Report by Scott Hately
Ryman Div One North
Ware 1 v 4 Aveley
AVELEY extended their winning run to five matches after dispatching bottom of the table Ware 4-1 at Wodson Park.
After a slow start to the match, the away side shifted up a gear and opened the scoring just before the quarter hour mark when Junior Dadson riffled a shot into the roof of the net to send the Millers into the break with a 1-0 lead.
A double from Jordan Cox early on in the second half gave the away side a comfortable advantage against the side propping up the division, but a Ryan Fleming goal just past the hour mark gave the home side some hope.
Deep into stoppage time, Billy Holland wrapped up proceedings with a neat side foot effort into the bottom corner to send Aveley up to fourth, with games in hand that, if won, could see them rise to second behind unbeaten Maldon & Tiptree.
Coming off the back of a thumping 5-0 win over East Thurrock in mid-week, the confidence levels of the Aveley boys was sky high as they headed to Wodson Park.
The team who they were facing, on the other hand, could not have been more opposite. With just two points all season, Ware sit rock bottom of the table and appear to be in for a long, tough campaign, but Justin Gardner before the game was saying that he was more concerned about this match than the Brentwood game last weekend because he feared his players may be over confident.
With the recent weather causing havoc with the playing surface, the bobbly, heavy pitch did not make for an entertaining opening quarter of an hour. With both sides giving possession away easily and the slippery surface inviting some heavy challenges.
Ware’s captain, Dave Bastion, didn’t have to wait too long to find his name in the book for that very reason. After a late sliding tackle on Junior Appiah on the right wing, the Ware defender found himself on a tightrope as early as the 11th minute.
However, after the scrappy start, Aveley found some joy on the left hand side and Junior Dadson opened the scoring with 14 minutes on the clock.
With Ware trying to bring the ball forward from the back, Danny Hopkins stole the ball from Elliot King on the half way line with a neat bit of skill opening up some space in front of him. Hopkins then played the ball inside to Rashid Kamara who carried the ball forward with no Ware defender putting any pressure on the midfielder. With Dadson hurtling down the left and with no defender in sight, Kamara played the winger in and with his second touch Dadson lashed the ball past Rhys Madden and into the roof of the net.
With the early goal settling the away side down, Aveley went looking to turn the screw, but six minutes after taking the lead the Millers felt fortunate not to have been down to ten men when Tony Martin was played clean through.
A long pass down the right hand side had seen Martin get the wrong side of the Aveley back line, and from just outside the area it appeared that Luke Wilson pulled the striker to the ground. The referee and the linesman didn’t see anything wrong and waived play on to the clear frustration of the Ware bench, who thought it was a professional foul from the Aveley defender and, being last man, a straight red card offence.
After the let off, Aveley looked to press home their advantage, and if it wasn’t for some smart saves from Madden the score could have been much worse for Ware going into the break.
With 26 minutes played Rashid Kamara swung in an out-swinging corner from the right. Billy Holland from 10 yards got nothing on his free header, but the ball deflected kindly to Wilson at the far post who hit the ball first time on the volley against the sprawling Madden who deflected it over.
In what looked like a carbon copy of the first goal, Rashid Kamara played in Dadson again down the left, but this time Dadson could only find the frame of Madden who against saved well, but the ‘keeper saved his best for injury time when a cross from the right was met by Jordan Cox, unmarked at the far post, but Madden dived brilliantly across to palm his effort round the post for a corner.
At 1-0 the home side, despite not creating any clear openings, thanks to Madden were still in the game and it was the ‘keeper who kept Cox out again three minutes into the second period when clear through down the right the striker’s low effort was saved well again by the Ware stopper.
In the 52nd minute though, Madden’s good fortunate ran out as Aveley finally notched up their second through Cox.
A low cross from Appiah, down the right, took a slight nick off one of the Ware defenders, diverting the ball into the feet of Cox. With the ball stuck under his feet the striker took a touch to dig the ball out before calmly slotting it into the bottom corner from 12 yards with his second touch, doubling Aveley’s advantage.
With the away side in the ascendency it was almost an inevitability that the Millers would go on to score more, and score again they did through Cox again, just five minutes after his first.
A deep cross from the right from Marcus Rose was poorly cleared by Jack Friend who could only find Hopkins. The midfield man played a short pass to Rashid Kamara, who spun and played in Cox who from just inside the area curled a lovely effort into the top corner to make it 3-0 with over half an hour still to play.
With a three goal cushion in hand it looked like another three points for the Millers, but their lead was cut back to two shortly after making it three, when Ryan Fleming ruined Gardner’s hopes of a third successive clean sheet.
A free kick wide on the right was whipped in to the danger area by Spencer Knight. With Ronnie Worster in goal nor any Aveley defenders committed to attacking the ball, the cross reached Fleming at the far post who toe poked it beyond Worster and inside the near post to make it 3-1 and give the home side a glimmer of hope.
The hope and newly found impetuous from the home side did not see them create much to concern the away side, who continued to look the stronger going forward with Dadson wasting an opportunity to grab his second. When clean through he tried to cheekily dink the ball over Madden, but only succeeded in putting the ball straight into the goalkeepers hands.
Shane Oakley – who returned to the side after the birth of his baby son Mason – had a chance to add to his seven goals so far this season when clear down the right, but his low effort was again saved well, again, by Madden.
Into stoppage time and the Millers did make it four, and confirmed the three points, when Billy Holland slotted home late on.
With the majority of the Ware players on a mission to retrieve the ball from the corner, where Aveley were holding it, second half sub Petrit Elbi wriggled free from the crowd and played the ball across to Holland who stroked the ball into the bottom corner with his side foot to make it 4-1.
After the game Holland said “it was hard work out there, really, really hard work. We knew what it was going to be, it’s not hard to get motivated but it’s hard to do what we’ve been doing for the last few games consistently. We got our win and we’re over the moon with it.”
With today’s win making it five on the spin and with the likes of Ellis Sands, Scott Curley, Marc and Lee Sontag still to return the squad, Holland, when asked what this Aveley squad is capable of this season said “the target is the league. I’d say with the boys – a very good group of boys, a very good team – the league or the play-offs and we’d be happy.”
Aveley: Ronnie Worster, Marcus Rose, Alfred Kamara, Jay Leader, Luke Wilson, Danny Hopkins, Rashid Kamara (Petrit Elbi 65’), Billy Holland (c), Jordan Cox, Junior Dadson (Tom Querry 82’), Junior Appiah (Shane Oakley 71’)
