Grays Athletic 1, Coggeshall Town 0

SOME games live long in the memory of those who were there. Saturday's Isthmian North clash will not be one of those. The real winner on the day was the weather which blew a howling gale all afternoon, which coupled with a second-half downpour made creative football very difficult. Both sides must be credited with sticking to the task in the conditions.

Despite their lowly league position, Coggeshall's performances on the pitch had been much better of late and Blues knew that they would face a real challenge from a side they had never beaten in seven previous encounters.

Blues had the better of the opening exchanges. Sam Bantick fired over in the fourth minute and Courtney Homans should have done better with a header just a couple of minutes later, from a lovely Aron Gordon cross. Coggeshall seemed to be relying on the pace of ex-Blue Josh Osude going forward but he needed more support up front to have any real effect on the resolute Grays defence.

Grays fans didn't have to wait long for the breakthrough. After a quarter of an hour, Bantick beat the offside trap, finding himself clear of the defence. He took the ball round the visitors' keeper, Thomas Middle Hurst, and slotted the ball into the empty net for his 13th league goal of the season and a 1-0 lead on the afternoon.

The weather was making it hard to control the football, with a wide array of overhit passes and crosses not finding their intended destination.

Rob Clark fired a shot over the bar and shortly before the break, Mitch Hahn was brought down on the edge of the box, when charging forward. Sam Bantick took the resulting free kick, which was deflected wide of the post.

The second half had little to commend it, apart from Grays maintaining their shape and discipline, determined to hold onto their lead.

Blues thought they should have had a penalty early in the half, when Osude went into Aron Gordon with a clumsy challenge, but referee Mr Keane was uninterested.

For the visitors, Ben Search called Blues keeper Danny Sambridge into action soon after, but the save low down was a comfortable one. The Grays custodian remained untroubled for the rest of the afternoon.

Grays had the majority of the possession but were unable to create a clear opportunity to settle the game. Bantick, Gordon and Hahn all had further attempts on goal but nothing to excite the fans, all mostly by now huddled under the stands to escape the elements.

In the dying minutes, Osude broke clear on the left wing and was only stopped by a scything challenge from Lewis Clark. After a long lecture, Mr Keane produced the red card. But the ten men of Grays only had the final seconds to hold on.

So, Grays' fifth win in their last six games lifted them to the fringes of the play-offs. The team are playing as a tight unit and can look forward to the coming run of fixtures with confidence.