Grays Athletic 0, Tilbury 0

IN truth East Monday's (21 April) 'El Chavico' derby ended up being a disappointing affair on a number of levels. For Tilbury it saw the end of faint hopes of making the Isthmian North play-offs – though fifth-placed Brightlingsea got a point at Gorleston that made those hopes mathematically academic. For Grays it was the end of a nine-match run of consecutive wins – and the hope of climbing above Dockers in the final standings.

And for the crowd of 801 it was a match of few highlights and a lack of control from either side, with only the occasional robust challenge reflecting the derby ethos.

Tilbury were accompanied on to the picth by their mascots, Tilbury u8's Raiderettes.

Grays had the first chance of the game when a Sam Bantick corner was headed back across the box by Michael Finneran but Alejandro Machado's lob shot was comfortably saved by Thomas Middlehurst in the Tilbury goal.

Blues were then forced into an early change when Tyler Brampton went down without challenge and had to be stretchered off. =

Although Dockers were having the lion's share of possession, Blues seemed to be creating the better chances. A Louie Remi long throw was met by Alex Moss and only tipped out by Middlehurst; then Finneran got his head to the resulting corner but put the chance wide.

For Tilbury, Dan Trendell shot wide and Alex Fernandez brought a comfortable save out of Danny Sambridge, playing his last home game between the sticks in a Blue shirt.

But that aside, the Grays defence kept up their recent impressive record of shutting out the opposition. As you would expect for a local derby, there were plenty of tight match-ups across the pitch. Sid Walker crossed swords several times with Kieran Jones, while Elliott Sartorius was regularly faced with Oli Spooner and Jordan Clark in midfield.

Around the half hour mark, Grays had two excellent chances to break the deadlock. Firstly Harry Hope sent a fine ball through the Dockers box but it evaded everyone and then soon after a Remi long range shot went through Middlehurst's hands onto the bar and then rebounded back into the keeper's grateful hands.

Tilbury started the second half very much on the front foot, knowing that only a win would maintain their outside chance of a play-off place. Fernandez, for once managed to escape from the Blues backline but Sambridge was alert to clear the danger.

Then, another serious incident, this time with Dockers full-back Alfie Fry coming off worse and going down with what looked like a nasty concussion. He was taken off to hospital for a check-up.

Grays were starting to play their way more into the game. Hope should have done better with a close-range effort that went over the bar and then Machado took aim with a free kick from outside the box that, again, Middlehurst was forced to help over the bar.

The game then got bogged down into a long midfield battle, with neither side able to impose themselves on proceedings. Tilbury brought Darren Phillips off the bench and he started to win more possession for the Dockers but they were still unable to fashion a clear opening.

The final chance though fell to Blues. Nice passing between Bantick and Machado set Sartorius clear inside the visitors' box but Middlehurst stood tall and denied Grays the win.

At the end of the day, a draw was probably a fair result, with neither side doing enough to win the game.

Next Saturday (26 April) sees the final matches of the season with Tilbury playing host to Maldon & Tiptree, while Grays go to relegated Sporting Bengal United.