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Chelmsford City 1-1 Heybridge Swifts, Tuesday 26th December 2006, Chelmsford Sport & Athletics Centre, Kick-Off 3:00pm, Ryman League Premier Division.
Chelmsford's place at the top of the Ryman Premier was preserved against neighbours Heybridge but it was a last-minute own goal that rescued a point for the Clarets. The visitors had led through a first-half Richard Jolly strike but the majority of the 1,236 attendance were ecstatic to witness Dean Chandler's own goal which enabled Jeff King's side to stay ahead of second-placed Margate on goal difference. Fiston Manuella missed-out in the centre of midfield through injury and Kevin Stephens deputised for his full City debut. The spare place on the bench was filled by Gavin Heeroo while the left-back spot was taken by Chris Duffy ahead of Stuart Ainsley. The 5-0 warm-up victory against Slough Town three days earlier was a far cry from this competitive encounter, with tackles flying-in and competition being the key word in Mid Essex. Heybridge managed to break the deadlock in the 13th minute when Richard Jolly escaped the offside trap and ran forward before tapping wide of Richard McKinney into the net. Chelmsford had a lot of possession and occasionally converted this to tangible chances, including a 25th-minute Kezie Ibe side-step and shot which buried itself into the side-netting. Six minutes later Jay Conroy, who had been an injury concern after a knock in the Slough game, saw his fired ball across the face nearly creep into the bottom corner. Swifts didn't breach the City defence too often, but it was a splendid pair of saves prior to half-time from McKinney that kept the Clarets in the game, firstly making a superb stop from a free-kick then tipping the ball acrobatically over with his fingertips on 41 minutes. At the other end, Danny Gay performed a similar function in tipping over a Dwain Clarke drive following Ibe's control and lay-off, meaning Swifts entered the interval with a slender advantage. The Clarets issued a statement of intent early in the second half as Mario Noto's free-kick was blocked on the line and soon afterwards his 25-yard strike was pushed away by Gay with the hosts attempting to net an equaliser. Towards the middle of the period the play was broken-up by a succession of fouls and the game began to hot-up still further. Some confusion in defence in the 63rd minute meant McKinney was forced to save the day again and it was clear a change would have to be made to ignite Chelmsford and earn something from the game. Jason Hallett's emergence from the bench warmed-up the home fans who continued to get behind their side despite another Noto free-kick missing the target, similar to Chris Duffy's 72nd-minute effort from the edge of the box. A low Stephens deflected skidder worried Gay for a moment when it came back off his chest eleven minutes from time but Chelmsford's efforts were rewarded in the first minute of injury time. The ball was delivered from the right hand side and in trying to control the ball in front of goal, defender Dean Chandler could only contrive to help it over the line to level the scores. City could have nicked maximum points near the end though they were ultimately relieved to come away with a point after spending so long searching for an equaliser. City: 1 Richard McKinney Heybridge Swifts: Danny Gay, Dean Chandler, Ian Cousins, Michael Shinn, Ian Wiles, Stuart Nethercott, Neil Cousins, Warren Ryan, Jamie Richards, Richard Jolly, Sean Marks. Subs: Gary Burrell, Danny Barber, Sam Keevil, Gianni Frankis, Russell Pond. Bookings: City: Ward (37, foul). Heybridge: Wiles (51, foul), T.B.C. (55, foul), Ryan (65, foul), Marks (69, failing to retreat at a restart). Referee: Mr J.P. Magill (Colchester). Assistant Referees: Mr M.T. Cook (Braintree) and Mr P.B. Wright (London). Attendance: 1,236. City Man of the Match: Richard McKinney. |
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By Chris Evans
(Picture by Matt Bradshaw)
