Tuesday 6th February 2008
HORNCHURCH  0  EAST THURROCK UTD  1
HFC - Dale Brightly – Donny Barnard – Danny Glozier – John Purdie © - John Mackie – Mark Janney – Frankie Curley - Dean Green – Kris Lee – Jamie Richards – Elliot Styles
Subs – Richard Goddard for Mackie at half time – Simon Parker for Richards 54 – Andy Tomlinson – Shane Oakley for Janney 69 – Ross Wall

ETU – Shane Gore – Steve Pashley – Luke Hughes – Max Cornhill – Rio Alderton – Ben Wood – Kris Newby – Lee Williams – Steve West © – Kevin George – Ashley Dumas
Subs – Keith Martin for George 77 – Steve Harrison – Wes Faulkner – Ryan Andrews – Richard Georgiou for Williams 84

Scorer – Ashley Dumas 6
Attendance 266
Weather – 11 degrees, wind speed 20 mph
Officials – N West with B Morss and A Oldershaw
Duration – 49.15 + 49.07 (second half under by six minutes)
Bookings – Williams 22 (ET) – Mackie 45+1 (H) - Pashley 45+3 (ET) - Goddard 66 (H) – Newby 73 (ET) – West 82 (ET)  - Newby 87 OFF (ET) – Pashley 89 OFF (ET)
Shane Oakley injured 73 (H)

HORNCHURCH  0  EAST THURROCK UTD  1
A strong wind and showers coupled with a bumpy pitch did little to aid good football, but some extremely lenient refereeing, plus tackling which left the home supporters seething, will remain the main talking point of this match, which saw two East Thurrock players sent off, and Shane Oakley taken to hospital with a suspected broken ankle. The blame for this farce must be laid squarely at the match official, and hopefully the assessor in the stand will take appropriate action.

With Urchins kicking towards the windmill end of the ground, with a strong cross field wind, they struggled to cope with the conditions, and it was the visitors who coped better, Dumas finding space for himself on the left to slot a pass inside to George, whose cross was headed out by Mackie for a corner. And early indication of what was to come came when Newby’s late tackle brought down Frankie Curley, but with the visitors’ bench screaming ‘first tackle ref’, the match official failed to take any action apart from a finger wagging exercise, when a yellow card was called for. From the free kick, Danny Glozier found Elliot Styles, whose first time shot was deflected out for a corner by Alderton, but Janney’s corner came to nothing. A Newby wind assisted cross was punched away by Dale Brightly for a corner which Purdie cleared, but East Thurrock took the lead on six minutes when a free kick found ASHLEY DUMAS in front of goal, his mis-hit kick eluding Brightly and ending up in the net for what was the only goal of the game.

For a time the visitors had the better of the play, George winning a free kick right in front of goal. Newby took a long time in taking the kick, but the ball rebounded off the wall to safety. Urchins rarely managed to break down the packed East Thurrock defence, although a Kris Lee shot was blocked and a Glozier free kick curled narrowly wide of the post. It was Glozier again who made the running to send Kris Lee  in from the left, but Lee put the shot cum cross across the face of the goal, and there was no one there to touch home.

A Green run looked promising, and he made ground before turning the ball back to Styles, who switched play out to the left for Glozier, who sent over a good cross which Jamie Richards just failed to reach. Already the visitors were wasting time at every opportunity but Urchins were struggling to cope with the swirling wind, although Lee did well to win a corner on the left, which Janney took, and Wood half cleared to Richards, whose shot was saved by Gore. A Styles inspired move saw Curley find Glozier whose centre from the left landed on the roof of the net, whilst a long upfield kick by Brightly saw Kris Lee almost beat Gore to the ball as it came down on the edge of the area. Pashley was booked for a foul, to ironic cheers from the EastSide, as several similar tackles by the visitors had been ignored by the referee, and from the free kick, John Mackie hammered a hard first time shot against the bar.

The half time talk centred mainly around the referee and the tackling of the visitors, many feeling that red cards would be the order of the day. In particular the tackle on Frankie Curley which merited a straight red and for which no action was taken. This was to have very serous consequences later.

John Mackie, himself victim of some off the ball incidents in the first half, was replaced by Richard Goddard at half time, and East Thurrock came forward at the start of the second half, with Newby’s inswinging corner being headed away for another corner by Goddard, which Newby again took and Purdie cleared. Janney did well to win the ball out on the left, and avoided a lunging tackle and then slipped the ball inside to Glozier whose cross was well held by Gore. At the other end a Newby shot was well saved by Brightly, and for the rest of the match it was a long siege on the East Thurrock goal, with nothing to show for it.

Wood conceded a corner after good work by Barnard, and Janney played the ball short to Parker, on for Jamie Richards. Simon’s low cross into the middle saw a free kick awarded, and Elliot Styles sent in a low shot which beat the wall but was well saved by Gore. Goddard moved forward to send a good pass on to Kris Lee, and thence out to Simon Parker, with Pashley tackling to concede a corner. Janney sent the ball over and Gore punched clear, Barnard promptly played it back again, and Gore saved. Barnard then made a good run down the right to pick out Green whose cross went behind the goal. Shane Oakley came on, to take a pass from Glozier and then find Lee, the ball coming back to Oakley, who was promptly felled by a disgraceful looking tackle from Newby, who amazing escaped with just a yellow – doubly ironic in view of his earlier let off against Curley, and just seconds earlier it was Newby who had kicked the ball away long after the whistle had gone, right in front of the referee, who had failed to take action.

The ambulance was summoned right away and Shane was treated for nearly eight minutes before being stretchered off with a suspected broken ankle. At this point the feelings on the terracing were at boiling point, and both Newby and West were loudly jeered whenever they went anywhere near to the ball. With Urchins now down to ten, they continued to come forward and a Barnard cross found Goddard who nodded on to Simon Parker whose overhead kick skimmed the far post. Kris Newby was then sent off for another foul, though the main interest shown by the referee was looking at the ambulance as it arrived for Shane Oakley – perhaps at last he had realised the consequences of his failure to act earlier.

Steve Pashley followed two minutes later, and from the resulting free kick Glozier sent in a good centre which Alderton headed away. Dale Brightly came up to the half way line to assist the attack, sending in a long dipping ball which Gore held. With just four minutes added on for stoppages – some six minutes short – the referee blew for full time, and promptly headed for the tunnel.

Man of the Match: John Purdie Sponsored by: Dave Ball

Match Sponsor: Haart / Spicer Mccoll

Weather Conditions: 11 Degs. C., Wind Speed = 20 mph

Match Officials: Referee - Mr. N. West, Assistants - Mr. B. Morss and Mr. A. Oldershaw

Match duration: F/H 49 mins. 15 secs., S/H 49 mins. 07 secs. ( 6 mins. short)