March To The Arch: Game 2: Southend Manor v Brentwood Town

The Preliminary Round of the F.A.Cup was played out on Saturday. In our cup Tracker 'March to the Arch' we were following the tie between Southend Manor and Brentwood Town.

Manor were through to this stage after defeating fellow Essex Senior League side Barkingside 2-0 at the Oakside. Brentwood of course play in the Ryman League Division 1 North, one level above Manor so the visitors were the favourites for this game on that basis. It was an important game for both sides with an estimated £1500 on prize for the winners, which at this level is an awful lot of money for both teams.

We've taken the report directly from Brentwood's website which is http://www.brentwoodtownfc.co.uk/.

Right from the word go, Brentwood took the initiative from the start and the difference between the two levels was clear to see. The visitors virtually camped in the Manor half for long periods during the first half but the home side had their moments too.

On ten minutes, Blues’ Ellis Remy saw his headed effort flicked over the crossbar by Manor's keeper. Five minutes later it was Remy, again, going close, this time seeing his hopeful chip being comfortably caught on the line.

A minute later Dee Okojie’s 25-yard shot came back off the crossbar and, with wide players, Okojie and Joao Carlos dominating down the wings, it was no surprise when Anthony Ryan was played through and guided his pass into the corner of the Manor goal to open the scoring.

On 27 minutes, Blues Ross Parmenter played an excellent ball through to Carlos for a one-on-one with Southend's keeper, but his progress was interrupted by an assistant referee’s flag Ryan then squandered a good opportunity when a good move down the right flank resulted in the ball being cut back, but he scuffed the opportunity.

A minute before the break, Nick Muir fed through Remy and the striker coolly side-footed to double the lead. The home side had an opportunity just before the half time whistle but the effort cleared the cross bar and the two-goal lead going into the break probably flattered the home side a little.

After the break, Manor came out bravely looking to reduce the deficit. A mix up from a Blues free kick on 52 minutes gave the home side a good opportunity of clawing their way into the game. The visitors’ Reiss Noel placed the ball ten yards outside his own penalty area in preparation for the dead ball kick and then tapped the ball forward either to a team mate for a short free kick or to gain a one yard advantage.

Manor's Anton Dwyer latched onto the ball, ran through unchallenged and looked certain to punish Blues for their lapse, only to see Blues keeper Andy Hall quickly off his line to block the effort with his legs. However, on 64 minutes, Ryan crossed from the right and the ball seemed to clear Remy ending up in the back of the Manor goal to put this tie beyond Manor.

On 74 minutes it was Remy, with his second of the game, whose effort looped over Manor's 'keeper to increase Blues lead to four goals. A minute later, Remy could have sealed his hat trick with an acrobatic overhead effort that was well blocked by the Manor defence. Overall it was a fantastic win for Les Whitton’s team who make it three wins out of three for the start of their season with 11 goals scored so far to only 1 goal conceded.

Brentwood now face Aylesbury United of the Spartans League in the First Qualifying Round of this competition, at home on Saturday 11 September. As ever a report on the game will be up on our blog over that weekend so we can find who has progressed through to the fourth stage of the march to the arch.

Match Details:

Brentwood Town: Andy Hall, Ryan Doyle, Dean Pennant, Reiss Noel, Nikki Beale, Ross Parmenter, Dee Okojie, Nick Muir, Ellis Remy (Jack Gardner), Anthony Ryan (Petrit Elbi), Joao Carlos (Nathan Fletcher)

Goals:
Southend Manor 0 Brentwood Town 1 (Ryan 24)
Southend Manor 0 Brentwood Town 2 (Remy 60)
Southend Manor 0 Brentwood Town 3 (Ryan 64)
Southend Manor 0 Brentwood Town 4 (Remy 74)