HAMPTON battled back from conceding a goal in the second minute to win Saturday’s clash at the Beveree
East Thurrock took the lead when Sam Higgins was set free and he slammed the ball past keeper Seb Brown.
That was as good as it was to get for the Rocks who enjoyed another ten minutes of dominance without adding to their score and once Hampton had settled into a rhythm they began to press and on 26 minutes some hesitation in East Thurrock’s defence saw Richard Pacquette flick the ball on and Nicke Kabamba got on the end of it to slot past flat-footed keeper Lukas Lidakevicius.
And nine minutes later more confusion in the heart of the defence allowed Michael Kamara the opportunity to bundle the ball home from close range.
Hampton made a bright start to the second half and should have extended their lead when Kabamba had the goal at his mercy but blazed over the bar and Pacquette then hesitated at the far post when he seemed certain to score and Lidakevicius was able to scramble a save.
They lost Ryan Newman with a bloodied mouth when he appeared to bite through his lip after a collision, one of the few stoppages not orchestrated as Hampton continually broke up the flow of the game. Continuity wasn’t helped either by a succession of substitutions from both sides as the managers played chess in a bid to counter each other.
Mr Read, who had already cautioned defender Sammy Knott in the first half, added two more of the back four and the name of Lewis Smith for good measure before, with five minutes remaining making it a clean sweep of the Rocks defence by adjudging Newby to have elbowed Dean Sinclair.
It was a poor display from the visitors and, given the number of clear cut chances they created it couldn’t be argued that Hampton, despite a cynical approach to the game, merited the win.
