Saturday, January 21, 2012

Having endured a pretty wretched run since the end of November, United today finally gave their long suffering supporters a reason to be more optimistic about their chances of surviving another Premier Division relegation battle.

Table topping Billericay Town arrived at the Pilot Field as the league's leading scorers, while boasting the best goal difference as well. They left with those records still intact, and having increased their advantage at the summit, but it was the U's who emerged with all of the plaudits, after an outstanding display for which a point was the least that they deserved.

United were much the better side in the opening quarter of an utterly absorbing contest, and they shrugged off the twenty-seventh minute dismissal of midfielder Jamie Crellin to remain in the ascendancy until the interval, when a double substitution by the visitors saw them cause the U's a few more problems, with Matt Armstrong-Ford pulling off a couple of fine saves to keep the scoreline blank.

On today's evidence, Billericay's physicality seems to be one of their greater assets, but United simply refused to allow themselves to be intimidated, barring Crellin's unwise kick out at opposite number Richard Halle, after a challenge near the halfway line ended with the Town man appearing to stamp on Crellin's midriff. An assistant referee spotted the retaliatory gesture, which rightly saw Crellin shown the red card, the U's sixth of the season, but the hosts were understandably upset when Halle received only a yellow for his part in the incident.

That was far from the first moment of controversy in the game however. Inside six minutes, a quick exchange of passes saw Danny Ellis release Zac Attwood through the middle, with Blues' full back James Hawes cynically bringing him down outside the area. As the last man between Attwood and keeper Dale Brightly, Hawes was surely fortunate to escape with just a caution, while Ellis was treated with similar leniency after an ugly tackle on Hawes moments later.

Recent signing Tamer Tuna had the first clear sight of goal, breaking down the left and forcing Brightly into a sharp save with an angled effort. Attwood, employed as a lone striker, then tried to take advantage of Chris Wild's weak back header, but Brightly blocked bravely.

Once Crellin had departed, Lee Carey assumed his customary dominant role in the middle of the park, controlling the game with a range of simple and effective passes, while Attwood's ability to hold the ball up was invaluable to the U's cause, and his link play with Tuna, Ellis and Ben Davisson created plenty of problems for the Billericay defence.

At the other end, United's own back four looked strong and disciplined throughout, buoyed by Armstrong-Ford's best display since joining the Club, and although the half time introduction of Junior Luke and Harrison Chatting certainly had a positive effect on the visitors' attacking play, chances were few and far between for either side in the second period.

The two Billericay subs went as close as anyone to a winning goal, but both were denied by Armstrong-Ford, Luke when clear on the left hand side of the United area, and Chatting with a low shot from twenty yards that was repelled by a stunning, one-handed save with only a couple of minutes remaining.

To have lost at that late stage would have been desperately tough on the U's, who continued to pass the ball around with far greater efficiency than their high flying opponents, although failed to significantly test Brightly after the restart. They did manage to frustrate the Blues to the extent that the Essex side ran up half a dozen bookings in all, the final one earned by striker Emeka Onwibiko deep in added time, after a tumble in the United area that had initially appeared to have won a spot kick, only for the referee to penalise the Billericay man for diving instead.

An extraordinarily lop-sided free kick count told its own story in the end, and such was the U's effort in the face of such an extreme challenge, that they would have been forgiven for feeling a shade disappointed at not having claimed a greater reward for their troubles. They would probably have settled for a point at the outset mind you, and even more so around the half hour mark, and it can only be hoped that they can build on this magnificent performance at Hendon and Hornchurch over the next two weeks.

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Hastings United (4-5-1)							Billericay Town (4-4-2)
1 Matt Armstrong-Ford							1 Dale Brightly
2 Scott Manning							2 Greg Oates
3 Matt Whitehead							3 James Hawes
4 Lee Carey							4 Jerome Sobers
5 Sean Ray							5 Rob Swaine (c)
6 Josh Jirbandey (c)							6 Chris Wild
7 Danny Ellis							7 Sam Berry
8 Jamie Crellin							8 Richard Halle
9 Tamer Tuna							9 Jay May
10 Zac Attwood							10 Emeka Onwibiko
11 Ben Davisson							11 Glen Poole
Substitutes
12 Kenny Pogue							12 Dave Collis (for Sobers 73)
14 Nick Gonsalves (for Davisson 90+4)							14 Junior Luke  (for Berry H.T.)
15 Jack Dixon							15 Harrison Chatting (for Halle H.T.)
16 Ross Sutton (for Manning 63)							16 Billy Radley
							GK Reece Ottley

Attendance: 368

Referee: Ian Gosling (Sittingbourne)

Assistants: Jacob Miles (Peacehaven) & Mark Graves (Margate)