Erith 2 City 2
Honours even at Avenue Road today as four goals were shared on a bitterly cold January afternoon in front of a meagre crowd. Twice City took the lead but both times they were pegged back to leave a result not really much use to either side.
Changes afoot for City with Joe Kennett returning and a debut at number six for James Gregory, with another debutant, Daniel Ellett starting on the bench.
Erith took the early initiative with a header from a long free kick drifting just wide of the City goal, a shot from Adam Williams also going wide and he was just off target again as he got between Kennett and Connor Quinn to be the first to the ball amongst some hesitant City defending.
City responded with a Kennett header off the top of the Erith bar, Wayon Anderson bustled his way into the box but was unable to get a clear shot off and a lovely little dinked cross from Gregory failing to find a City head.
The first goal arrived on the quarter hour mark and a splendid goal it was too. Michael Smissen bundled his way past a couple of challenges to get in to the right edge of the Erith box. With team mates screaming for a pass, the City forward ignored them all and a couple of turns and a shimmy later he curled a delightful shot into the opposite top corner, well past home keeper Kevin Fewell’s despairing dive, to give City the lead.
City then went on the front foot. Smissen almost charged down a short back pass and Jake Marsh made a dashing run into the box, just failing by inches to connect with a Macauley Murray cross. Jake Gess bobbled a shot a foot or so wide and Murray surged forward having won the ball in midfield, but crashed a twenty yarder just over the bar.
Erith withstood the City pressure and started to make an inroad going forward themselves. Quinn made a comfortable save from Alex Tisse before Williams found his way into the referee’s note book for a deliberate hand ball as the ball was swung dangerously across the City goal. The busy Williams was there again a minute later testing Quinn with a powerful low shot which the City keeper dealt with, with the minimum of fuss.
Smissen muscled his way through to have a decent shot charged down, before he went close again heading a Murray corner just over. Williams then had a shot well blocked by Quinn with Grant Bagley clearing up the loose ball. From the ensuing corner, Erith right-back Peter Smith got himself into a great position at the far post but ballooned the ball well over.
Both sides were taking it in turns to have an opportunity on goal. Quinn reacted well to knock a point blank header up in the air and away while Chris Walker pulled off a superb last ditch tackle to deny Marsh in the Erith box. City’s next attack saw Gess pile a shot into a crowd of players, but Erith broke from the rebound with Tisse eventually ending the move shooting straight at Quinn.
On thirty-six minutes, Erith had the ball in the City net, but were thwarted by the offside flag, but just two minutes later, there was no flag to save City as the home side drew level. A long ball swept forward over the City defence was chased down by Tisse. He took off towards the City goal and laid the ball off to Williams who stroked it strongly past the exposed Quinn for 1-1.
With half-time still several minutes away, both sides appeared to stick on that until the break and in we went at 1-1.
The second half got off to a slower start as the temperature dropped still further. Walker had a swing and a miss in front of the City goal, then saw an overhead attempt barely trouble Quinn. Anderson seemed to get clear of the Erith defence but then went down under a challenge with City appeals to no avail before two goals in two minutes made the score 2-2.
Firstly, City re-took the lead as Michael Scott rose in the box just in front of Kennett to head home a City free kick and then Erith equalised again with James Hawkins squeezing the ball in at the far post after Walker had cleverly chipped the ball over Quinn.
You would have thought that would have been the spring board for an exciting end to the game, but chances for the remainder of the match where at a premium with the home side having the better of the possession and goal efforts until the final whistle.
Hawkins thundered a shot in that Quinn did well to get his body behind then another Erith shot was just deflected out by an outstretched City boot. The corner that followed was scrambled away by the near post for another, which was well headed out by Kennett from just in front of his own goal. Walker fired over and Liam Burgess hooked another shot over as City had to withstand some severe pressure.
At the other end, a penalty appeal was waved away as a City player and a defender went down in the Erith box and Gess tried his luck from about forty yards without troubling the keeper. It was mainly the home side going forward though as in the closing minutes, both Kennett and Bagley had to clear dangerous attacks and Quinn, by far the busiest of the two keepers on the day, firstly scrambled away a weak back pass and then did well to hold a shot from home substitute Tyrus Young.
Five minutes of added time failed to find a winner for either side and the game ended in a draw. A point apiece but given Herne Bay’s victory today, it was not a lot of help to either.
Final score 2-2.
City; Connor Quinn, Michael Scott, Chris Elliott, Joe Kennett, Grant Bagley, James Gregory, Macauley Murray, Jake Gess, Michael Smissen (Bobby Powell), Wayon Anderson, Jake Marsh.
Unused Subs; Daniel Ellett, Scott Punton.