06/12/08 - Gills' Shield 1st Round

Barking & Dagenham 0

West Kent 3

BARKING AND DAGENHAM Primary schools' suffered their first competitive defeat of the season against a skilful West Kent outfit, crashing out of the Gills' Shield in the process.

The visitors bossed the majority of the game and were good value for their win.

Bright

The visitors started brightly and skipper Alec Monk, along with the pink-booted Reno Turner, had to be at their best as West Kent threatened early on. Keeper Alfie Malbon produced two good saves in a matter of minutes as the Kent side's passing and movement were causing problems for the home side. With Barking & Dagenham failing to get into their stride, West Kent looked the more likely to score and it was no surprise when they eventually did.

A poor clearance was seized upon by the West Kent midfielder and he had time to settle himself before blasting the ball in from the edge of the box.

They nearly doubled their lead moments later, but Turner produced a last gasp tackle to deny the Kent forward. Barking & Dagenham were failing to trouble a well organised rearguard and despite the best efforts of Luke Gelston and Jack McDermott, working tirelessly in the middle of the park, West Kent continued to dominate.

The end of the half saw Barking & Dagenham finally apply some pressure on the visitors' goal - a number of corners caused some panic in the West Kent area, but they went into the break one-nil up.

Threat

Barking and Dagenham came out for the second half pumped up and almost grabbed an equaliser when Jonatas Centeno and Brendan Ocran combined down the right and found Ernestas Allionis, whose shot was well saved by the West Kent keeper. West Kent remained a threat going forward and Connor Gray had to be alert in the Barking & Dagenham goal as the West Kent striker rode three tackles to get his shot on target.

Barking & Dagenham continued to press forward but West Kent produced a sucker punch to double their advantage. The visiting midfield gained possession in the middle of the park and surged into the home half. Even though the resultant pass was over hit, the home defence failed to clear the ball and the West Kent striker made no mistake from six yards out.

With a two goal cushion, West Kent were happy to sit back and defend their lead whilst Barking & Dagenham enjoyed a good spell of pressure.

Throwing bodies forward, the home side knew they needed to score quickly. They almost grabbed a lifeline when West Kent only half cleared a corner and Reno Turner smashed the ball from outside the box; only to see it hit the upright and bounce away to safety.

Elusive

Another corner then saw some desperate defending and, despite a number of shots, Barking & Dagenham couldn't get that elusive goal.

With time running out, West Kent booked their place in the next round with a swift counter attack. They quickly turned defence into attack and set up their striker who gave Gray no chance with a cool finish. It put the seal on an impressive display.

For Barking and Dagenham, who can take heart from their second half showing, attention now turns to the Essex Finch League when they make the trip to Harlow and West Essex.