Ryman Premier
East Thurrock United 2 v 4 Hendon
AT the eighth time of asking, and just a couple of weeks after having succumbed at home, Hendon finally beat East Thurrock in Tuesday’s Ryman Premier clash.
At the end of the day Rocks were left to reflect on a second successive home match where they have conceded four second half goals -the failure to fulfil the potential of a collective of talented individuals leaves the blame firmly in their own court.
Not that the Rookery Hill side have fared that badly, two defeats in nine games isn’t a catastrophe, but there is a deep sense of unfulfilled potential around the club.
Tuesday’s game saw Hendon start the brighter and Hendon’s Sam Flegg missed a glorious second minute opportunity to fire his team ahead when given space at the far post but he lashed his shot over the bar.
Three minutes later visiting keeper Melvin Minter did well to save Tom Anderson’s shot from the well-worked set piece, conceding a second corner which was swung in and Ryan Scott stooped to head home his first goal for the Rocks.
East Thurrock came close to extending the lead several times before the break, most notably when James Walker broke free and forced a fine save from Minter but it was to be Hendon who almost ended the half on a high when Sam Murphy was gifted a free strike from close range but he lifted the ball over the bar.
The second half saw Hendon press Rocks backwards and a series of unnecessary and over optimistic passes gifted the ball back to the visitors who eventually took toll of East Thurrock’s failure to control the game when the ball broke to Aaron Murphy who scored from close range.
Yet within five minutes Rocks were ahead again when Lewis Smith teased a reckless challenge in the box and slammed home the subsequent penalty.
Rocks failed to build on the lead in a game that was becoming increasingly fractious and referee Mr West increasingly involved with a number of petulant exchanges with players from both sides, including Rocks skipper Ricky Hayles who he cautioned for dissent.
While many of his decisions were questionable, there was little doubt Scott’s ill-judged challenge on Sam Murphy on 68 minutes justifiably gave away a penalty which Murphy thrashed home.
To their credit Rocks picked up the pace again and looked to have earned a cast iron penalty when Hayles was flattened in the box but Mr West waved away the appeals and when Hayles ran 30 yards to remonstrate with the ref after the next stoppage in play, the inevitable happened and he picked up a second yellow.
The ten did well for a while but the tide was gradually going against them and it wasn’t really a surprise when sub Leon Smith picked his way through the heart of the rearranged home defence to score.
Rocks nearly took advantage and a side that have equalised twice in their last two matches in added time, were only denied by a goal-line headed clearance from Ryan Wharton who denied Smith a second goal and in the closing moments Hendon broke away to add insult to injury with a fourth goal from another sub, Andre Da Costa on the counter attack against a stretched home defence.
