We follow East Thurrock United, the Rocks, up the road to Chelmsford. Thank you to the Essex Enquirer for the match report. The replay will be on Tuesday night with the winner playing Colchester United in the 1st Round proper of the F.A.Cup. We will bring you that match report along with the updated Merit Table and progress on Wednesday.
Chelmsford City 2 East Thurrock United 2
EAST Thurrock United live to fight another FA Cup day after a dramatic and exciting fourth qualifying round match at Melbourne, where the Ryman Premier Rocks more than matched their high-flying Blue Square Bet South hosts.
An incident-packed match went into ten minutes of added time, with Rocks grabbing a late, late equaliser when former East Thurrock player Max Cornhill got the last touch to a low cross and knocked the ball past his own keeper.
Chelmsford made a bright start and pegged Rocks back in the opening stages, but the visotrs survived a couple of goalmouth scrambles, settled to their task and dominated much of the rest of the first half.
A succession of corners saw them come close but without finding the final, decisive touch until the 14th minute when a ball was only half cleared, Ross Parmenter drove the ball back goalwards and Sam Higgins shaped himself to get a decisive headed flick past keeper Stuart Searle.
It was no more than Rocks served and they continued to press for a second goal, probing and pushing from midfield where captain Reiss Gilbey was once again putting in an inspirational shift, aided and abetted by some incisive passing from Ross Parmenter and the challenging runs of Kris Newby and Kye Ruel.
However, up top they failed to put the final touch to some some good moves, with several players snatching at half chances when a calmer approach might have produced dividends. Centre-forward Hakeem Araba was working hard but the genial giant sometimes stands accused of lacking venom and he was being well-marshalled by the home defence, particularly home skipper and former Thurrock player Kenny Clarke, whose darker nature couldn’t resist a kick at the Rocks player when he was on the ground.
Not seen by any official, Clarke got away with it and surprisingly Araba failed to get roused either. The striker has all the attributes you would want from a striker, height, pace and strength but if he can find a way to add controlled aggression to his game he will make an even bigger impact.
As the half approached its close there was a sense of frustration in the Rocks camp that they hadn’t increased the lead and they were to pay in the 44th minute when City got the better of a few contested refereeing decisions and pumped several balls into the Rocks box, finally getting a reward when David Bridges scrambled the ball home at the end of a goalmouth melee from Aiden Palmer’s corner.
The second half continued in much the same vein as the first, with Rocks having a lot of the ball but failing to create clear chances, while Chelmsford always looked lively on the counter attack, never-more-so than when Jamie Slabber cut inside and curled a shot that left keeper Richard Wray rooted to the spot but came back of the crossbar.
The deadlock continued and a pivotal moment came on 77minutes when Wray was injured as he bravely punched away a cross, sustaining a nasty blow in the face that left him with a rapidly closing eye and unable to continue after lengthy treatment. He was taken to hospital to have have stiches put in a nasty gash. Jamie Riley came off the bench to replace him but didn’t have too much to do until three minutes from normal time when he was unable to prevent a header from Clarke crashing into the net after he rose unmarked to head goalwards.
It was a goal that looked to have decided the tie but with ten minutes time added on for Wray’s injury, Rocks still had the opportunity to draw level and they went close with several scrambles.
However, it looked as if they were going to fall just short until they won a free kick outside the box with a minute and half to go. Rocks threw everything forward, including sub centre half Marc Gorbell as a makeshift striker and they packed the area. Everyone anticipated a lofted ball into the crowded box but Kris Newby, who had earlier been cautioned for handball - a booking that will keep him out of the first round proper f Rocks make it – delivered a clever low ball into the near post an as he attempted to clear under pressure the ball sliced off Cornhill’s boot and into the net to spark jubilation on the pitch from Rocks players and off it from a decent number travelling fans who had played their part in rousing their side to the last gasp finale.
They might have been silenced deep in the last minute when Clarets sub Anthony Cook hit the bar with a header but Rocks deserved the lucky break and will face Clarets with some confidence at Rookery Hill on Tuesday.
Rocks boss John Coventry said he was “frustrated” by the fact his side hadn’t won but added he remained confident that have the ability to complete a giant-killing act.
“We’ll go again Tuesday, we’ve looked at them, they’ve looked at us but we will give it a go. We have nothing to be frightened of, I think we are as good as them.”
An incident-packed match went into ten minutes of added time, with Rocks grabbing a late, late equaliser when former East Thurrock player Max Cornhill got the last touch to a low cross and knocked the ball past his own keeper.
Chelmsford made a bright start and pegged Rocks back in the opening stages, but the visotrs survived a couple of goalmouth scrambles, settled to their task and dominated much of the rest of the first half.
A succession of corners saw them come close but without finding the final, decisive touch until the 14th minute when a ball was only half cleared, Ross Parmenter drove the ball back goalwards and Sam Higgins shaped himself to get a decisive headed flick past keeper Stuart Searle.
It was no more than Rocks served and they continued to press for a second goal, probing and pushing from midfield where captain Reiss Gilbey was once again putting in an inspirational shift, aided and abetted by some incisive passing from Ross Parmenter and the challenging runs of Kris Newby and Kye Ruel.
However, up top they failed to put the final touch to some some good moves, with several players snatching at half chances when a calmer approach might have produced dividends. Centre-forward Hakeem Araba was working hard but the genial giant sometimes stands accused of lacking venom and he was being well-marshalled by the home defence, particularly home skipper and former Thurrock player Kenny Clarke, whose darker nature couldn’t resist a kick at the Rocks player when he was on the ground.
Not seen by any official, Clarke got away with it and surprisingly Araba failed to get roused either. The striker has all the attributes you would want from a striker, height, pace and strength but if he can find a way to add controlled aggression to his game he will make an even bigger impact.
As the half approached its close there was a sense of frustration in the Rocks camp that they hadn’t increased the lead and they were to pay in the 44th minute when City got the better of a few contested refereeing decisions and pumped several balls into the Rocks box, finally getting a reward when David Bridges scrambled the ball home at the end of a goalmouth melee from Aiden Palmer’s corner.
The second half continued in much the same vein as the first, with Rocks having a lot of the ball but failing to create clear chances, while Chelmsford always looked lively on the counter attack, never-more-so than when Jamie Slabber cut inside and curled a shot that left keeper Richard Wray rooted to the spot but came back of the crossbar.
The deadlock continued and a pivotal moment came on 77minutes when Wray was injured as he bravely punched away a cross, sustaining a nasty blow in the face that left him with a rapidly closing eye and unable to continue after lengthy treatment. He was taken to hospital to have have stiches put in a nasty gash. Jamie Riley came off the bench to replace him but didn’t have too much to do until three minutes from normal time when he was unable to prevent a header from Clarke crashing into the net after he rose unmarked to head goalwards.
It was a goal that looked to have decided the tie but with ten minutes time added on for Wray’s injury, Rocks still had the opportunity to draw level and they went close with several scrambles.
However, it looked as if they were going to fall just short until they won a free kick outside the box with a minute and half to go. Rocks threw everything forward, including sub centre half Marc Gorbell as a makeshift striker and they packed the area. Everyone anticipated a lofted ball into the crowded box but Kris Newby, who had earlier been cautioned for handball - a booking that will keep him out of the first round proper f Rocks make it – delivered a clever low ball into the near post an as he attempted to clear under pressure the ball sliced off Cornhill’s boot and into the net to spark jubilation on the pitch from Rocks players and off it from a decent number travelling fans who had played their part in rousing their side to the last gasp finale.
They might have been silenced deep in the last minute when Clarets sub Anthony Cook hit the bar with a header but Rocks deserved the lucky break and will face Clarets with some confidence at Rookery Hill on Tuesday.
Rocks boss John Coventry said he was “frustrated” by the fact his side hadn’t won but added he remained confident that have the ability to complete a giant-killing act.
“We’ll go again Tuesday, we’ve looked at them, they’ve looked at us but we will give it a go. We have nothing to be frightened of, I think we are as good as them.”
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