Canvey Island
Matches
Tue 12 Nov 2019  ·  North Division
Canvey Island FC
Canvey Island
A Levett (68'), R Melaugh (34'), T Joseph (46')
3
2
Brentwood Town
C Hogan (67'), A Freeman (8')
Canvey Island 3-2 Brentwood Town

Canvey Island 3-2 Brentwood Town

Glen Eckett12 Nov 2019 - 21:54
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Gulls Return To League Action With A Win

Debutant goalkeeper Rob Budd was the star of the show as Canvey Island ground out a 3-2 win at home to Brentwood Town in the BetVictor Isthmian League North on Tuesday night.

The shot-stopper, who had been drafted in to fill in for Lamar Johnson who is on international duty, produced a fine display and made several excellent saves to compliment the three goals that the Gulls managed up the other end.

As well as Budd, manager Mark Bentley made two other changes from the side who were narrowly beaten by Haringey Borough on Saturday. Kane Gilbert came in for Josh Hutchinson in the attacking half of the pitch, while Alex Stephenson recovered from illness to replace the injured Max Kent at left back.

Canvey had the ball in the net after only 90 seconds when a ball from the left was worked across the area and found Kane Gilbert at the back post. Gilbert took a touch before shooting across goal and in via the inside of the post, but at this point the assistant referee raised his flag to indicate that he was offside.

The visitors took the lead on eight minutes when a simple ball through the Canvey defence released forward Andrew Freeman. The forward showed the yellow shirts a clean pair of heels, racing to the edge of the box before firing across goal and in despite losing his footing.

The Gulls responded well and came close on three occasions to equalising in the 11th minute. Jason Hallett and Tobi Joseph but had efforts blocked with shots from inside the area before James White saw his subsequent shot from 20 yards deflect wide for a corner.

Soon afterwards Michael Finneran had a header turned over the bar by Tim Brown, denying the defender his first goal for his boyhood club.

Andrew Freeman had an opportunity to add to his tally for Brentwood on 22 minutes after Alex Stephenson had given the ball away cheaply at left back. Freeman found himself one-on-one with Rob Budd once again, but this time the debutant keeper managed to get something on the shot and turn it wide of the far post.

Budd was called into action again on 31 minutes when a ball flicked through the defence from the right found the run of Connor Hogan. However, Hogan’s first touch was heavier than he would have liked and gave Budd the chance to claim possession at the forward’s feet.

Canvey levelled the scores on 34 minutes when Tobi Joseph received possession on the left. Joseph sent a low ball across the face of goal which found Kane Gilbert unmarked who tapped home from close range.

Rob Budd’s best save of the first half came on 41 minutes after Jacob Wiggins had embarked on a determined run infield from the right. Wiggins ran towards the edge of the box which drew Budd off his line. The keeper slipped but did well to regain his footing and divert Wiggins’ eventual shot away from goal with his outstretched left hand.

James White had the final chance of the first half, curling a left-footed shot over the wall and back down which Tim Brown saved diving to his right.

Ryan Melaugh replaced the injured James White and had an instant impact, creating a goal inside 30 seconds. Jason Hallett played the ball through to Melaugh on the left who swung over an excellent cross which Tobi Joseph controlled before firing home.

The visitors to push for an equaliser once again, with Rob Budd saving twice from former-Canvey midfielder Jack Edwards.

The pressure finally told on 67 minutes when a cross from the left found Connor Hogan at the back post who smashes the ball home to score a deserved equaliser.

Canvey were only behind for less than a minute when another substitute made an immediate impression on the match. Ryan Melaugh played a low pass from the left into the feet of Albert Levett, with the midfielder drilling the ball into the bottom corner from 25 yards against his former-employers.

The rest of the match was spent mainly in the Canvey half as the visitors threw everything they had at trying to earn a share of the spoils. However, Rob Budd was proving to be a tough man to beat, making a string of fine saves.

He picked up an injury with ten minutes to go and was finally beaten on 89 minutes when Zak Pianim got past him down the right and hit the target from a tight angle. However, Dan Humphreys did brilliantly to clear the ball off the line to preserve Canvey’s lead.

Injury time was one-way traffic as Brentwood laid siege to the Canvey goal, but Budd defied his injured body to make another four or five excellent saves to win the match for his new club.

Match details

Match date

Tue 12 Nov 2019

Kickoff

19:45

Attendance

166

Competition

North Division

League position

11
Canvey Island
18
Brentwood Town
Team overview
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