Aveley 3, Ware 1

AFTER two weeks of disappointment and turbulence, there was something to celebrate for Millers fans at Parkside on Friday (25 September) night as Aveley progressed in the FA Trophy with a third qualifying round win.

Successive league defeats had been followed by the departure of manager Brett Munyard – who saw his new club Brentwood dump Millers out of the FA Cup last weekend – and then the appointment of club legend Alex Akrofi to the managerial hot seat.

And he wasted little time in lifting spirits as his new charges, including several pre-match signings, disposed of the challenge from Southern League Central Division Ware.

There was a new look to the Aveley line-up with young goalkeeper Jack Glassborow, Bilal Hibbert and Emmanuel Harvest making their debuts in the starting line-up and Said Mohammed-Marchie on the bench.

There must have been a few fears about a potential giant-killing from the visitors, but Aveley made a storming start and pushed Ware onto the defensive from the off.

There was no doubting Millers' attacking intent as a number of chances saw Toby Aromolaran, Anthony Jeffrey and Gio Palmer all threaten the opener.

It finally came on 39 minutes when Malachi Napa fired home into the roof of the net.

Eddie Dsane then clipped the crossbar and Aromolaran, but the lone goal was all the hosts took into the break.

The second half started as the first had finished with Jeffrey's barely an inch wide of the post but the next goal was to come, out of the blue, for Ware.

Millers were down to ten men while an injury was being treated and with their first genuine shot of the match, the visitors drew level on 52 minutes through Rechan Esprit.

Moments later Mohammed-Marchie came off the bench for his debut, replacing Jeffrey and he almost made an immediate impact when his second touch of the night saw an effort strike the upright.

Matt Johnson then missed a close range effort when his header missed the target but the lead was restored on 65 minutes when debutant Harvest, signed from Brentwood, smashed the ball into the top corner from 20 yards out!

In the closing stages Millers continued to press and Mohammed-Marchie was only denied by an outstanding save from Fred Burbidge, while Napa curled an effort over the crossbar.

A third goal finally came to settle nerves, three minutes into added time, when Aromolaran shot home with a curling, angled shot into the right-hand corner of the net after combining well with Napa.

Aveley: Jack Glassborow, Harry Critchley, Giovanni Palmer, Anthony Jeffrey, Emmanuel Harvest, Eddie Dsane, Malachi Napa, Bilal Hibbert, Matty Johnson, Ellis Bates, Toby Aromolaran. Subs: George Miller, Max Booth, Luke Kelly, Said Mohammed-Mariche and Timothy Okello.

Manager Alex Akrofi's post-match verdict:-