Brantham Athletic 1 v 3 Grays Athletic

GRAYS made their latest journey up the A12 on Saturday, 31 January hoping to avoid a banana skin against bottom-of-the-table Brantham Athletic, having already beaten them twice this season, in league and FA Trophy fixtures.

Despite the recent rain, the pitch was heavy but perfectly playable, with both sides keen to look for the three points.

Blues came out of the traps quickly looking to impose themselves and in the opening minute Manny Ogunrinde had the first shot of the afternoon, deflected out for a corner; before Elliott Sartorius turned Tom Lawson inside out but his cross was cleared.

Then came a moment of controversy when home keeper Roan Tucker's clearance from hand struck the retreating Charlie Stimson and rebounded into the net. Referee, Mr Stratton decided the Grays man's actions amounted to ungentlemanly conduct and awarded a free kick - but perhaps Brantham got away with one.

But it didn't take long for Grays to open the scoring. A Casey Nolan-Samuels long throw was helped on at the near post by Alex Moss which found Manny Ogunrinde inside the six yard box to head the ball home.

Grays continued to pressure the home defence looking to finish the game early. But keeper Roan Tucker had other ideas. His first save of the afternoon came following a Joe Paxman free-kick that Sid Walker headed goalwards, only for Tucker to palm the ball round the post for a corner. And when Tucker wasn't on hand, Brantham packed the defence and somehow cleared a Charlie Stimson effort off the line. Then from another Nolan-Samuels launch into the box Alex Moss saw Tucker claw away another goalbound chance.

Then on the half hour mark, Brantham made a rare foray up the other end, constructing a positive passing move that fell to Joshua Goodwin who finished smartly past George Marsh, who had hardly touched the ball all half, to level the scores at 1-1.

And Tucker's heroics weren't finished for the half. Nolan-Samuels worked his way neatly into the box and worked himself a yard of space. Everyone waited for the net to ripple, but the keeper stuck out a hand to somehow keep the ball out.

The home side came out for the second half recognising that they had the chance to take something from the game. And sub Lucas Wells found himself clear but was denied by a fine challenge from Alex Moss inside the penalty area. At the other end, Guy Norton made great strides out wide left and his cross went right across the box but there was no-one on hand to apply the finish it deserved.

There then followed a major outbreak of "handbags". Sid Walker found himself on the ground with the ball wedged under him and boots flying in at different angles. Things got rather heated as everyone got back to their feet and there was plenty of pushing and shoving - all rather unsightly. When things had calmed Mr Stratton decided that three yellow cards would suffice, two to Brantham and one for Grays.

For a while the game was a bit on edge (the home side ending up with six bookings) and with players tiring, things were getting stretched from end-to-end. Grays just needed to keep their cool and remember that they had the players to win the game. Then midway through the half, a long ball found Manny Ogunrinde in behind the defence and he was brought down from behind by Ben Young, inside the box. Skipper Jordan Clark stepped up for perhaps the most important moment of the season for Grays and calmly buried the penalty to Tucker's left. 2-1 to the Blues.

There was though still angst on the faces of the travelling supporters as Sid Walker gave away a free kick 25 yards out but Goodwin put the dead ball just wide of the post.

With time almost up, home keeper Tucker was still up to the challenge and produced a fine double save, keeping out shots from Norton and Stimson. But it was left to Blues youngest player, Ned Hepburn to apply the final coup de grace. He picked up the ball on the left, made ground, cut into the penalty area and fired a shot across Tucker to make the game safe at 3-1.

At the final whistle, the entire Blues contingent let out a huge sigh of relief, taking a much-needed three points back to Essex. This Brantham side is much more competitive than the one we played before Christmas. There are some good people at the club and we wish them well for whatever the future holds, even if this season their plight looks a forlorn one.

Grays Ath : Marsh, Moss, Norton, Walker, Nolan-Samuels, Clark, Gordon (62, Hepburn), Paxman, Sartorius (87, Wade), Ogunrinde (75, Ogunrinde), Stimson. Sub not used : Hamilton

Weather permitting, Blues go again on Tuesday evening with a re-arranged trip to Witham and the chance to put more points on the board.