VERY long grass and a bumpy pitch does not make for champagne football but goals by Ishmael Welsh and Simon Thomas were enough to secure a first round FA Trophy win for the Blues. The ball seemed to get stuck underneath the players boots and one touch flowing football was nigh on impossible.
Lincoln's first game in charge. Green shoots of recovery against a very difficult Braintree side while an Ishmael Welsh cracker puts Grays through to next round of FA Trophy.
New boss Greg Lincoln could have a baptism of fire as he travels away to face high flying Braintree where he will face former Aveley boss Rod Stringer.
CHAIR of Thurrock FC Tommy South has moved swiftly to replace manager Hakan Heyrettin by appointing Greg Lincoln as their new manager. The 30-year-old Lincoln is a former player for the Fleet and teams up with Grant Gordon and Jason Broom.
The club have had a poor start to the season, failing to win any of their ten league games.
The defeat against Lewes in the third qualifying round of the FA Cup had financial as well as footballing implications for Thurrock. Despite Hakan's enduring popularity with the fans, it appears it was time to go.
In a less than dynamic first half the two sides were only separated by a 17th minute header from Tom Murphy. The goal came from a Thurrock attack that broke down without effect and put Lewes driving forward with Kane Wills on the right flank, his cross was just the right pace and found Murphy in space for a free header, which he planted into the corner of the net with Keeper Joe Woolley easily beaten.
THAMESMEAD emerged winners of this clash of the Ryman One North high-fliers at something of a canter and a poor showing from the home was compounded when midfielder Kye Ruel was sent off in the closing minutes. A lack-lustre start from both sides, with Thamesmead having the only efforts of any note in the first ten minutes when two long distance shots drifted well wide.
Grays went into the game with three debutants in midfield. That decision was to be their undoing as the players looked competent but faced with a very hard task of bedding in eight weeks into a season and away from home. With Steven Demetriou having returned to Daggers, Marvin suspended and Tom Harvey absent, there was no way they could possibly hope to compete.
It can sometimes appear that the cup competitions that come thick and fast at this time of year can be a distraction. It is all about the cash but when you pick up niggling injuries and lose momentum they can have a fatal effect on your teams performance.
Waterstone's Lakeside is delighted to announce a rare appearance by footballing legend Peter Storey, to sign copies of his new book 'True Storey'. Storey spent 12 years at Arsenal football club, chalking up 501 appearances between 1965 and 1977.
KURT SMITH’S 65th minute header was enough to seal a welcome three points for the Millers on their travels at Harrow Borough. Ryan Watts had levelled for the home side two minutes earlier, cancelling out Orlando Smith’s opener after 10 minutes.
AFTER a season-opening run of ten matches without defeat, including seven straight victories, East Thurrock hadn’t won in four games and Tuesday brought a first Ryman One North league defeat of the season.
