Isthmian League North Division
Parkside. Aveley
Admission: £10.00
Programme: £2.00
Attendance: 107
As Charlton were at home today, taking in this game was a real bonus, and one that I had only discovered late on Friday evening. With the pitch at Basildon's home ground Gardiners Close currently unplayable, with the last home fixture played there on 11th January, the club switched this fixture to Parkside, the impressive home ground of Aveley FC with its 3G pitch. But with ground tenants Grays Athletic playing their home fixture here at 3, and the other tenant of Parkside, May & Baker, playing their fixture last night, this game had a 11.30 kick off, which allowed plenty of time for me to make my way along the A13 after the game to arrive in plenty of time for my 3pm kick off at The Valley.
Parkside is located about 3 miles north of the Dartford Crossing, with the drive passing by the now sadly unused Ship Lane ground, former home of Thurrock FC, and through the village of Aveley, with the ground located next to the Aveley bypass. Plenty of parking is available within the complex, withe outer facing side of the complex building in an attractive silver and navy blue colour scheme, with AVELEY FC spelt out along the front. Small metallic identikit turnstile blocks are located either side of the building, with only one open for this game. Inside, it's a really impressive facility, sensibly sized, looks smart, stylish and colour co-ordinated, and has a nice symmetry about it. The standout feature is the main stand, with four rows of seating, plenty of standing space along the back, and inside the clubhouse, which has full length windows along the front, is spacious inside. A tea bar window is located in the exterior wall to the side. Straddling the half way line of the opposite side is a metallic stand with four rows of seating, with a decent incline and legroom. Behind both ends, there are further small metallic stands, but covering steps to stand on, either side of the goal. The 36 page programme had a good mix of interesting reading material and an abundance of club and league stats and facts.
Geographically, this was more of a home fixture for the visitors than the hosts, with Tilbury about a 15 minute drive away compared with 25 minutes from Basildon. And this game would be a tough assignment for Basildon United, who are battling to stay above the one relegation Play-Off berth, against a club pushing hard for promotion. Basildon were in 18th place in the 20 club division, following six wins and five draws from their 24 league games. They were just 2 points above bottom placed Romford, although both clubs have games in hand on all other clubs in the bottom half. Tilbury were in second place, following 15 wins and five draws from their 26 league games, and look a good bet for a Play-Off spot, but the one automatic promotion spots is probably beyond them, as they're were eleven points adrift of Maldon & Tiptree, and have played two games more.
On a bright morning, this was a really entertaining game to watch, particularly the first half. Tilbury has the better of the opening exchanges, and saw a low shot by Ola Ogunwamide deflected just wide with the keeper flat-footed on four minutes. But with their first attack on goal, Basildon took the lead on 7 minutes, Khadean Campbell playing a one-two with Cox, before slotting the ball in via the inside of the post. On 14 minutes, Tilbury were awarded a penalty, when a cross was handled by Basildon captain Ben O'Brien, but Lewis Smith saw his penalty saved low to the keeper's left. Basildon then had three good chances to extend their lead, and they were made to pay for not taking them when Tilbury equalised on 32 minutes thanks to an absolute screamer from Tom Barton, striking the ball on the half-volley Fromm about 30 yards into the top left corner, brushing the keeper's fingers on its way through. And five minutes later, the turnaround was complete, thanks to another superb goal. Brian Moses jinked his way from close to the half way line, through midfield and defence, before striking the ball past the keeper from a tight angle. Basildon had a chance to equalise on the stroke of half time, when it was Campbell's turn to jink his way through the Tilbury defence to open up a one on one with the keeper, but as he tried to take the ball around the keeper, the keeper got a touch to the ball.
The second half was less end to end, but still both teams created some good chances, but the crucial next goal was scored by Tilbury eight minutes from time, when the ball was floated into the area from a deep free kick, and Barton headed the ball into the top right corner. And things got even trickier for Basildon three minutes later, when substitute Joe Staunton was shown a straight red card for a high tackle. And with that, the game was up for Basildon, and the scoreline could have got worse for them in the remaining minutes, but that would have been harsh. Indeed, there were plenty of positives for Basildon to draw from their performance, but we're ultimately defeated by some moments of real quality from their lofty opponents.
This was the first game when the dark clouds of Coronavirus started to approach, as warnings were abound to wash hands at every available opportunity in the news, and the usual pre-match handshakes on the pitch ahead of kick-off were avoided. But little did we realise how quickly the situation would deteriorate in the coming weeks...
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