TILBURY capped a massive cup run by beating Premier Division rivals 2-0 in the Cup Final.
The result was no more than the Dockers deserved as for 90 minutes they kept to their plan, producing disciplined yet attractive football.
Harrow looked the superior team but that was about it. They played neat touch football in the middle of the park but every single move ended with an unforced error. It was all a question of whether Tilbury could take their chances.
On film you can see they had plenty of corners but a well disciplined Dockers defence merely coralled them away.
Time after time, Harrow strikers Jonathan Constant and Gary Noel looked like they would threaten but Ricky Hayles and Junior Baker had them in their proverbial pocket.
They did. In the 35th minute a free kick was aimed right into the heart of the Harrow defence. Chris Stowe rose high to head the Dockers into the lead to the joy of their highly enthusiastic travelling support.
The key to much of Tilbury’s game was energy. A player such as Manlee Brown will slowly wear a defence down enabling a players such as Chris Stowe and Michael Black to break through.
It also helps if the keeper makes basic mistakes. The game was tied up in the 65th minute when Glen Cohen chipped in a neat ball from the left which Andray Baptiste spilled but Chris Stowe did well to volley into the net to give the Dockers the silverware.
As the final whistle blew, the crowd went mad and the players celebrated. It was a well deserved victory from Graham Chester’s men who always give 100% on the park.
