Chatham Town 5-1 Canvey Island

Match Report by David Powell

Canvey Island suffered a damning defeat away at second placed Chatham Town, going down 5-1 at the Bauvill Stadium.

In front of a large crowd of over 1600, the Gulls were second best for much of the game against a professional, well drilled hosts, who took their chances when they came, punishing Canvey with 4 goals in the opening 35 minutes.

Canvey were without seven first team players, with Kai Brown unavailable and Conor Hubble pulling up in the warm up, meaning the side had a more makeshift feel than in the last few games. Though some in the home crowd questioned their own team selection pre game, they needn't have worried, with Canvey left to rue their own mistakes by full time against a side gunning for a 2nd successive promotion.

They couldn't have asked for a better start, taking the lead after just two minutes. A dangerous ball into the box was bound for striker Kareem Isiaka, with Tobi Tinubu needing to come across to stop the Chats man firing home. In his attempt to clear the ball away though, he could only put through his own net.

It was 2-0 just seven minutes later. Former Gulls loanee Ashley Nzala was allowed room in the box as the Canvey defence backed off, giving him the chance to curl a strike into the corner of the net.

The game was over as a contest on 30 minutes, with experienced striker Chris Dickson being the next player allowed space to turn in the area and get his shot away. A fourth would follow 4 minutes later, with Dickson turning provider for Dean Beckwith, who was allowed to slot home after a mix up at the back.

All Canvey could play for at this point was pride, with the Yellow Army behind the goal trying their best to drown out the continuing loop of Depeche Mode from the PA system.
They managed one glimmer of hope in the first half on 39 minutes, as from a corner, home keeper Slav Huk failed to catch the ball in, meaning it dropped kindly for Jamie Salmon to fire home from close range, much to the delight of the Canvey faithful, who'd had little to savour but a pint from the bar until then.

The second half began in much of the same vein as the first, with the hosts asking more questions of the Canvey defence, forcing Sam Jackson into a stunning save on 48 minutes as he tipped a goalbound effort over the bar.

The hosts would find the 5th goal they craved on 56 minutes however, with the impressive Isiaka netting despite being around 6 yards offside. Despite the the Gulls protests though, the refferee still saw fit to award the goal after consulting his linesman, rubbing salt into the Canvey's wounds as the home fans behind the goal laughed at the situation.

The remainder of the half was comfortably seen out by Chatham, who rung in the changes as their job was done. Canvey tried to come forward on a few occasions, but much of what they created was either fired wide of target or deemed offside as they broke into the box.

The full time whistle sounded after what seemed like an eternity to finally put the Gulls out of their misery. They'll need to erase the painful experience from their memories quickly, with a Senior Cup match away at Buckhurst Hill on Tuesday night, before another tough match at home to promotion chasing Enfield Town on Saturday.