Non-League and Academy football writer

Lymore Gardens welcomed Dunmow Town to The Techsoc Stadium on Friday night, for a Thurlow Nunn League First Division South fixture. Lymore Gardens started this league match in second place in the league standings, after 14 league matches played. Dunmow Town started this fixture in 14th place in the league table, after 12 matches played. Lymore Gardens would move back up to first place in the Thurlow Nunn League First Division South table, with a 2-0 win on Friday.

The first goalscoring chance of this game was created by Lymore. With their captain Ryo Brown getting to the ball on the edge of the Dunmow penalty area, before hitting a low effort wide of the Dunmow goalkeeper’s (Andrew Zambrano) left-hand post. The visiting team would then go on to create a great chance from which to take the lead from. As Jack Young’s cross from the left flank, would find Clarence Emeh in space inside of the Lymore penalty area. From close range however, his low first time effort would go wide of Sidhant Nayar’s goal. A couple of minutes later Maksim Todoschuk would make a decisive block at his goalkeeper’s near post, from a powerful Dunmow effort on the right-hand side of the Lymore penalty area.

Following on from quite a lively start to this contest, and the influential Ryo Brown would curl a good free-kick effort from 25 yards out, narrowly over Andrew Zambrano’s crossbar. But, there was then quite a long uneventful spell in this game as both well organised sides were unable to really create any real chances of note. Just before half-time and Lymore Gardens would create a great chance from which they were very unfortunate not to have taken the lead from. Tyrique Peters would pass the ball across to Ryo Brown on the right-hand side of the Dunmow penalty area. Ryo Brown managed to work the space beyond a defender, as he took the ball towards the byline, before whipping a great cross to the back post. Having found Tyrique Peters, who had started the move, his powerful header would hit the underside of the crossbar, before being cleared away from the box.

Lymore Gardens would take the lead between ten to 15 minutes into the second half. After Munnir Saad had won a free-kick right on the edge of the Dunmow Town penalty area, Wisley Baltazar would step up to take it. The Lymore forward’s powerful resulting effort would find the right-hand corner of the Dunmow goal, in what was a good effort from Wisley Baltazar, 1-0. A couple of minutes after, and Lymore found themselves 2-0 up. Richie Dorcas would receive the ball out on the left-hand side of the pitch, before curling a good ball towards the back post of the Dunmow goal. A Dunmow defender would unfortunately slip, as James Smith was able to finish low beyond the goalkeeper and into the goal, 2-0.

Lymore Gardens would manage this game well, and although there was a wait for the next chance of the game, they were really restricting Dunmow to very little in the way of goalscoring chances. Towards the end of the game and after Lymore had made a number of substitutes, they would go on to create some further chances. One substitute, in Artem Lukash, would hit a powerful low effort which went narrowly wide of Andrew Zambrano’s left-hand post. Then a couple of minutes later, a great Lymore passing move which started in midfield, would end with Konrad Naumowicz playing a short pass to Artem Lukash, on the right-hand side of the Dunmow box. Artem Lukash’s resulting curling effort on his left foot, would hit the goalkeeper’s right-hand post. 

Right at the end of this good second half for Lymore Gardens, Gravlyn Kitondo would curl a good low effort (from the edge of the Dunmow box) which was heading for the bottom right-hand comer of the goal, but for a good save from Andrew Zambrano. Artem Lukash would then hit a low effort wide of the goal on the follow-up. This was a professional performance from Lymore Gardens who controlled the second half well at both ends of the pitch, as they recorded yet another home win. For Dunmow Town, I thought that two of their best players against Lymore were Darnell Fuller, and their captain, Delphin Moorat.

For my player of the match award there was quite a lot of contenders. Defensively Lymore were solid, with the central defensive partnership of Maksim Todoschuk and John-Jay Mooney working very well alongside each other, again. However, goalscorers James Smith and Wisley Baltazar (the forward put in a great shift for his team) were also very influential. My player of the match award goes to Maksim Todoschuk, who defended very well and decisively throughout this game, and his early block proved to be very important in the context of this game.