Meridian VP 1 v 1 Cray Valley PM

Saturday 29th November 2014
Kent Senior Trophy Second Round
Meridian VP won 4-3 on penalties
Meridian Sports and Social Club, Charlton
Admission including Programme: £6.00
Attendance: 30
Match Rating: 4

After the bitterly disappointing conclusion of my lunchtime game at The Valley, I made my way uphill and across Charlton Park to take in my second game of the day in the more modest surroundings of a Kent Invicta League club, at Step 6 in the non-league pyramid, with the walk taking about twenty minutes.

Although I have previously visited the Meridian Sports and Social Club on two occasions, most recently last December, but the transformation of the ground has been quite remarkable. Last December, and indeed right through to the end of last season, this was an open ground, just containing some hard standing, with no admission taken not programme produced. Since the end of last season, the ground is now fully enclosed with quite attractive wooden fencing, hard standing is now available all around the pitch, an all-seater stand is now positioned along one length, floodlights are now present, and a turnstile hut has been installed behind one of the goals within the wooden fencing, which now takes an admission charge which is excessively high for this level of football - although that is a theme that is repeated across Kent in non league football compared to what I am more used to in Sussex. A 16 page programme is included with admission, and was glossy and colourful, and covered the basics but was rather light on interesting material.

This game would represent the opportunity for a giantkilling, with Meridian VP of the Kent Invicta League, one step below Cray Valley PM, of the Southern Counties East League. Since being founder members of the Kent Invicta League, Meridian have not finished higher than bottom, and seem likely to continue that run this season as well, currently third bottom, with three wins and two draws from their 14 games. Cray Valley are struggling towards the foot of the Southern Counties East League this season, in 16th place in the 20 team division, with 15 points from their 15 games. In the previous round, Meridian won 1-0 at home to fellow Kent Invicta League outfit Lewisham Borough, whilst Cray Valley won 0-5 at bottom of the Kent Invicta League outfit, Kent Football United.

On a lovely sunny afternoon, but one that was cold with a biting wind, this was very much a game of two halves. Although the home side started quite strongly, it didn't take long for Cray Valley to impose their superiority on the game. For all that superiority and possession though, they struggled to carve open goalscoring opportunities, although they forced an excellent reflex save on 20 minutes. They did take the lead on 35 minutes though. Alex Chambers ran onto a through ball, and after an attempted interception by a defender only resulted in hitting Chambers' chest and bouncing back into his path, Chambers slotted the ball past the keeper. It was no more than they deserved, although Meridian had their best chance of the half on 41 minutes, when their number 11 showed great skill towards the outer right corner of the penalty area in deceiving defenders and creating space for himself, before fizzing a shot just wide of the far post. But as the half time whistle blow, one felt that there was only going to be one winner here, even if the higher ranked visitors had not converted their superiority into a more convincing lead.

Meridian certainly rolled their sleeves up in the second half, showing much more intent throughout, although for much of it, Cray Valley still looked comfortable with their lead and one imagined that if they could get a second goal, that would kill the tie. However, six minutes from time and Meridian were awarded a penalty, when Nzeed Rasheed waltzed into the box, before being brought down my a mis-timed lunging tackle from Ronnie Vint. Dominic Elmes stepped up, and from a very short run-up of two paces, fired the ball in the right hand side of the net, sending the keeper the wrong way. A minute from time, and Meridian could have sealed an unlikely victory when a ball over the top of the defence sent their striker clearer through on goal, and as the goalkeeper came way out of his area to close the ball down, the striker just hit a shot which ricocheted off the keeper, when he really should have tried to dribble the ball around the keeper or attempted a lob. In the closing minutes, Meridian defended ever more desperately to take the tie to penalties, with some rather ugly lunges resulting in yellow cards. But the game finished all square after 90 minutes, and went straight to penalties.

Meridian took the first penalty, with the penalties taking the following sequence...

1-0 - Elmes, scored low to the right, keeper dived the other way
1-1 - Paul Gross, scored in bottom left corner, with the keeper unmoved
2-1 - Gary Phillimore, score in bottom left corner, the keeper did not dive
2-1 - Ronnie Vint, shot struck the crossbar
3-1 - George Coshall, shot powered to the right side of the net, keeper dived the other way
3-2 - Adam Gross, ditto above
4-2 - Sydeny Cline-Decker, struck low to the left side of the goal, keeper dived the other way
4-3 - Jimmy Rogers, struck low down the middle with the keeper diving out of the way
4-3 - Danny Twin, saved low to the keeper's right
4-3 - Harry Fenner, ditto above.

And so it was the underdogs who triumphed, as Cray Valley were left to rue not putting this game to bed when they were on top for long periods of this match. But full credit to Meridian, who kept battling away and refused to buckle under pressure, and they now progress to a home tie against fellow Kent Invicta League side, and reigning champions, Hollands and Blair in the next round.

Charlton Athletic 0 v 1 Ipswich Town

Saturday 29th November 2014
Football League Championship
The Valley, Charlton
Admission: Season Ticket
Programme: £3.00
Attendance: 16,613 (2,520 away fans)
Match Rating: 3

With this game brought forward to a 12.15 kick off for live television coverage, this was a bitter-sweet prospect. On the plus side, it opened up the possibility of watching a second game after this one, but on the other hand, Charlton have a truly dreadful record over the year when playing in front of the cameras. Indeed, they lost their unbeaten record in the league this season in their 14th game with a very disappointing 0-3 defeat at Fulham, who at the time were in the bottom three, in front of the cameras.

After last week's goalless stalemate at home to arch-rivals Millwall, Charlton came into this game in ninth place, still just two points adrift of the play-off positions, This would be another tough game for the Addicks though, with Ipswich flying high under the shrewd management of Mick McCarthy. They were in fourth place, and were in good form, winning three and drawing the most recent of their last four games, and beaten just once in their last fourteen games. Recent history in the fixture did not give much encouragement for Charlton, who had not kept a clean sheet in their last nine games against Ipswich, and had not won in the last three. Charlton team news was pretty much as expected, with Nick Pope keeping his place in goal, against the club that released him as a youngster, Yoni Buyens had to sit the game out, whilst Igor Vetokele was fit enough to start.

On a sunny early afternoon, and with Charlton kicking towards the away end in the first half - the first time in my visits to The Valley this season, this match was certainly played at a high tempo right from the start, with Danny Murphy placing a header just wide for the visitors in the opening minute, whilst shortly afterwards, Johann Gudmundsson hit a shot from just outside the area that went over the bar. The rest of the half saw Charlton always the stronger and carving out some good chances which drew some good saves from the visiting keeper, whilst Ipswich appeared happy to play a containing game, whilst still looking threatening on their occasional attacks.

The second half continued in much the same vein, but the longer it went on, the more it appeared destined that Charlton would have to settle for their second goalless draw at home within a week. They continued to create, and waste chances, and it looked like they would be made to pay for that in the last minute of normal time, when substitute Connor Sammon ran through on goal, before Andre Bikey got in a fabulously well-timed tackle in the box to deny the opportunity for a shot on goal. At the time, it seemed a crucial tackle to preserve the point for Charlton, which was the very least they deserved, but in the fifth minute of added on time at the end of the game, they were to be denied that point. Morgan Fox cleared the ball from the area, but only fell as far as David McGoldrick, whose pass was deflected into the path of Noel Hunt, who had only entered the game in the 83rd minute and had only arrived at the club on loan on Thursday, fired a low diagonal shot into the far corner. The away fans were sent into ecstasy, whilst the home fans were left to rue their side failing to convert any of their numerous chances in finally surrendering their unbeaten home record in their tenth home game of the season. Surprisingly, the biggest culprit was Igor Vetokele, who just didn't seem himself today, hopefully due to him not being completely fit rather than a dip in form after such an electric start to his Charlton career. Francis Coquelin had another great game, with his vision and range of passing a class above his peers.

Video highlights of this game can be found here

Charlton Athletic 0 v 0 Millwall

Saturday 22nd November 2014
Football League Championship
The Valley, Charlton
Admission: Season Ticket
Programme: £3.00
Attendance: 19,189 (3,215 away fans)
Match Rating: 3

At the conclusion of my earlier game at Brentford's training ground, I headed from west to east across London, via the Piccadilly and Bakerloo tube lines, and finally the train from London Bridge to Charlton, for the big south-east London derby.

Although matches against your local and biggest rivals are always the games a fan looks out for first in the fixture list, games against Millwall have also become something to fear somewhat in terms of local bragging rights. It's fair to say that Charlton do not have a great history in this fixture. The head-to-head record in this fixture reads 11 wins for Charlton, 33 wins for Millwall, and 24 draws, Charlton's last victory in the fixture was way back in 1996 - although 13 of those years did not feature a match between the two clubs. Millwall have won on their last two visits to The Valley, and Charlton haven't even managed to score a goal in the last five meetings. A little bit hope for Addicks fans could be found in the current season, with Charlton still up in eighth place, still unbeaten at home, and are just a point above the play-offs, with a solid point taken from a 2-2 draw at Leeds United, and an excellent 0-1 away win at Reading, since Charlton's last home game. After quite an impressive start to their season, Millwall have fallen away badly, going into this game in 18th place, winning four and drawing six of their 17 games, and have won just one of their eight away games so far. Team news for Charlton brought some relief in that star striker Igor Vetokele started, although that was tempered with youngster Nick Pope announced in goal, who had put in some reasonable displays in his three games earlier in the season, although he often looked nervous, let a shot go through his legs against Derby in the league - which did prove costly - and was penalised for holding the ball too long against Derby in the League Cup, and that time is was costly, as Derby scored the winning goal from the resultant indirect free kick.

As is often the case with derby games, this turned out to be a full-blooded affair, which always seemed to be waiting for the first goal to go in before really catching fire. Charlton had the better of the opening half hour, without really convincing that they were going to score, but they were dealt a blow when midfielder Yoni Buyens had to be replaced due to a hamstring injury. In a half of few clear goalscoring chances, Charlton could be happy with their superiority, whilst Millwall would be happy to go in on level terms.

The second half continued in a similar vein, perhaps with Charlton looking slightly more threatening, but as has so often happened at The Valley this season, the clearest goalscoring chances came as the game reached its conclusion. On 65 minutes, Charlton's Jordan Cousins saw his shot cleared off the line, whilst on 81 minutes, Millwall's Jermaine Easter saw his low cross shot well palmed away by Pope. Indeed, Millwall threatened to steal the points in the closing minutes, looking more threatening than they had all game, but it was Charlton who really should have claimed all three points. In the fifth and final minute of added on time, George Tucudean, who became a father earlier in the day, ran through on goal after Vetokele set him clear, chipped the ball over the onrushing keeper David Forde, but with not enough power and a covering defender just managed to scramble the ball clear before Tucudean could get a decisive touch. And so Charlton's long wait for the south-east London bragging rights continues, and a goalless draw was probably the right result. In truth, this game was something of a disappointment, never catching fire, probably because the first goal never came, and perhaps also as a result, the atmosphere amongst the crowd was rather subdued. Positives for Charlton to take from this game was an assured performance by the young keeper Nick Pope, who is showing the makings of being a very good keeper as he gains more experience, and Francis Coquelin, on-loan from Arsenal, who was outstanding in midfield, always looking creative whilst being prepared to get stuck in.

Video highlights of this game can be found here

Brentford U18 2 v 1 Ipswich Town U18

Saturday 22nd November 2014
Professional U18 Development League 2
Jersey Road Training Ground, Osterley
Admission: Free
Programme: None
Attendance: 36 (head count)
Match Rating: 3

With arguably Charlton's biggest home league match of the season to come in the afternoon, I decided to double up today with a morning youth team game, having been encouraged by a message on Brentford's website that spectators were welcome to attend - not always the case for youth team matches of professional clubs.

The Jersey Road training complex is about a five minute walk from Osterley tube station, which is on the Piccadilly line and about a half hour's ride westwards from central London in the direction of Heathrow Airport. It is a fairly typical training ground complex, with a dozen immaculately maintained pitches in close proximity of each other, with a clubhouse just inside the entrance. There is little to be savoured here, although in fairness it was one of those days, overcast with frequent spells of drizzle, that would make places seem more unattractive than they otherwise might. This game took place on pitch 7, at the far side of the complex from the entrance, with an Under 16 game on the adjacent pitch 6, with the goals backing onto each other. One length of the pitch was roped off, and was the only area that spectators were permitted to watch from. No team sheets were prepared for this game.

Brentford came into this game top of the table, with six wins and three draws from their twelve games played, whilst Ipswich were in fifth place, having won five and drawn one of their eleven games.

The first half of this match was dominated by Brentford, and they deservedly took the lead on 35 minutes. Ellis Bellamy, son of Craig Bellamy, received the ball on the right edge of the penalty area, and pulled the goal back from the byline, and Bradley Clayton kept his cool to drive the ball low into the net. The goal sparked the game into life, as Ipswich started to look a little more threatening, forcing an excellent flying save from the Brentford keeper, although Brentford also created some good chances to extend their lead, most notably when Bellamy showed some excellent skill to jink his way through the defence into the area, only to blaze his eventual shot over the bar.

Brentford continued where they left off after the interval, continuing to dominate, although a triple substitution on 55 minutes by the visitors gave them fresh impetus. It looked a matter of time before Ipswich would equalise, which they did on 77 minutes. Sub Ronaldo Jones sent in a perfectly flighted cross from the right wing, and fellow sub Connor McLaughlin headed home at the far post from about 8 yards. The game could have gone either way in the remaining quarter of an hour, but just as it looked like the game would finish all square, Brentford keeper Nik Tzanev launched a free kick down the middle, and as the Ipswich defence hesitated and let the ball bounce, Seita Jatta stole possession, knocked the ball around the oncoming keeper, before slotting the ball into the empty net on the slide. There was little doubt Brentford deserved the lead, with the strikers looking strong and powerful throughout, and they certainly look a good bet to make the end of season play-offs.

Maldon and Tiptree 4 v 2 Waltham Abbey

Saturday 15th November 2014
Isthmian League Division One North
Park Drive, Maldon
Admission: £8.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 54
Match Rating: 4

With my car being being serviced the morning, I decided today would be a good day to drive somewhere, to a destination that is not easily reached by public transport. And so I headed through the Dartford Tunnel towards a very pleasant part of eastern Essex, for my second footballing visit to the county in less than a week.

Park Drive is over six miles from the nearest rail station at Hatfield Peveral, and on a pleasant day, it is well worth arriving in town some time ahead of kick off, to explore the historic town centre and the Promenade Park a couple of minutes walk from the ground, where one can enjoy walks along a river estuary and with pleasant views to the town and Hythe Quay, with its many and varied boats moored up. On entering the ground in one corner, I was impressed by a very friendly welcome from the gateman, young programme sellers, and this friendly feeling remained throughout my stay. Along the length is a large brick building containing the changing rooms, club house and various function rooms, set some way back from the pitch, with a patio area with tables and benches spread around, giving a spacious and relaxed feel to the area. From the changing rooms, there is a covered walkway towards the pitch for the players, which connects to another brick installation containing toilets, and small covered standing areas either side of the dugouts. Straddling the halfway line on the other side is an all-seater stand, with its sign still welcoming visitors to Maldon Town FC, four years after the club reformed as Maldon and Tiptree. A large grass bank along this length makes a nice backdrop. Behind one of the goals is a further all-seater stand, whilst just hard standing is available behind the other goal - although this area was flooded today. Trees behind this goal gives another pleasant backdrop to the ground. All in all, its a neat and welcoming venue. The programme was a very pleasant surprise, priced at just £1, and was of very good quality. 32 pages in all colour, an acceptable amount of advertising, and with all of the stats, facts and comment that one could reasonably hope for at this level.

Maldon and Tiptree have had quite a difficult start to their season, coming into this game third from bottom in the table, having lost 12 of their 19 games, winning four of them, and they went through a run of losing ten straight league and cup games in September/October. In the middle of that run, they appointed former Wimbledon player Alan Kimble as boss, which has brought about a slight upturn in fortunes, winning one and drawing one against teams in the top half, although they lost 1-3 at Dereham in their last game. Waltham Abbey were in eleventh place, winning eight and drawing five of their 19 league games, and came into this game in good form, beaten only once in their last six league games.

After recent prolonged heavy rain, the pitch here was in remarkably good condition, looking firm and did not cut up as the game progressed. On a dull, dank afternoon with intermittent rain during the first half, this was a very entertaining game, which the home side surprisingly dominated throughout - even if the scoreline did not always reflect this. With just two minutes on the clock, the home side should have taken the lead, when Nathan Korangteng saw his shot from an angle parried and Cliff Akurang saw his shot somehow parried wide although the keeper really should not have been given the chance. It was against the run of play when the visitors took the lead, Harry Elmes cutting in from the left wing and pulled the ball back from the byline, allowing Jason Hallett an easy tap home from a central position. Their lead was to last barely a minute though. Korangteng dribbled around the edge of the area but then suddenly fired in a fabulous shot into the top corner, giving the keeper no chance. They went into the lead on 25 minutes, when Tunde Andewumni gained possession of the ball after a mix up between visiting defenders, and he strode forward before placing a lovely low curling shot just inside the far post. It was a deserved lead, but Waltham Abbey levelled the scores four minutes before half time. Elmes crossed the ball from the right and Jon Docker hit a shot on the turn at the edge of the area that, although was not cleanly struck, still found its way inside the near post.

So after an entertaining first half which saw Maldon and Tiptree surprisingly dominant, but one would imagine that Waltham Abbey would improve in the second half. That certainly did not happen though, as the home side deservedly went back into the lead on 55 minutes. Adewunmi got on the end of the low long ball forward, and after trying to dribble around the keeper, who had come out of his area to meet the ball, Adewunmi passed the ball to Cliff Akurang, who lobbed the ball into the net via the underside of the bar. Maldon and Tiptree sealed the three points on 70 minutes when Koranteng chased a long ball towards the corner flag, just beating the keeper who yet again was too easily tempted away from his goal, before passing into the centre and Adewunmi just managed to beat a defender to apply the finishing touch into the unguarded net. That pretty much killed the game, as Maldon and Tiptree looked comfortable holding onto their lead and Waltham Abbey never looking likely to threaten to pull a goal back. This was a very entertaining game of football though, and it was a shame that so few people were there to witness it.  On the evidence of today, with their pace and guile up front, it would appear that Maldon and Tiptree are in something of a false position in the table, and should climb the table in the coming weeks, whilst presumably this was just something of a bad day at the office for Waltham Abbey.

Little Common 2 v 0 Bexhill United

Tuesday 11th November 2014

Sussex Senior Cup Second Round

Recreation Ground, Little Common

Admission including programme: £4.00

Attendance: 143

Match Rating: 2

For this week's midweek action, I decided on another visit to Little Common, for a tasty looking fixture in the Sussex Senior Cup, a crosstown derby, with the possible reward of a tie against the likes of the Brighton and Hove Albion Development Squad, Crawley Town, Eastbourne Borough and other in the next round.

Both teams have had reasonable campaigns so far in the Sussex County League Division Two, with Little Common in sixth place, with 20 points from 13 games, and Bexhill United five points and two places better off, having played the same number of games. Bexhill came into this game off the back of three straight league wins, all at home, and unbeaten in their last five league games. Little Common have had a strange season, winning six of their seven games in September, before losing five of their six games in October. In their last game on Saturday, they impressively dispatched second placed Wick and Barnham United 4-0 at home. This evening's team have not yet met in the league this season, but in the League Cup tie in August, Little Common was 4-3 at home. To reach this stage of the competition, Little Common emphatically won 0-7 at fellow Sussex League Division Two outfit Seaford, whilst Bexhill caused a minor shock in beating Division One outfit Hassocks 2-1 at home.

After heavy rain had fallen in recent days, the pitch appeared in surprisingly good condition at kick-off, with the game never in doubt, although the pitch unsurprisingly was very heavy and slippery, and was cutting up badly as the game progressed. Frequent rain showers and a very strong gusty wind made conditions rather difficult for spectators too, and perhaps all of these factors led to a disappointingly low-key match that never really caught fire as local derbies usually do. Few chances were created, although Bexhill probably had the better of the opening half hour, and were awarded a penalty on 32 minutes when Paul Feakins brought down Kevin Barden. Scott McDonald fired the penalty high over the left hand side of the goal to keep the scores level, and they were made to pay for that miss on 41 minutes. A low diagonal ball into the left corner of the six yard box by Feakins found Lewis Hole, who showed good footwork in getting to a more central position before firing the ball home.

The second half was similar to the first, another even affair, if anything even duller, as Bexhill looked less threatening seemingly rather deflated by the penalty miss, falling behind and the tricky playing conditions. On 81 minutes, Martin Denny almost doubled the home side's advantage with his vicious shot from 25 yards crashed against the underside of the bar, but they did make the game safe three minutes from time. Nothing unusual that it was player-manager Russell Eldridge who scored with a free-kick, however this one was rather strange. He took a free kick close to the right wing, and the goalkeeper and defence completely misjudged the flight of the ball, diverted by a strong gust of wind, and the ball gently took a bounce before went into the unguarded net. Little Common comfortably saw out the remaining minutes, and they claimed the local bragging rights for the second time this season, and will hope for that big tie in the next round - although Brighton and Hove Albion were removed from the equation, after they were dumped out of the competition at Lewes the following evening. 

Braintree Town 0 v 6 Chesterfield

Sunday 9th November 2014

FA Cup 1st Round

Cressing Road, Braintree

Admission: £15.00

Programme: £3.00

Attendance: 1,206
Match Rating: 4

With this game being moved to the Sunday for television coverage, I had the opportunity to make the long journey up to northern Essex to take in some FA Cup 1^st Round Action, for a tie that had all the makings for a major giantkilling.

Cressing Road is about a 15 minute walk from either Braintree or Braintree Freeport railway stations – the latter providing the opportunity to walk around the Designer Outlet village en route. The ground is rather unremarkable in truth, not having a great deal whilst its facilities are far inferior to what is often found elsewhere in the Conference National. However, it is also worth pointing out that it is a great achievement for a club like Braintree to find itself in such an elevated position in the football pyramid. One enters the ground behind one of the goals, where there are a collection of buildings of varying sizes and shapes housing the clubhouse, clubshop and tea bars. There is also an uncovered terrace behind the goal, with a separate smaller terrace stretching towards the corner flag. Behind the opposite goal, where visiting fans were housed today, is another uncovered terrace. Straddling the half way line on one side is an all-seater stand, with uncovered terraces either side, whilst on the opposite side, a terrace stretches along the length, with the middle section covered by a stand with a fairly low roof – which was ideal today with the low sun shining into the eyes of people along this length. Credit to the club for keeping ticket prices in the lowest band of £15 for standing for this high-profile match, £1 more for a seat, thanks to the local district council sponsoring the game. The 36 page programme was reasonable, a colourful and glossy effort which was quite informative and contained some interesting FA Cup history stats and articles.

Two divisions separated the two clubs, with Braintree Town in 15th place in the Conference National against Chesterfield, reigning League Two champions and currently in eleventh place in League One. Both clubs came into this game not in the best of form, with Chesterfield having picked up just two points from their last six league games, whilst Braintree were winless in their previous nine league games, and had failed to score in eight of their last eleven league and cup games. They did buck this trend to reach this round of the FA Cup, winning 5-3 in a replay against Southern League outfit Weymouth after a goalless draw in Dorset.

Following recent prolonged heavy rain, including overnight, the pitch was heavy and slippery, but otherwise in surprisingly good condition.  On a bright and sunny afternoon, following an immaculately observed period of silence and rendition of the Last Post on Remembrance Sunday ahead of kick-off, if Braintree were to have a hope of causing a shock, they would need to start on the front foot, and that they did, taking the initiative in the opening minutes, having the first shot on goal on 5 minutes and forcing a good save from the visiting keeper. Unfortunately, that was as good as it got for the home side, as Chesterfield soon stamped their authority on the game, playing good incisive, passing football, and they eventually took the lead on 20 minutes. Sam Clucas ran onto a ball from the right wing, and his shot from a tight angle took a deflection into the path of Eoin Doyle, who guided the ball into the net from a couple of yards. Chesterfield doubled their lead on the half hour. Jay O'Shea took a pass towards the edge of the box with his back to goal, before spinning round and curling a lovely shot into the top corner. The visitors were completely dominant now, and they pretty much put the game to bed in the third minute of added on time. Some slick passing into the penalty area ended with Tendayi Darikwa sending in a cross which took a deflection off the keeper into the path of Clucas, who tapped the ball home from close range.

Braintree came out in the second half with renewed impetus, and looked like they might be able to get a goal back with a couple of sights of goal, but Chesterfield soon extinguished that impetus with their fourth goal on 53 minutes. Tandiya Darikwa ran at the Braintree defence, and his cross took a sizeable deflection and looped up and to the feet of Gary Roberts, who let the ball bounce before thumping a half volley into the net. After having a goal ruled out for offside, Chesterfield added a fifth on 74 minutes. Roberts sent in a powerful low cross from the left, and defender Remy Clerima deflected the ball into his own net. Braintree then managed to create their best chances of the game, forcing an excellent save from the keeper and having a shot headed off the line, but it was Chesterfield who scored the final goal of the game and their sixth. Dan Gardiner played a perfect ball low forward into the path of Doyle, who took the ball forward before slotting the ball low just inside the post from just outside the area.

So, a convincing scoreline and one that fairly reflected proceedings. This was a much more entertaining game than the one-sided scoreline might suggest, and full credit to Chesterfield for that, as they kept up their intensity throughout and delivered a very professional performance. Braintree will surely be disappointed with a poor performance on their big day, with particularly their defence too often slow to react and soft in the challenge, although at least they did not completely throw in the towel in the second half and battle gamely to try and at least get a consolation goal - they were just completely outclassed.

Video highlights of this game can be found here or here