Match Report

Canvey had to settle for a point from this clash with Clapton at Park Lane, though will feel they may have grabbed a goal which would have settled what was a reasonably quiet match. However, the result was not the end of the world as The Gulls were reduced to 10 men in the second half when Billy Bignall picked up his second yellow card.

Canvey started the game positively and enjoyed the majority of the possession in the first ten minutes, though the first real chance fell to Clapton's Nwankno who shot wide of the goal with only Marc Ryan to beat. However, Canvey were back on the offensive soon after, Kieran English coming close on a couple of occasions.

Clapton did start to build some pressure themselves, and found themselves in the Canvey half increasingly as the half progressed. The final killer ball however seemed to be lacking, and combined with good defending by Danny Mitchell and Craig Young meant the scores were kept level.

Aside from a good header from Tarik Solomon which flew narrowly over the crossbar, the rest of the half faded out some what before the teams took the half time break.

Canvey picked themselves up for the second half and came out of the traps brightly. Billy Bignall picked up a booking on 58 minutes for a late tackle, though this was a sign of Canvey's eagerness to close the opposition down. Victor Okisor, quiet up until now, raced clear through on goal on 65 minutes, though his shot was well saved by McKenna low down by his left post.

On 75 minutes the referee took centre stage with a strange decision that reduced Canvey to 10 men. A corner had been awarded to Canvey which Billy Bignall went to take. However, as he set himself for the kick, the referee changed his mind and awarded a goal kick. Bignall then firmly kicked the ball back to the Clapton keeper which McKenna allowed to pass him by. The referee deemed this to be an act of dissent and showed Bignall his second yellow card followed shortly by the inevitable red.

Canvey did not allow this to affect their attacking play, and continued to press for the winner. As the match entered injury time, Kieran English thought he had achieved this when his crisp shot found the back of the net. However, the linesman had raised his flag signalling English was in an offside position, something the Canvey players found hard to accept as it appeared that English was clearly onside.

This wasn't the end of the chances, as Victor Okisor beat the Clapton defence and found himself one on one with the Clapton keeper. His shot beat McKenna and looked destined for the back of the net, though the ball agonisingly hit the far post with virtually the last kick of the match.

Ian Lowes' side next travel to Burnham Ramblers on Wednesday (7.30pm kick off), and follow that up with the visit of Stansted to Park Lane next Saturday.