Canvey Island 3-2 Chatham Town

Match Report by JonathanAndrews
Photo Credit - Nicky Hayes Photography

Canvey Island came out on top in a 5 goal thriller on Tuesday evening, as they beat Chatham Town 3-2 at the Moviestarr Stadium to pick up a big 3 points in the Isthmian League Premier.

In a back and forth affair on a freezing Tuesday evening, the Gulls took an early lead in the game only to be hit by 2 quick counters to go into halftime behind. A penalty and a sending off for the visitors though flipped the script again, with Canvey capitalising on the numerical advantage to seal an impressive win against one of the league's early pace setters.

In a first ever competitive meeting between the two sides, it was Canvey who came out the gate the quickest, and their composed passing play gifted them the game's opener after just 5 minutes.
Jamie Salmon whipped a good cross into the box from the right flank, where Bradley Sach was waiting. Holding off his markers, he judged the weight of the cross perfectly and with his back to goal, hit a sumptuous volley into the roof of the net, leaving visiting keeper Ben Bridle-Card rooted to his line, and drawing first blood for the Gulls.

The momentum seemed in Canvey’s favour as they began to control large swathes of the play, and had a few good opportunities to extend their lead.
On 28 minutes, another good ball into the box caused chaos in a scramble for the vital touch, with Bridle-Card missing his attempt to grab the ball, with the stray cross bouncing off the post and on to Charlie Edwards, but with mere seconds to react, the ball agonisingly deflected off of him and out of play to spare the visitors blushes.

Then on 33 minutes, Canvey broke forward again with pace and purpose, and Elliot Ronto got himself into space on the right, hitting a composed shot just outside the box that Bridle-Card did well to turn away from goal and keep the score at one.

Chatham though, weren't out of the contest, and they fought to get back into the game with neat midfield play and rapid breaks towards goal that had the Canvey defence on their toes as they looked to maintain the lead.

They'd get their chance to equal things up on 33 minutes however, with Canvey unable to clear a ball into the area, allowing experienced striker Chris Dickson to poke the ball past Sam Jackson and get the visitors back on level footing.

Things went from bad to worse for the Gulls 6 minutes later as they fell behind. A loose pass in the midfield was intercepted Eddie Allsopp, who brought the ball forward quickly, with the counter attack finding it's way to the impressive Jamie Yila, who made no mistake as he tucked home to give his side the lead and Canvey a bloody nose not long before half time.

Their cause wasn't helped by an injury to Jaden Crowhurst in injury time, forcing Brad Wellmen to make am early change as Tobi Tinubu entered the fray in the 2nd half.

If the visitors thought that their first half turnaround had knocked Canvey's confidence however, they were severally mistaken, with the Gulls coming back out for the 2nd half with a renewed sense of determination as they fought to get back into the game.

The visitors failure to deal with the pressure cost then dearly on 55 minutes as they conceded a penalty, with Alex Brefo bringing down Joe Paxman as he broke into the box. Already on a yellow, the reffere had no choice to produce a second, giving Gillingham loanee his marching orders as he was sent off.
Conor Hubble was given the task of getting the Gulls back on level terms, and he made no mistake from 12 yards as he fired home to get Canvey back into the contest, now a man better off.

The change in script looked to have the visitors rattled, and they struggled to deal with the Canvey build up play - Jamie Salmon and Elliot Ronto laying off accurate passes to the flanks, where Louie Arrowsmith and Joe Paxman looked cut inside as they sought to feed an opportunity to Sach or Edwards. A number of chances went begging, with pot shots either put wide or sent straight into the path of Bridle-Card as he kept his side in the game.

Chatham weren't dead and buried yet however and their quick breaks were still a threat as crafted chances of their own, with Sam Jackson needing to be alert in his goal to keep them out. The Canvey defence held fast though, with Mason Hall and Rob Girdlestone both producing vital interceptions, and Tobi Tinbu showing great determination to contain the threatening figure of Yila.

It was Canvey’s attacking pressure that would pay off however as they grabbed what would be the winner on 78 minutes.
Jamie Salmon squared another ball to Arrowsmith on the left, with the wing back beating his marker for pace to play a tantalising ball into the mixer. There, he found Bradley Sach unmarked at the back post, the striker nodding the ball across goal and into the back of the net for his second and Canvey's third of the evening to turn the game in their favour once more.

Another agonising 16 minutes would need to be played though, with the 10 man visitors throwing everything forward to try and draw the game level once more. They found a composed Canvey defence waiting though, as time and again the Gulls repelled them and kept the ball for as long as they could with intelligent holdup play - perhaps summed up best when Charlie Edwards played the ball down the line and drew a foul in front of the shed to win Canvey a foul so they could hold up play even further.

One big chance would come for the visitors however and they'd wonder just how they didn't snatch it.
A ball into the box from Yila seemed to decide everyone, particularly Sam Jackson, as it looked as though the ball had looped over him and into the far corner of the net. Somehow though, the ball stayed out, bounding off the post and into a packed penalty area. The first person to get a foot on it was veteran striker Danny Kedwell, with the striker looking odds on to make the back of the net bulge with his strike.
To the amazement of the 264 in the ground however, he blazed his strike over Jackson's crossbar from yards out - the luck was clearly in for the Gulls.

It proved to be one of the final actions of the game, with the refferee blowing up moments later, to the delight of the Yellow Army and the Canvey squad, who scored their 2nd impressive league win in 4 days to put them in touching distance of the playoff pack.

They'll now look to make it 3 from 3 on Saturday, as they make the short trip to Pitsea to take on Hashtag United.