It's a week now since we re-traced our steps back to the Island to see Canvey play again, this time at their home ground - The Brockwell Stadium. In just a couple of hours time we will be heading off to finally see Aveley play, a team we've been trying but failing to get to for many weeks now due to weather and fixture scheduling that went against us.
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| Canvey's hideous sponsored car |
In a fashion typical to me, i've become lazy and neglected to keep up to date with events, so am eager to get last weeks game in writing before the fixtures begin to pile up on me.
It was something of a strange experience at Canvey last week. With both myself and Bob committed to other things that day (I had a severe hangover to recover from in the morning and Bob had a dinner date to shoot off to immediately after the game), we found ourselves rushing in and out of the ground in as short amount as time as possible. Perhaps this was the major reason for the feeling of emptyness and lack of atmosphere to the game. Or it could have been the idea that Canvey took control of the game with two first half goals, and from there the match as a contest was effectively over. Horsham showed plenty of endeavour and acquired some neat touches on the ball, all without seemingly believing they could grab something from the game as they lacked a severe cutting edge in the final third.
So it was that this bizarrely underwhelming game unfolded in front of us on yet another bitterly cold day. In fairness temperatures were indeed up on recent weeks, but the location of the pitch being just a few hundred metres from the sea wall ensured a constant reminder that spring is a good way off yet as the sea breeze kept things as uncomfortable as possible.
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Plenty of leg room in the first half |
After pulling up with minutes to spare, and wasting that time on looking and laughing at Canvey's very own sponsored car, we were still shuffling through the turnstiles as the teams took to the pitch. A lot has changed at this ground since I last visited in the 90's, a huge concrete terracing area behind the goal being the most noticeable renovation. Grabbing a tea we opted to head for a seat in the front row near the centre circle. Despite the cold, we had ample leg room and was in constant earshot of the exchanges between players and referee. It was from here that we witnessed Canvey race into a 2-0 lead in the first 20 minutes, something they didn't really deserve as it was far from a controlling performance from them.
Still, the opener came from a slightly dubious free-kick given on the edge of the Horsham box. From where we were situated it looked as if the defending team didn't line their wall up correctly, allowing Rob King the simple task of stroking the ball into the net, past an unsighted goalkeeper. And with despite only 6 minutes on the clock, it was effectively game over as Canvey spent the rest of the match looking very comfortable and always in control. The scoreline was doubled on 22 minutes when Jason Hallett beat the offside trap and the oncoming goalkeeper to poke the ball home from 6 yards out. The public announcer excitedly declared it to be Hallett's second of the game, before having to embarrassingly backtrack as he realised his error.
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| Great close up views of the action too |
Despite the comfortable circumstances the fans were still constantly getting on the referees back, who was goaded with some rather friendly abuse by individuals in the stand. 'You're a pain in the neck ref', and 'you're ruining the game' were just two of the so called insults thrown his way. That was until a man just to the right of us confirmed that he thought the referee was indeed a wanker after he gave a 50/50 to the away team. The folk of Canvey must have high expectations of match officials because compared to some of the performances we've seen over the weeks, the man in black here remained in control, gave things as he saw them, and was constantly talking to the players and explaining his decisions to them.
And that was it for the first half, the only other memorable moment came when one of the players hoofed the ball out of the stadium for the umpteenth time, only for a new ball to be thrown over from the dugout, with that too bouncing straight out and into the streets beyond.
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| There's that boat again! |
As much as we wanted to stay and in our seats and listen to more non-sensical bullshit coming from the mouths of a few individuals, we wanted to try out the new terracing and so re-located there, standing as high up and far back as possible. From here we had an open view of the whole pitch and the Sea Wall in the distance, allowing us to pick up on our previous game of 'Spot the boat in the background' that we had invented at East Thurrock, during lulls in the action.
From our higher viewpoint we could see more clearly the shortcomings of both teams. Neither side have set the division alight this season, and on this form it was evident why. Granted, by now Horsham were being forced to chased the game but even so some of their defending was comical as Canvey found themselves with men over on more than one occasion. But The Islanders themselves were regularly guilty of making bad decisions in front of goal and wasted many chances. Eventually though, they found their third with about half an hour to go. Hallett - who had a very good game - found space down the right flank and drilled an inviting ball into the box where a waiting Alex Rhodes expertly brought it down and finished first time from about 12 yards out. Horsham were down and out, but to their credit kept going and grabbed a goal back with 20 minutes to go, encouraging the small away contingency to cheekily claim that they were going to win 4-3. In reality that was to be the end of the goals for the day, and the home support saw their team through to the final whistle with a non-stop chant of 'Yellows, Yellows' for the last 15 minutes.
Car Park: Free but full
Ticket: £10
Programme: £2
Score: 3-1
Attendance: 327
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