Aveley 1, Borham Wood 0

AVELEY moved off the bottom of the Vanarama National League South table thanks to Saturday's (9 November) hard fought win at Parkside.

The Millers weathered early pressure as The Wood started strongly, but a determined defence with players putting their bodies determinedly on the line kept out the visitors.

And when they were beaten, keeper Carey Bloedorn was up to the task saving a header from Kwesi Appiah making a crucial stop to deny Tyrone Marsh's strike.

Aveley responded with a threat of their own in the 19th minute, as Imran Uche fired from the edge of the box but sent it flying over the bar.

Both sides had half chances but went in goalless at the break.

Aveley found the breakthrough in the 52nd minute, with David Kawa showing strength and awareness to score past Nathan Ashmore.

The Wood sought an equaliser and produced lots of effort but Millers, determined to avoid the late disappointment of Tuesday's defeat at Worthing, were in determined mode, with Bloedorn stepping up to the mark when needed.

And Aveley might have extended their lead but Ashmore pulled off two excellent saves to deny both Josh Anifowose and Kawa from extending Aveley's lead.

The Wood fought until the final whistle, with a late scramble in the box in stoppage time almost delivering the equalizer. Lee Ndlovu's shot in the fourth minute of added time just missed, and Kwesi's last-ditch effort in the 96^th was cleared off the line by an Aveley defender and the game was done!

Afterwards Aveley manager Danny Scopes looked back on the win, saying: "We always felt we could score and compete, it was about keeping it tight at the back.

"You have to do your job and work a shift against Borham Wood, they are a good group of players and there won't be that many teams who keep them out.

"It was a real big disappointment at Worthing, we were a bit deflated. I demanded a lot this week and I asked people as a group to do things better and we got our reward.

"It's only one game and three points, but it feels like a lot more. But it is only a start.

"This was great reaction and I think we are showing that we, as a football club, are fighters. Now we have got to keep working hard and I am confident if we stick together we can move in the right direction but we still have a lot of work to do."