Canvey Island 2-1 Cray Wanderers

Match Report by David Powell

Canvey Island got back to winning ways on Tuesday evening, picking up another big 3 points with a 2-1 win against Cray Wanderers.

Under the lights at the Moviestarr Stadium, the Gulls dominated possession for long periods, but were made to be patient against a resilient Wanderers side, who played with ten men for over an hour, before finding an 86th minute winner from Bradley Sach to take the points.

Canvey came flying straight out of the blocks, with Conor Hubble curling a low free kick wide of visiting keeper Shaun Rowley’s goal early on, before Mason Hall headed wide after a good ball into the mix from Luke Deslandes.

Deslandes also went close on 30 minutes, finding space in the penalty area to get an effort away, only for Rowley to save his shot well, the keeper able to breathe a sigh of relief as Sach couldn't score with the follow up.

Still, Canvey's impressive wing play and passing football was visibly frustrating their opponents, and those headaches saw them reduced to 10 men on 36 minutes.
After a heavy clash with Louis Arrowsmith, referee Joe McKay produced a second yellow card for Cray's Cameron Black - the decision perhaps a harsh one that the defender protested, though one that presented a big opportunity for the Gulls.

It came perhaps as a surprise then, when the visitors enjoyed a good spell of pressure at the end of the half, gifting them the opening goal. After a series of corners that the Canvey defence couldn't clear, Anthony Cook picked out Gary Lockyer in the area, with the strikers glancing header going beyond Sam Jackson into the corner of the net.

It looked like Canvey would trail at the break, but with a spell of stoppage time after the earlier dismissal, they came straight forward and won a corner. With virtually the last action of the half, Mason Hall continued his impressive scoring run this season, powering home a header to level the game and change Wellmen's half time team talk once more. 

The second half proved a more frustrating affair for Canvey however, as despite enjoying plenty of possession, they were kept a bay by a compact and well organised visiting defence, with Jack Holland and David Ijaha marshaling well at the back and reducing the Gulls to pot shots at Rowley’s goal.

Deslandes, Hubble and the introduced Crowhurst all got into space to shoot, but could only drag their efforts wide of the mark or into the arms of the keeper.
At the other end, the visitors continued to pose a threat on the break, though they too were guilty of missing the target - their best chance being dragged with by MacAllister.

Eventually, it was Canvey's perseverance that paid off as they grabbed with the winner.

Deslandes was once again blocked with a challenge in the box, but the defence couldn't stop the ball being recycled to Arrowsmith out wide. From there, he swung in a superb cross that dipped perfectly onto the head of Sach - who made no mistake as he buried his header with 4 regular minutes left on the clock.

Despite 6 minutes of stoppage time being added, as well as a pair of free kicks to defend from their opponents, the Gulls held out to pick up an important 3 points at home, showing grit and resolve to bounce back from Saturday's disappointment.

They now face what will hopefully be their final free Saturday for a while, before they return to action on November 4th, when Chatham Town are the visitors to the Island.