Ryman Div One North
Aveley 2 v 3 Potters Bar Town
By Scott Hately
Courtesy of www.pitchero.com/aveley
A shoe-string Potters Bar side inflicted a damaging defeat on the Millers after a lacklustre display saw them lose out 3-2 at Mill Field.
Despite taking an early lead through Alex Read in just the fourth minute, Aveley found themselves level again five minutes later when Josh Hutchinson outmuscled Teddy Nesbitt at the far post, before striking a half volley in across the face of Andy Hall.
The visitors – who had named three substitutes, none of which were actually at the ground – were down to the bare bones but couldn’t believe their luck when a slip from Danny Hopkins allowed Aryan Tajbakhsh to steal to ball from him in the centre.
No one could do anything about the finish though as Tajbakhsh cut inside from left to right before curling a beautiful effort into the top corner right on the half hour mark.
Justin Gardner would have wanted a response from his side in the second half but it wasn’t forthcoming and one of four 16 year olds in the Potters Bar starting line-up extended their lead further when Liam Magwood let rip from 25 yards leaving Hall motionless.
Despite playing against a bare 11, Aveley could hardly muster a shot on target but did get a goal back late on to give them some hope when a lofted free-kick from Hall was headed in by Lee Close for an own goal.
Aveley created a string of late chances as the game went in to injury time, but whenever they could find the target they only found the frame of 16 year old Greg Marsh as the visitors held on for all three points.
After defeat to Grays on April 1st the Millers had gone unbeaten in their following four matches with wins against Waltham Forest and Brentwood, as well as credible draws away at Heybridge and Wroxham.
With the season finale fast approaching and Witham hot on the heels of anyone who was to let slip, Aveley needed a performance and three points which would have put them in a strong position to claim a play-off place.
Thanks to a terrible Winter and Spring period today’s game against Potters Bar was Aveley’s first of four in the space of eight days as they play catch up, and – assuming everyone around them kept winning – Justin Gardner’s side needed just seven points from the remaining 12 available to secure a play-off spot.
Gardner and his team couldn’t have asked for a better start to proceedings when they took the lead as early as the fourth minute, when Alex Read capitalised on a defensive slip up from Lee Close.
The centre back failed to take under control a throw on and Read latched on, leaving him clear of the back four, before expertly looping the ball over the on-rushing Greg Marsh to give the home side the lead.
It wasn’t a lead that the home side would hold for long however as Potters Bar equalised within five minutes, this time capitalising on some slopping defensive work from the hosts.
Liam Magwood, playing on the left hand touchline, floated in a speculative ball into the Aveley area. Goalkeeper Andy Hall wanted Teddy Nesbitt to deal with it, but Josh Hutchinson stole in amid the confusion, outmuscling Nesbitt before turning and finding the far corner on the half-volley to level the scores.
It was a frantic start and the match was shaping up to be a classic for the neutral, but after the early two goals clear chances became few and far between for either side.
Jordan Cox’s appeals for a penalty were waved away after being up-ended in the box, and Myke Taylor saw his way into the referee’s notebook after obstructing Paul Burnett when he was flying down the left.
But much like the first two goals in this five goal encounter, goal number three came straight off the back of a mistake when Aryan Tajbakhsh scored a delightful second for the visitors, giving them the lead.
A simple ball inside to Danny Hopkins was miss-controlled by the midfielder who lost out to Tajbakhsh. The Potters Bar number four then carried the ball from left to right, creating enough space to curl a delightful effort into the top corner, giving Hall no chance.
Out of next to nothing Potters Bar had given themselves the lead and you expected a reaction from Aveley from there on but it didn’t materialise.
Cox came closest to getting Aveley back on level terms after creating a chance for himself just before the break, but all he could so was sky the ball as Aveley went in behind.
A much improved Millers were required in the second half, but once again it didn’t seem to materialise as Aveley huffed and puffed but hardly tested the young Potters Bar goalkeeper.
Cox again had a claim for a penalty turned down after behind shoved over inside the box by Close. This was much clearer than the claim in the first half, but had the same result as the referee waived it away.
Junior Dadson’s last action of the game was to swing a leg at a falling ball, but he sliced harmlessly wide as the tooth-ache riddled Gardner was starting to boil over on the touch-line.
Another defensive slip, this time from Marcus Rose, was almost punished but some brilliant back-tracking from second half sub Jack Stevenson saved the day – albeit momentarily – stopping Magwood from getting clear, but a couple of minutes later and Magwood hit the final nail in the coffin for the Millers extending Potters Bar’s lead with another lovely strike.
Magwood – who had come off the pitch about three times to throw up during the game – cut in from left to right in a similar fashion to Tajbakhsh earlier in the game, but there was no subtlety about his effort as he lashed the ball into the top corner, past Hall before he could even move to make it 3-1 with just under 20 minutes remaining.
Only then did Aveley start to pour forward in search of an unlikely point, with another second half sub, Junior Appiah slicing an effort at goal seconds after going two down.
A minute later and Marsh done brilliantly well to tip over when Close sliced a clearance towards goal and the returning Shane Oakley – also a second half sub – sliced his effort wide as the hosts cranked up the pressure.
In the dying moments, Aveley were awarded a free kick on the edge of the area when Close was adjudged to have handled the ball. Despite being the last man the referee didn’t see the need to even book Close, with Stevenson’s free kick missing the target.
But Close, who seemed to have been at the centre of everything today, wasn’t so lucky with one minute of normal time remaining after he scored an own goal to give Aveley a glimmer of hope.
A long free kick was floated into the box by Aveley goalkeeper, Hall. Close went up for the header only to direct it towards goal and over Marsh to make it 2-3.
The onslaught then ensued as Aveley went for an arguably undeserved point. With seconds of normal time remaining Burnett will wish he’d had taken his time, snatching at a golden chance when played through down the left which went straight at Marsh.
Oakley had an even better chance a couple of minutes later, but could only find the frame of the sprawling Marsh who saved well from close range. And Cox himself had the final chance of the game but his weak header went straight down the throat of Marsh as Potters Bar held on for all three points.
With Heybridge Swifts also losing away at Chatham it does now mean that Aveley now only require five points from their remaining three games to secure a play-off spot but that wasn’t much comfort for Aveley assistant manager, Victor Renner who spoke to us after the game.
Renner, asked for a word on the performance from his side, said “disappointing is an understatement.”
He continued by saying “considering we are pushing for the play-offs, it’s indescribable. I can’t put into words how I feel right now. Potters Bar came here today with four youth team players, no one on the bench, no physio and ended up taking three points away, and outplayed us.”
Renner remained confident that Aveley would finish off the job and secure a play-off place, saying “normally they say you’ve got to take a game at a time. Redbridge on Monday – three points and that should lift the boys and hopefully that will start us getting into the right frame of mind again.”
“We need to get our rhythm again going into the play-offs because if we go into the play-offs the way we’re playing at the moment then we’re not really giving ourselves a fair chance.”
Aveley: Andy Hall, Marcus Rose, Teddy Nesbitt, Jay Leader, Bradley Thomas (c) (Shane Oakley 73’), Danny Hopkins, Alex Read (Jack Stevenson 62’), Sheldon Sellears, Jordan Cox, Paul Burnett, Junior Dadson (Junior Appiah 62’)
