Avery 0 Concord Rangers 5

Match 68/17/1518 - Monday, 4th December 2017 - Essex Senior Cup 4R

Aveley (0) 0
Concord Rangers (0) 5 Cawley 58 Akinwande 63,78 (pen) Da Costa 70 Roast 75
Attendance: 174

Entrance: £4 Senior
Programme: £2.00
Mileage: 70/4,451

Aveley’s spanking new Parkside has become the home of Monday night football for those that like their daily fix of the game. It is a shame that geographically it is positioned at the mouth of the Dartford Tunnel with all the traffic congestion problems that it engenders.

Last week was a completely aborted journey as the time to make your way through the bore reached almost an hour and a half. This time, I relatively sailed through the Tunnel only to get snarled in the queue to circumvent the Lakeside roundabout. If one doesn’t get you, the other will. As it was, I made it into Parkside with a couple of minutes to spare, plus the game being played on Isthmian Mean Time which meant a five minute delay to kick-off anyway.

After a closely contested first 45, the National League’s Concord Rangers flexed their muscles in the second period to run away with the game.

Ex-Angel Alex Teniola was leading the line for the hosts and for the opening half I felt he was an improved player from his time at Longmead but, such was the one-way traffic of the second half, he didn’t really get a kick.

Aveley started well but it was the visitors that had the opening opportunity after being awarded a penalty. Steve Cawley’s shot was well struck but too close to goalkeeper Rhys Madden who parried it to safety.

Teniola had a rasping shot that skipped past the far post whilst Louis Wells’ in the Aveley goal, did well to save from Jordan Watson.

Concord went ahead on the hour when Khale Da Costa pulled the ball back from the left for Cawley to amend for his penalty miss.

From that moment to the final whistle Aveley chased shadows as the Canvey Island side shredded their defence.

Five minutes later brought a repeat with different characters, this time Kyron Farrell supplying a cross for Femi Akinwande to bury into the far corner.

Rhys Madden’s goal was leading a charmed life but this was no more than he deserved as he single-handedly was keeping the scoreline respectable.

Da Costa helped himself to a goal that his performance deserved, cutting in from the right, evading some nondescript challenges before shooting between Madden and his near post.

The fourth after 75 minutes was a straightforward header from a Farrell corner by Billy Roast and the game was rounded off with a penalty by Akinwande after the man himself had been felled.

I think, for the rest of this season, I’ll only return to Parkside for a bracketed tick with Grays Athletic. I like the ground but the journey there for a 19:45 kick-off (or probably any other time) is too much of a ball-ache.