Aveley 0, Chatham Town 2

TWO late goals, one of them an early contender for goal of the season, saw Aveley beaten at Parkside in Saturday's Isthmian Premier clash

This was the first league meeting between the sides since the 2014/15 season and was closely contested throughout.

The hosts had a couple of chances, the best coming when Tobi Tinubu won back possession and aimed at goal, but his shot took a deflection off Alex Giles and into Henry Molyneux's hands.

Alejandro Machado looked likely to put Aveley ahead after a combination of Rowan Liburd and Suley Zuhdu set up the midfielder, who placed his shot into the bottom corner, only for full-back Aidoo to stretch and block it.

Into the second half and the hosts were forced into two changes due to injury upfront and at the back which seemed to have set Aveley back a bit. This allowed the visitors to have a few half chances all created by numerous long throws into the Millers penalty area.

Machado created a big opportunity for Brissett but his shot deflected and perfectly landed into the grateful hands of Molyneux.

With 15 minutes to go Aveley were the team looking the most likely to break the deadlock and were denied the opportunity to do so. A ball in from George Saunders found Zuhdu who was wrestled to the floor by Chatham's Sid Nelson, prompting a penalty appeal. However, the decision would end up going against the hosts.

With five minutes to go and it appeared to be a smash and grab for the visitors. Former Miller Ben Allen picked the ball up and attempted a shot from the halfway line that found the top corner, a stunning strike deserving to win any game.

As Aveley poured forward they were caught deep in stoppage time on the ball by Sam Folarin, who squared to sub Stanley Oldfield and he tapped into an empty net to seal all three points.

After the match Millers manager Brett Munyard was honest about his side's performance and highlighted the major failing.

He said: "We were very toothless in attack. It was an even game that could have gone either way and if you don't put chances away you can get caught. We did not do enough up front and didn't create chances for the strikers.

"We've got to fix it because I thought that was an area where I thought we were going to be strong."

See his full interview via the link below:-

Millers will have the opportunity to bounce back, with a Bank Holiday derby on Monday (25 August) at Canvey Island (3pm). The Islanders have yet to win a point from their four matches this season and are bottom of the table.