FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round
Tilbury 4 v 1 Buckhurst Hill
DESPITE conceding a very early goal, Tilbury recovered and, in the end, comfortably cruised to victory in today’s (Saturday, 3 August) FA Cup extra preliminary round clash – and had the delight of seeing striker Sam Bantick complete a hat-trick with a goal from within his own half!
The start of the competitive season saw Essex Senior League Buckhurst Hill arrive at Chadfields with expectations of an upset against their Isthmian North rivals, who lifted the county league title last year and impressively moved back up the non-league pyramid at the first time of asking after relegation in 2022-23.
And those aspirations were boosted as early as the first minute when the visitors won a penalty and George Thompson stepped up to slot home into the bottom right corner.
Things might have got worse for Dockers on 15 minutes when a scramble in a packed box saw the ball fall to Tagine Youcef, but home stopper Christian North stood tall and made the save to keep the deficit down.
His efforts were rewarded on 36 minutes when fine play from Lewis Manor, who was producing an exemplary display as a striker holding up the ball, set up Bantick with a well-weighted pass and he rammed the ball home.
And things got even better for the home side moments before the break when Harry Donovan slotted the ball through to the speedy Alex Akrofi who cut inside and drilled a powerful shot past visiting keeper Toby Smith.
Click below for full report.
