Match Report

Canvey Island won through to the Quarter finals of the Ryman League Cup with a 3-2 win over Wingate & Finchley on a bitterly cold evening at the Brockwell Stadium.

Gulls dominated the majority of this match but nearly let slip a 3-0 lead as the Ryman One North side grabbed two goals in the last 15 minutes to make it a nervy ending to the game for the home side.

Canvey made a positive start and were thoroughly dominant during the first half.

Leon Gordon rifled a shot over after just 2 minutes and on 16 minutes, Jon Edwards tested Wingate keeper Gavin King with a free kick right on the edge of the penalty area after Ahmet Rifat had halted James Rowe’s run towards goal illegally.

King denied Rowe from close range and then Gordon headed a right wing cross just wide as Canvey continued to put the Wingate goal under pressure.

A goal eventually came on 20 minutes when Richard Halle’s free kick from wide on the right slipped through King’s legs and into the net.

Wingate rarely threatened during the first half and James Russell in the Canvey goal had very little to do with both Chris Moore and Frankie Everett keeping their forwards extremely quiet.

Both Gordon and Rowe had chances to increase Canvey’s lead before half time but the Gulls would have gone in happy at half time after a commanding first half display.

They continued where they left off in the second half and Robbie King fired just wide after finding space on the right hand side of the penalty area shortly after half time.

Wingate did enjoy a brief spell where they began to gain a great deal of possession but other than an awkward shot from 20 yards that Russell held well, they were unable to really penetrate the Canvey defence.

Gulls went further in front on 61 minutes. Craig Davidson delivered in a superb free kick from the right that King came for but couldn’t collect cleanly. The keeper could only juggle the ball straight into the path of Halle who guided his header from close range into the empty net.

It seemed as though Canvey had sealed a comfortable passage into the next round of the competition when 5 minutes later, Rowe latched on to a fine through pass by Gabriel Fanibuyan, rounded King and showed great composure to send a measured shot into the bottom far corner of the net.

This was Rowe’s last contribution of the game as he was replaced immediately after by Greg Cohen.

Canvey continued to pour forward in search of a fourth goal and felt they might have had a penalty on 76 minutes when Gordon broke through but went down as King came out and challenged him. The loose ball fell to Fanibuyan but his effort was brilliantly headed off of the line by a defender.

Up until now, Canvey had looked comfortable but all of a sudden they took their foot off of the pedal and allowed Wingate back into the game.

On 78 minutes, some good play down the left saw the ball crossed in for James Gershfield to touch home.

Some terribly sloppy play in defence then allowed Gershfield to break through two minutes later and confidently tuck the ball past Russell.

With ten minutes still left to play, Wingate now sensed they could take the game to extra time and the Gulls were beginning to look rather nervous and far too often were finding it difficult to retain possession, giving the ball away far too cheaply at times.

Luckily, other than a few scares, Canvey managed to hold on to secure a victory much to the relief of the vast majority of the crowd who must have been dreading the prospect of another 30 minutes’ action on a freezing cold night.

The Gulls now await to see who their opponents will be in the quarter finals.

Oysterfleet Man of the Match:

RICHARD HALLE: A great display in midfield topped off with two goals.

Match Report by David Powell