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Chelmsford City 1-1 Billericay Town (after extra time, Billericay Town won 5-3 on penalties), Monday 30th April 2007, Chelmsford Sport & Athletics Centre, Kick-Off 7:30pm, Ryman League Premier Division Promotion Play-Offs Semi Final.
Penalty kicks were all that could seperate City from ten-man Billericay Town after 120 minutes of tense, competitive football, the New Lodge club finally emerging as worthy 5-3 winners in the shootout. A late goal apiece in normal time sent the game into an extra half-hour, with Billericay overcoming the odds to defy Rikki Burbridge's dismissal early in the second half to hold out and watch with glee as Captain Jamie Dormer buried the vital spot-kick, sending them through to the final where they will meet either Bromley or A.F.C. Wimbledon. Despite their man advantage, Chelmsford had to wait until the 82nd minute for Jamie England to tap them in front, though a final forray by Town three minutes into injury time yielded a close-range goal from Chris Whelpdale which proved the turning point in the match. At full-strength except for the long-term absence of Mario Noto in midfield, City entered the match as the higher-ranked side of the two in the table, but only by goal difference. The meetings between the two sides had seen Town take a slight advantage but the tense knockout atmosphere made it impossible to predict the winners prior to kick-off. In the early exchanges, Billericay's Lee Hodges dragged a left-footer wide across the face of goal via a deflection while City's first threat occurred as a corner kick was recovered beyond the far post by skipper Ben Chenery, who put the ball back into the danger zone for Fiston Manuella to thump a header just over. The 12th minute brought about a shot from distance by the visitors' own captain Dormer that was only a yard too high and a Burbridge header nine minutes later had to be nodded away from almost under his own crossbar by England. Towards the end of the half City enjoyed a spell of pressure, beginning with Jeff Minton's low arrow that careered wide from the edge of the box and Ricky Holmes worried the Town defence via a sweetly-struck right-footer which narrowly cleared the crossbar after a touch by 'keeper Billy McMahon. But the best was saved for last seconds before the half-time whistle. The ball broke to Jay Conroy around forty yards from goal and he met it with a thumping drive which was destined for the top corner until McMahon achieved the merest touch to guide it onto the bar and over. This impetus was continued just three minutes post-interval due to Burbridge's red card. He clumsily clattered an opponent on the edge of the pitch, resulting in his second caution that earned him an early bath. City sensed the advantage but were grateful to custodian Ashley Harrison for keeping them at least level when, on 57 minutes, he helped a lengthy strike onto the bar and, with substitute Joe Flack presented with a gaping goal, Harrison got back up quickly to smother his half-hit attempt. Around the middle of the half there were nervy moments at each end for the respective defences, Conroy sticking out a leg to divert the ball just past his own City post and Steve Heffer was also guilty of a slice at his own goalkeeper that was cleared unknowingly by McMahon and his near post. At this point Jason Hallett was added to the cauldron and Chelmsford began to press-home their one-man superiority, firstly seeing a wild Lee Boylan cross in the 76th minute find the head of the Clarets' replacement but he couldn't get enough on it to trouble McMahon. Ten minutes from time a Holmes centre then led to Boylan nodding wide but the hosts would have more joy on 82 minutes. From some left-wing build-up, Hallett was involved as McMahon spilled a routine catch and England found himself in front of goal with the ball bouncing and he controlled his shot to guide it into the net and spark a frenzy on the terraces filled with mostly with relieved Chelmsford supporters in the 2,025 crowd. In fact, at the culmination of the ninety minutes, Minton almost added a second with a bending strike that just evaded the far post, though disaster struck for Jeff King's men three minutes into injury time. Town threw everyone into the box for their last chance dead-ball on the right and Chris Whelpdale took full advantage of being unmarked at the far post to hook home in one of the final acts of normal time. Having got this far, the added half-hour was mostly about defending what they had for the Billericay team yet City, who lost the services of Fiston Manuella through injury in the first period of extra time, struggled to register many shots on target. McMahon managed to preserve parity in the second period thanks to challenges to deny firstly Minton on the floor and Hallett in the air in close proximity to his goal. Therefore the fate of the two teams would be determined by the lottery of a penalty shoot-out. Billericay's Leon Hunter stepped-up to bury the first of the evening, though Chelmsford's initial spot-kick wasn't so successful, Boylan's effort being saved low down by the jubilant McMahon. This proved to be the only miss as Flack, Whelpdale and Blewitt for Town and Knight, England and Minton all netted good penalties. Dormer was then left with the responsibility of scoring Billericay's final kick and he made no mistake, ensuring his team will compete in the Play-Off Final for a place in the newly-sponsored Blue Square Southern Division. Penalties:
City: 1 Ashley Harrison Billericay Town: Billy McMahon, Dave McSweeney, Danny Kerrigan, Darren Blewitt, Steve Heffer, Jamie Dormer, Chris Whelpdale, Leon Hunter, Matt Game, Rikki Burbridge, Lee Hodges. Subs: Billy Holland, Dave Wareham, Rob Swaine, Joe Flack, Ronnie Worster. Bookings: City: Manuella (17, foul), Ward (43, foul), England (90, foul), Conroy (96, foul). Billericay: Heffer (5, foul), Burbridge (40, foul and 48, foul), Dormer (69, dissent), Whelpdale (79, foul). Referee: I.J. Cooper (Rochester). Assistant Referees: N. Wilde (Rochester) and R. Allum (Croydon). Fourth Official: S.J. Long (Ipswich). Attendance: 2,025. City Man of the Match: T.B.C.. |
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By
Chris Evans
(Picture by Matt Bradshaw)
