fortunes and for the next 50 minutes they battled hard, and often in vain, to get back into the game. From this point on they started to waste too many balls and generally found both possession and distribution difficult for long periods. The Hayes defence was getting stronger and Paul Holsgrove in particular was getting the better of the 50/50 balls. Hayes' second goal came as a result of the crazy Canvey phenomenon this season; defenders backing off when attackers run at them. It was from such a situation that David Warner managed to create some space for himself on 42 minutes, enough space to see Harrison off his line and lob him from the edge of the box. Suddenly, after being in the lead and running the game, Canvey were trailing and looking second best. Perhaps things would be better in the second half. Half-time Canvey Island 1 Hayes 2 Whatever the management team said to the Canvey players at half time, their words were not as effective as those of Willy Wordsworth, the Hayes manager. The visitors came out firing on all cylinders and managed to up the pace of their game by at least one notch. But things might have taken a totally different turn on 47 minutes when a dreadful refereeing decision by Mr Murfitt (not his first, or last, of the afternoon) cost Canvey a perfectly good goal. Jeff Minton and a Hayes defender both went for a 50/50 ball on the penalty spot and Minton got it, simple as that. The ball bobbled into space and was immediately hammered home by Lee Boylan. 'Perfectly good goal,' thought the fans. 'Foul,' thought the referee. Not only a foul, but a bookable foul. Nobody could believe it when Minton was shown a yellow card. From this point on the game descended into a series of silly and petty fouls from both sides. The quality of football went down and the whole thing became quite scrappy, especially from Canvey. Harrison was called upon to make several dashes off his line to make clearances and it took one or two superb tackles from Steve Ward and Ben Chenery to keep Hayes out. At the other end there is no doubt that, once again, Canvey were not getting the rub of the green. Some poor refereeing decisions, some lucky interceptions and some good goalkeeping all served to keep them out. But once again, part of the problem was that they wanted to walk the ball into the net rather than take shots. Being a goal behind with the minutes ticking away, Canvey needed to pull something out of the bag. At last, with just 10 minutes to go, Canvey did begin to pull something out of the bag. They became more determined and more courageous and started to put Bossu under pressure once again. Michael Lee came on for Mark Brennan and normal service from the right flank was resumed. More crosses were coming over and the visiting defence had to start working hard. Eventually the equalising goal came and it all started from a Michael Lee corner. Lee had taken several corners and each one made the fans' pulses race. The one he took on 86 minutes was half cleared but it only fell as far as Gavin Cowan. He headed it back into the danger area where Boylan was waiting on the edge of the 6yd box, ready to score. It was something of a goalmouth scramble, but the resulting goal was just as sweet. For the last three or four minutes Canvey threw everything forward, trying desperately to grab the winning goal. Sadly, it was not to be. But what a pity that the game was 80 minutes old before Canvey could recapture anything of the spirit or flair that they had shown in the opening half-hour. If only Canvey could find the consistency that has been lacking this season. So far it has cost them dear. Match Report by Merv Teams
Weather Conditions: Damp and cold. What did you think of
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