After what seemed like an eternity as the nation emerged nervously from lockdown, a mix of experience and exciting young talent was enough to win this entertaining encounter against local rivals Glebe.
The match was however marred by a serious looking injury to Glebe defender Aaron Fray on the stroke of half time – all at both Clubs wish Aaron a full and speedy recovery.
After a lively opening spell, Cray Valley took the lead in the eleventh minute as Ade Adeyemo took possession in midfield before feeding the ball to Ryan James wide on the left. James broke forward into the penalty area before squaring the ball for fellow debutant striker Marcel Barrington to slot home at the far post.
With Adeyemo looking threatening in an attacking midfield role, The Millers looked to extend their lead as first the young striker had a shot blocked after linking well with Ryan King-Elliot, before firing over from another James cross minutes later.
Despite the young home side enjoying some territorial advantage, the majority of goalscoring chances continued to fall to the visitors as Lisbie failed to convert James’ cross five minutes before the interval.
Following the horrific injury to Fray, Valley extended their lead within a minute of the restart – Adeyemo finding Lisbie in the box to fire home. Five minutes later the game was effectively over as excellent footwork in the Glebe penalty area saw Adeyemo convert to give The Millers a three goal advantage.
Freddie Nyhus pulled a goal back for Glebe in the 53rd minute – his left footed strike beating Joe Docherty before going in off the post – before another fine effort for the hosts found the side netting moments later.
Barrington struck a fourth for Valley from close range on 58 minutes as a frenetic spell of activity continued, before a fine crossfield ball found Glebe striker Bronco Ceccolini in the 18 yard box – the home striker firing narrowly wide.
With the game continuing to see chances come and go at both ends, The Millers handed first team debuts to midfielder Harrison Kempston and striker Kyrell Lisbie – the latter replacing Dad Kevin, in the seventieth minute. As the clock ticked down, the young Lisbie had chances to make it a dream debut – his 87th minute effort being well saved by keeper Billy Johnson, before he fired wide when well placed in the last minute.

With five debutants in the line-up, assistant manager Tommy Osborne reflected on the Club’s youngsters after the game.
“Young Jack (Beerling) played at the back, his first start for us – he looks quite mature for a young lad. There are two or three young lads, Ollie (Farmer), Harrison (Kempston), Aziz (Sankoh). Lisbie’s son came on tonight – I’ve got to admit I struggle to tell him and twin brother Kyreece apart, they’re so similar -, he looked sharp. So there are three or four youngsters that are knocking on the door who, if they keep on progressing, will all go on to become good little players.”
Two years on from his last first team appearance in the FA Vase Final at Wembley, Paul Semakula returned to the starting line-up. “Paul was struggling a little bit towards the end – I think that was his first full ninety (minutes) for a while. We could have actually brought Paul off a bit earlier, but we decided to keep him on – give him ninety minutes. I think he would like to sign for us – we probably need to have a chat to see if he wants to play 30/40 games for us next season, but we can’t guarantee him that obviously. He missed quite a lot of football in recent times because there were certain dates he couldn’t make which probably didn’t help him – he needs a lot of consistency so, being stop/start held him back a little bit – , but we’ll probably speak to Paul over the next three or four weeks to see how we move forward.”
“Marcel (Barrington) up top looks strong, athletic. We’re very, very interested in him so hopefully, if he likes us…… He was at Welling United last year. He got promoted with Braintree from the National League South, so he’s played at a good level. He needs to just find a Club where he can settle - get a full season under his belt and score a few goals –, go somewhere where he enjoys his football, and get that consistency that he might not have had for the last couple of years.

With some Clubs deciding to withdraw from this season’s competion, The Millers now need to await the outcome of other ties before finding out whether they will travel to Cockfosters, Clapton, or AFC Wimbledon in the semi-finals.

MILLERS’ STAR MAN – Ade Adeyemo

MATCH RATING - ****

GLEBE : Johnson, Dasho, Yembra, Fray (Augustus 46), Mitchell, Hever ©, English (Keen 64), Nyhus, Berry, Philpot, Ceccolini (Lawal 64)
Sub Not Used : Schoeffer

Goal: Nyhus 53

MILLERS : Docherty, Beerling, Tumkaya (Sankoh 45), Morath-Gibbs ©, James, King-Elliot, Semakula, Warren, Adeyemo (Kempston 66), Kevin Lisbie (Kyrell Lisbie 70), Barrington
Subs Not Used : Kyrece Lisbie, Cotter

Goals: Barrington 11, 58 Kevin Lisbie 47, Adeyemo 50

Referee : Jack Phillips

Photos: Courtesy of Lianne Brown
Pictured: Marcel Barrington on hand to tap home the Millers opening goal