PITCHING-IN ISTHMIAN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION
CANVEY ISLAND 4 CRAY VALLEY (PM) 4 - 8 OCT 2024 - ATT 282
Goals: CI - Harris 3, Brown 11, 39, Hubble 57 (pen)
CV - Waldren 2, Vigor 36, Oshilaja 62, Parker 82

Kiki Oshilaja heading the Millers third goal - Photo Inspire Socials

In an exciting and crazy match sometimes shorn of finesse and not one for any feint hearted defence coach, the Millers came from two goals behind in the second half to secure a point. After Freddie Parker equalised in the 82nd minute with Valley already reduced to ten men following the dismissal of substitute Adam Coombes for a second yellow, either side could have grabbed a winner at the end as if finished four a piece.

The Millers took the lead in the second minute, Danny Waldren heading home from corner, with the Gulls x feed feeling keeper Bobby Mason could have done better. Within a minute though the scores were level, Valley debutant Malik Sesay and keeper Oliver Pain seemingly allowing the ball to drop into space and Chris Harris to tap into an empty net.

The Gulls then capitalised on another defensive lapse with the through ball not being dealt with and Jason Brown with a good finish lobbing Pain from inside the box to put the Gulls ahead in the 11th minute. Freddie Parker went close a couple of times before parity was restored on 36 minutes, Matty Vigor scoring the rebound after an initial shot from the corner had been saved by the keeper. Within three minutes the Gulls re-took the lead Brown with his second, another good finish side footing to effectively pass the ball low into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

Behind at the interval Valley conceded a penalty on 57 minutes, Oshilaja receiving a yellow card for the foul. Conor Hubble duly despatched top left giving Pain no chance and to give the Gulls a two goal lead. Five minutes later Oshilaja pulled a goal back heading home from close range from a free kick out wide.

Coombes who had replaced Shomotun in the 60th minute was booked seven minutes later for a foul. Three minutes on and he was leaving the field, dismissed for another foul and a second yellow. Harsh perhaps but not for the first time this season Valley found themselves down to ten men. Oshilaja himself on a yellow was substituted, one suspects partly as a precaution by Steve McKimm to avoid a second red card on the night. It prompted a change of formation going three at the back and clearly Valley were going for the equaliser, Julian Anau went close blasting over the rebound after Vigor's shot was saved by the keeper.

The Gulls continued their direct but effective play and Pain made a good save but could only watch shortly after as a free kick from just outside the box smashed against the post and back across the goal before the danger was cleared. The Valley deserved equaliser came on 82 minutes, Substitute Marcel Barrington doing well on the right and his low cross was tapped into the net by Freddie Parker, his seventh goal of the season.

Chances at both ends as the two sides went for a winner but it finished all square at 4-4 and one point each.

The Gulls: Mason, Yates (Tinubu 79), Stephen, Salmon (c), Hart, Parsons, Ronto, Hubble, Harris (Sach 72), Brown, Gilbert (Sanchez 80) Subs not used: Wallace, Dorrell
Cautions: Gilbrt, Yates

Millers: Pain, Williams, Oshilaja (c) (Anau 71), Sesay, Asiedu, Ademiluyi (Della-Verde 77), Waldren, Beere, Vigor (Barrington 77), Shomotun (Coombes 60), Parker Sun not used: Coker
Cautions: Waldren, Oshilaja, Coombes, Anau
Dismissal: Coombes (second yellow 70)

Refere: Charlie Roberts
Assistants: Charles Nicholls and Tony King

Alternative Match Viewpoint: By Cray Valley Supporter Preston Willot

"It's a Cold Night for Alligators" !
Canvey Island 4 - 4 Cray Valley PM Football Club
Att : 282
Entry : £12
Some times it's difficult to pick out the best part of an away day ..... feeling chilled and happy and relaxed in the car listening to favourite tuneson the way , visiting a new ground , finding a new ground to be very enjoyable with some gorgeous terracing, friendly clubhouse , meeting up with fellow supporters , watching an 8 goal thriller with your boys digging deep to pull back 2 goals despite being a man down ............ but for me last night the candy on the cherry on the icing on the cake was the PA at half time playing this corking track by an outfit called Roky Ericcson that caused me to do a kinda 'Shazam' thingy on my phone to work out what the track was !!! A Cold Night for Alligators is indeed a great track !!
The heady days of the Islanders playing in the National League may be behind them now, but the club has a gorgeous ground full of character , and despite being a challenge to get to , running combined gauntlets of the Dartford Crossing, accessing the A13 , and then the bottleneck that is the A130 that leads onto Canvey Island itself, it was well worth the effort and the just shy of 2 hour drive.
The ground has a gorgeous terrace behind one goal ( car park end ) and 2 much smaller pieces of terracing behind the goal at the Estuary End ( for want of a better name ), with covered terraces pitchside to the east and on the west the covered seated stand that runs for just half the length of the pitch
Cheeseburger was a good one, 9/10 for that
Bands of heavy intermittent rain didn't dampen any of the supporters spirits, but was going to make for a challenging night for all of the players on a slippery pitch. Cray Valley PM opened the scoring almost straight away with a headed goal eluding the flapping arms of the 'keeper, but almost immediately the home side had equalised down the far end ; it seemed a little scrappy and hard to know quite how they scored but there could be no arguing their second goal shortly after that was a cracker and deservedly put the hosts in the lead.
The boys in Green dug deep, started to link some passes together as they learnt the pace of the pitch and eventually got their reward with an equaliser , only once again to surrender to a what must have been a frustrating goal to concede as 3 attempts to clear the ball from the goal line got fluffed no doubt due to the wet conditions and eventually a Canvey player managed to put his laces through the ball and at HT the scoreline sat at 3-2
A coffee and tray of chips with curry sauce saw a slow start to the second half ; it surely couldn't serve up as much excitement as the first 45 could it ? oh boy . . . . oh yes it could . . . and did !
After a converted penalty for the home side, and then a second booking reducing the Millers to 10 men, you could have been forgiven for thinking that would put the match to bed, but the lads in green had different ideas, and never gave up heart, and were rewarded with a goal to make things interesting and at 4-3 we all thought "Game on"!
A thunderous strike from a Canvey player nigh on destroyed goalpost rather than rattled it ..... and we all drew breath . . . . chances were flying at either end , first we should have equalised, then they missed a sitter ..... but with 8 minutes to go Freddie Parker tucked away from close range for 4-4 !!
There were still chances for either side to win it , indeed Canvey hit the post again, although this time probably not quite hard enough to register on the Richter scale like earlier . . . . and eventually the ref blew to draw the game to a close.
We just stood for a while to get our breath back ..... and then our boys came over to acknowledge our support and we applauded their valiant efforts to claw their way into a share of the spoils.
A cold night for all of us, not just the alligators ........ but it was a brilliant night and the 50 minute drive home flew by in an instant.

Up the Millers !!!!!!

Match Photos: Romana at Inspire Socials / Ground Photos: Preston Willot
https://www.crayvalleypmfc.com/photos/canvey-island-v-millers-81024-photos-inspire-socials-1117978.html