U13 Match Report - Brentwood Ath 0 – 4 Tilbury - 28th Mar 2010

They say the mark of a good team is that they can grind out a result even when they don't play well. Well, that can certainly be applied to the young Dockers today as they were awful for large parts of the game but still managed to get a much needed win.

The match was played on an overcast morning at St. Georges Park in Brentwood. The pitch was very small with youth size goals and the top surface was soft following the recent rain. Tilbury wore their bright yellow away shirts for the game and this proved to be the only dazzling thing about their display!

Tilbury kicked off and started very slowly. Many of the players looked to be lacking energy, possibly the result of losing an hour's sleep due to the British Summer Time clock change. Brentwood battled in midfield and were a match for our lads - neither side were able to take the initiative during the first twenty minutes. As the first-half drew to a close, Tilbury finally managed to string a few passes together to create chances. Unfortunately none were taken. The first-half ended 0-0 with neither side looking like breaking the deadlock. Lewis and Mark clearly had some sorting out to do in the half-time interval - maybe in the Alex Ferguson "hairdryer" style!

In the second-half, Tilbury stepped up their game, though they looked a shadow of the side we've admired all season. Tyler White opened the scoring five minutes into the half with a looping shot over the keeper. Soon after Paul Elliot doubled the advantage as he rounded a couple of players before placing the ball past the advancing keeper. James Wade then pitched in with a great third goal - a sweetly struck left-footed shot from the edge of the area. Paul Elliot then completed the scoring with a poacher's finish from six yards following excellent work on the left-wing by George Moore.

All-in-all this was a deserved win for the Dockers, indeed Brentwood never looked likely to score. The manner of the victory however was unconvincing. Let's just hope this is a minor blip in form on the difficult run in to the end of the season.

Let's hope the boys enjoy their well earned break over the Easter period and come back revitalised and refreshed and with a return to their fluent passing game. When all is said and done, the lads have kept another clean sheet and have maintained the pressure on the League leaders Romford. For that they should be congratulated.