Ryman Premier
East Thurrock Utd 2 v 2 Billericay Town
A DRAW was a fair result to Saturday’s Ryman Premier derby which ebbed and flowed throughout.
Star of the show for the Rocks was striker David Bryant who grabbed two superb goals to take his season’s tally into double figures, while Ricky Sappleton proved Billericay’s talisman, setting up both goals and proving a handful for the home side all afternoon reports The Thurrock Enquirer.
The early exchanges were even but Rocks looked the more likely to score and a series of corners eventually culminated in the 22nd minute opener when Tom Stephen’s cross glanced off the head of the defending Stapleton to the far post where Bryant met it with a tremendously powerful angled volley.
Billericay then enjoyed their own period of pressure and keeper Sam Mott did well to deny Sappleton but the big front man was to engineer an equaliser on 39 minutes, slipping his marker and delivering a delightful low cross into the path of Joseph Ekim who finished with aplomb from close range.
There was still time for Rocks to come close to a second goal and Bryant was again centre stage, twisting and working space to fire another angled shot that came back off the crossbar. Soon after he struck a free-kick that Billy Lumley dived to parry away.
Rocks belied their lowly position with a display of real industry and Bryant added the sparkle from his deep role behind strikers Jason Hallett and Leon McKenzie and he was to grab another great goal on 66 minutes, reacting quickest after efforts by McKenzie and Hallett were blocked to crash another volley past Lumley for his 11th of the season.
The lead lasted just nine minutes and though Billericay had a stroke of luck as Sappleton raced onto a ball from an offside position there was real quality about the way he held it up, beat a defender and delivered another perfect cross, this time met by substitute James Robinson who blasted home.
Another Blues substitute, Isaac Layne, had two chances to win the game for the visitors, who also hit a post, but he was denied by two excellent saves from close range by Mott.
