Takeley 2, Tilbury 3

FOLLOWING Saturday's draw against Witham, Tilbury had a chance to build some momentum with a midweek Isthmian North trip to Takeley tonight (Tuesday, 25 November).

Luke Reeve returned to the starting 11 following his suspension, as Tyler Forbes also started alongside Kieran Jones, and Lester Ward returned from injury to join the substitutes.

Takeley took the lead after just six minutes, when a corner was headed out but only as far as former Tilbury striker, Olly Miles. The ball fell to Miles' feet, and the forward struck a first-time volley into the back of the net.

Soon after, a near identical chance fell the way of the visitors. This time, a long throw-in wasn't dealt with by the Takeley back line, and Joe Elliott had the opportunity to shoot. Unfortunately, the strike flew just wide, rippling the side netting.

Dockers continued to push forward, building down the right wing. Forbes gained possession just outside the penalty area and carried the ball forward, skipping past a challenge and drilling his shot towards the far corner. But the effort was very well saved by the outstretched leg of Jarvis Monk.

And Tilbury would go on to rue these missed chances, as Takeley doubled their lead on the  half hour mark. Joseph Pullen was the goal scorer, finding the bottom left-hand corner with a smart finish after being played in behind the Dockers' defence.

After the break, the away side went searching for a lifeline back into the game. The travelling fans thought they'd found just that as Joe Elliott rose above everyone to cannon his header goalward from a corner. However, Jarvis Monk managed to match the effort, making another incredible save.

Tilbury finally pulled one back after 72 minutes, when Tobias Braney threaded a pass through to Dan Trendall, who burst past the defence and fired past the keeper to kickstart a possible comeback.

And Dockers drew level just four minutes later, following some brilliant football on the righthand side.

Mo Amir and Forbes linked up to advance into the 18-yard box before Forbes' square pass set up Tobias Braney from close range. As time ran away from them, Tilbury kept pushing for a much-needed three points, and their hard work eventually paid off.

Five minutes deep into stoppage time, the ball bounced to Kieran Jones, whose left-footed strike evaded the glove of Jarvis Monk and nestled into the bottom corner to hand Tilbury a first league victory since October 18th.

Dockers are back in action on Saturday, 29 November, when they host Mildenhall Town in a 3pm kick-off.

SQUAD: Wheatley, Elliott, Phillips (Winn), Hayes ©, Konte (Ward), Reeve, Jones, Amir (Fry), Trendall, Braney (Agyiri), Forbes. SUBS UNUSED: Brocklebank.