MONDAY 21 APRIL 2008

Blue Square South

What’s going on in Blue Square South we wondered at the weekend when the news seeped through that frugal Bath City had surrendered three first half goals and lost at home to dear old Sutton who have been unable to beat a carpet for most of the season.  Then Havant & Waterlooville, who deservedly earned so much national publicity with their FA Cup exploits to eliminate Swansea and give Liverpool a scare, go and lose by three goals at home to Maidenhead.  Surely not Eastleigh as well we thought, and we did not expect them to let slip an interval lead at lowly St Albans but lose it they did, as they slid to a 3-2 defeat. 

Even in-form Hampton & Richmond could not see off struggling Bognor Regis at home, so wicked rumours started to circulate that the play-offs were cancelled because nobody wanted to qualify!  In the light of these results, County’s draw at home to runners-up Eastbourne seemed a reasonable outcome especially with Thurrock having to journey down from Essex for a Monday evening date in front of Blue Square South’s noisiest and most numerous supporters.

Well that was the theory anyway.  Students of history were forecasting doom however.  Thurrock had won on each of their three previous visits and had played County off the park two months earlier to record a 3-0 home success. 

“There are no such things as jinx sides;” said Peter Beadle - and he was right!

Thurrock’s comprehensive victory had nothing to do with witches’ potions, evil curses or anything more devious than a football team outplaying their opponents throughout and getting their just reward.

Beadle had recalled Jermaine Clarke for only his fourth start in attack in place of Charlie Griffin who had a sore hamstring and stood down to the bench.  Sam O’Sullivan was back in the team for the first time in six months of injury and a loan spell in the Southern League as Jason Bowen was also suffering hamstring problems, while Nathan ‘Daddy’ Davies returned from his productive weekend in the maternity hospital.

DAVID BRYANT, who had impressed in the corresponding game at the Ship Hotel, took just four minutes to lose his marker and fire past Glyn Thompson via an upright and before County showed any signs of coming to terms with the evening’s task, they were two goals adrift.  The usually reliable Thompson came charging way outside his area to pose a dilemma for Ian Hillier who hesitated, and BRYANT nipped in to score an unchallenged second after 22 minutes.

Clarke and Andy Gurney had gone close but County had no answer to Thurrock’s slick attacking and the two goal interval lead was fully merited.  Craig Hughes (the Newport one - there were two on the pitch) fired over the bar two minutes after the break and then screamed for a penalty when Fola Orilonishe raised his arm and parried the ball in full view of the referee’s assistant, who was either daydreaming or viewed the action as accidental.  Clarke was winning plenty of aerial balls but his headers lacked direction and the movement of Orilonishe, Matt Bodkin and the strike pair of Bryant and Che Stadhart provided a constant threat to an outplayed County rearguard.

ORILONISHE added a third on 64 minutes with a header that was almost a carbon copy of Matt Crabb’s goal for Eastbourne on Saturday, with the County defence again guilty of ball watching.  Beads went for broke by using his quota of three substitutes in one go but it made not a jot of difference to a Thurrock side who were playing football to delight any impartial viewers.  The assistant referee who had ignored the handball showed the acuity of his hearing was not similarly impaired when he brought the attention of referee Martin Strong to an obscenity hurled at him by Thurrock captain Lee Flynn.  A straight red card was the only option for the right-back who accepted his punishment without question.  Against 10 men there might have been the slightest of glimmers of hope that County might have staged a wonder comeback, but such thoughts were soon dashed when Bryant turned creator to give the chance for BODKIN to make it four.

ANDY GURNEY scored his almost customary goal three minutes from time from a free-kick on the left when keeper Blackmore gave the first hint of Thurrock vulnerability by fumbling the ball into the net, and there is just a chance it might become significant if goal difference comes into the equation come Saturday.

And that concludes the account of an excellent display by Thurrock and a somewhat less than perfect one from the Exiles.  The scheduled season has 90 minutes to run and County being County, this nightmare could yet be forgotten if Fisher Athletic are put to the sword as they were last October.  An attendance of around 1,500 will take the season’s average league attendance into four figures.  Never has the 12th man been more needed!

Man of the Match:

County: Damon Searle (Remained strong when the rest of the team was crumbling).

Thurrock: Fola Orilonishe (Just one of a number of outstanding individual displays from the visitors).

Special Mention: The County fans who showed their class by giving Thurrock a standing ovation at the end, and the Thurrock players who sportingly returned the applause.

© Newport County AFC