Match Report by David Powell

Canvey Island suffered a 4th consecutive league defeat on Tuesday evening, as they were beaten 2-1 by Potters Bar Town at the Steves Taxis Stadium.

Those who braved the cold evening were made to see a game of two halves, where the Gulls were punished for a poor opening 45 minutes before a much improved second half saw them fall short of taking a point from the game.

It was the visitors who started the game the better, dicating play to their rhythm as Canvey could get out of 2nd gear and struggled to find any cohesiveness. It came as little suprise when they took the lead on 10 minutes. A ball played in from the right couldn't be hooked away at the back post, allowing Brandon Adams the chance to finish from close range past Bobby Mason.

Canvey were all at sea, and created little in the way of chances at visiting keeper Laurie Shala's goal. The half was constantly held up by stoppages, with the visitors happy to slow the pace down before the Gulls could launch attacks. Canvey's evening only, got worse with an injury to Ollie Parsons seeing him forced off the pitch - replaced by Jaden Crowhurst.

Perhaps Canvey's only chance of note came just before half time, when Tobi Tinubu struck a long range effort just wide of goal. The visitors would heed that warning though, and doubled their advantage in injury time. Experienced striker Steve Cawley was gifted space on the edge of the area and stuck a clear strike that flew through a crowd before nestling in the back of the net.

It left the Gulls with a mountain go climb at half time. Brad Wellmen made two changes, with Hubble and Stephen making way for Gilbert and Salmon. The changes seemed to work as the Gulls came out a different animal, stronger in midfield and use the flanks to their advantage as the visitors backpeddled.

It warrented them a goal back on 57 minutes. Good work from Finlay Dorrell saw him pick up on a ball played into the area, with the visitors defence too busy claiming offside to stop him. He squared the ball to Kane Gilbert, who finished past Shala from close range to get Canvey back in the game.

The goal only invigorated Canvey, who kept coming forward in search of an equaliser.
Despite this however, they found the chance to test Shala limited, with the visitors defence holding out as they continued to run the clock down.

Dorrell saw a strike sliced just wide of the far post, before Darren Foxley curled a free kick just over the cross bar from the edge of the area after his teammate was fouled breaking towards the box.

The visitors weren't shy of their own chances when they came forward however, and could have wrapped the game up in two big moments.

First, Ricky Hayles saw a header cleared off the line after getting on the end of a corner. Then, as the 90th minute approached, Mason was caught cold trying to clear a ball away, allowing Bailey Stevenson the chance to hit a strike from range toward an empty net. It took a piece of defensive heroics from Elliott Ronto to stop the certain goal, as he sprinted back and cleared the ball before it could cross the line.

Seven minutes of injury time were signalled, and the Gulls threw everything they could at getting an equaliser. They were frustrated though again by the referee, as he looked to turn down a clear penalty appeal after a foul on Dorrell, before then missing a blatant handball on the edge of the area minutes later.

Canvey had one last big chance as the ball was played in from a corner. Chris Harris headed the ball down into the defensive maelstrom, and an almighty scramble saw two chances blocked before an effort was cleared off the line. A foul was signaled shortly after however, giving the visitors the respite they craved.

The full time whistle compounded another defeat for the Gulls, leaving them dangerous perched five points above the drop zone, though with games in hand on several sides.
They now face a huge battle for points on Saturday, with the side just a point below them - Cheshunt - the visitors to the Steves Taxis Stadium.