Ashford Town (Middx) 2-2 Canvey Island

Canvey Island will face yet another replay on Tuesday night following a 2-2 draw away to Ashford Town (Middx) in the Buildbase FA Trophy Preliminary Round on Saturday.

At a wet Robert Parker Stadium, the Gulls threw away a 1-0 lead to trail before levelling from the penalty spot late on.

Danny Confrey replaced the injured Lamar Johnson between the sticks, while new signing Matt Lock came in for James White in central midfield who was also carrying a knock. Ryan Melaugh also made his first start of the season having recovered from a long-term injury.

Canvey took the lead inside sixty seconds when a cross in from the wing found Jason Hallett who was able to turn the ball home from close range to get his side off to the perfect start.

The home side had some good chances to restore parity in the first half after this early setback. On 16 minutes their striker found themselves one-on-one with Danny Confrey, but he scuffed his effort wide of the upright.

Shortly before half time a thunderous shot from 20 yards smashed into the crossbar. The rebound fell to an Ashford Town player, but it came to him quickly and went narrowly wide.

Danny Confrey made a good save four minutes in the second half, doing well to keep out a long range effort at the expense of a corner.

The equaliser finally came on 64 with what was a simple call for the hosts. A simple ball was played through for Kelvin Adjei and the forward tucked his shot away.

Canvey should have regained the lead three minutes later when a defensive error saw the ball fall for Kane Gilbert inside the area. However, his shot went wide when well placed.

The home side got themselves in front on 83 minutes when a swift counter attack was finished off by substitute Scott Todd, with the Gulls seemingly heading out of the competition.

However, there was still time for Canvey to force a replay. After Matt Lock had delivered a free kick into a dangerous area, a home defender pulled back Tobi Joseph inside the box which was seen by referee Michael Begley who wasted no time in pointing to the spot.

Kane Gilbert stepped up having missed a good chance earlier in the match, but this time made no mistake from 12 yards to ensure the Gulls kept their hopes of a run in the Buildbase FA Trophy alive.

Photo: David Powell

The e-programme from this match can be found here.