Non-League and Academy football writer

I was in attendance at Parsloes Park for an Essex Alliance Football League Senior Division Cup quarter-final tie, between the home side Lymore Gardens, and Aveley Under 23’s, on Monday night. Lymore Gardens are in sixth place in the Essex Alliance League Senior Division, with the away side on Monday night (Aveley Under 23’s), sitting in 12th place in the league. This cup match was an eventful one, which included a sending off for the home side. However, this was also a match in which both sides showed great desire and character in, and there was also some real quality in the match. The match finished 4-2 to Aveley Under 23’s. Lymore Gardens started the match strongly. After Lymore Gardens player Bradley Williams had hit an effort wide from distance, Dylan Roberts hit an effort wide of the Aveley goal, from the edge of their penalty area. Shortly after, Lymore Gardens created a great chance. Wisley Baltazar found Dylan Roberts on the right hand side of the Aveley penalty area, however, Roberts’ effort from close range was well saved by Aveley goalkeeper Oliver Johnson at his near post.

Aveley’s Under 23 side would take the lead from a free-kick, against the run of play, shortly after that good chance for Lymore Gardens. John Silva stepped-up to take a free-kick close to the right side of the Lymore Gardens penalty area. His effort to goalkeeper Ben Greig’s near post, resulted in the Lymore Gardens goalkeeper making an unfortunate error, as he was unable to gather the ball, with it going into the goal at his near post, 0-1. Soon after taking the lead in the game, Aveley Under 23’s player Freddie Madle and some of his teammates thought that the Aveley player had been fouled inside the Lymore Gardens penalty area. However, the referee didn’t see anything in it. After George Dwobeng hit an effort over the Aveley goal from distance, Freddie Madle hit an effort over the Lymore Gardens goal, at the opposite end of the pitch. Sola Adebo was impressing during the early stages of the match, and after the Aveley winger showed some great pace to take the ball into the Lymore Gardens box, he was well challenged by the outrushing Ben Greig.

Aveley Under 23’s doubled their advantage in the game, after Ziad Bakarr played a through-ball pass towards the run of Sola Adebo on the edge of the Lymore Gardens penalty area, the Aveley winger managed to get around the outrushing Ben Greig, with the ball running into his feet. Sola Adebo then entered the penalty area, and despite the challenge of Richie Dorcas, he was able to finish into the empty goal, 0-2. The challenge ahead for Lymore Gardens in this match, became even bigger, after they had a player sent off before half-time. After Ryo Brown (he was the last man) had pulled the shirt of Airon Paul on the edge of the Lymore Gardens box, the referee showed Ryo Brown a red card. However, the home side recovered well from the sending off. The influential Dylan Roberts hit a low effort from the right side of the Aveley penalty area, just wide, across the face of Oliver Johnson’s goal. Wisley Baltazar then hit an effort on the bounce wide of the Aveley goal, from the edge of their penalty area, before half-time.

After Ben Greig had made a good and important save during the early stages of the second half, Lymore Gardens player Josh Morris had a good, powerful effort (from the edge of the penalty area) on the Aveley goal, well tipped over his crossbar by Oliver Johnson. And Lymore Gardens continued their excellent start to the second half, with Munnir Saad hitting a low effort wide of the Aveley goal, from the edge of their penalty area. Shortly after Munnir Saad found himself through on goal following a through-ball pass into the Aveley box, Munnir Saad’s low effort on goal was well saved by Oliver Johnson. However, Lymore Gardens would get a deserved goal back in the game, shortly after that fine chance. A great low pass from Munnir Saad, into the feet of Dylan Roberts in the centre of the Aveley penalty area, saw Roberts cleverly put the ball through the goalkeeper’s legs, and into the back of the goal, 1-2. Lymore Gardens continued to be the better team in the second half. And they soon got an equalising goal, through Josh Morris. Dylan Roberts’ pass to Josh Morris fell kindly to the Lymore Gardens player inside the left area of the Aveley box, from where Josh Morris powerfully found the bottom right hand corner of the goal, 2-2.

After the floodlights had gone out on the main pitch that the game was being played on, after the equalising goal, there was a delay as the game was moved to the pitch behind. Shortly after the game was resumed, Aveley substitute Abdikarim Sheikh hit an effort wide from a cross into the Lymore Gardens box. The game was being played at a great pace as this very good cup approached the 90th minute mark of the game. Following a pass to Dylan Roberts on the right side of the Aveley penalty area, Roberts’ resulting low effort was well saved by Oliver Johnson. It was a really unfortunate end to the match, for Lee Benjamin’s extremely hardworking Lymore Gardens side. However, Aveley Under 23’s were clinical during the final stages of the game. They retook the lead late on, and after Airon Paul had an effort from the edge of the Lymore Gardens box, blocked by a defender, the ball came to John Silva on the rebound, whose powerful effort went into the goal, 2-3. 

Aveley’s Under 23 side made it 4-2 in second half additional time, through Airon Paul, after he had managed to get on the ball on the left flank. Paul surged forward with the ball, evading a challenge well, before taking it around the Lymore Gardens goalkeeper inside the penalty area, and finishing well into the goal, to book Aveley Under 23’s place in the semi-finals of the competition. This was a fantastic game of football. My player of the match (there were many players who I could have given this to yesterday) was Lymore Gardens forward Dylan Roberts, and with a goal and an assist, he put in a really good performance, and Dylan was also key to getting Lymore Gardens back into the match, at 2-0 down. Well done to both sides, for their respective performances on Monday.