Thurrock vs Margate (From Thurrock Gazette)

5:13pm

So that's that then.

Thurrock draw 1-1 with Margate. Given the opposition, a draw isn't a bad result. But they had the chances to win it and need to kick on now.

They're certainly good enough. Thurgood and Berry were very good in the middle and Griffin was excellent at the back.

Thurrock took the lead through a slightly dubious (scored by Thurgood) in the first half, a half that Margate dominated. The home side, after starting the second half well, then conceded when Tom Murphy blasted past Viner five minutes into the second half.

Both sides had opportunities to win it with Thurrock having the better of those, but on balance, 1-1 is a fair result.

All in all, not bad for Fleet.

Thank you for following today. Full coverage in next week's Thurrock Gazette!

5:09pm

5:08pm

5:07pm

Elsewhere today then:

Grays come from 1-0 down to beat Harlow 4-1 at Rush Green. Joao Carlos scoring a hat-trick there.

Tilbury begin life without in-form centre half Joe Nightinghill with a 4-2 defeat at Heybridge Swifts.

Aveley continue their superb run, beating bottom of the table Ware 4-1.

5:05pm

Full time at Melbourne Park. What drama! East Thurrock in the hat - but will have to beat Chelmsford at Rookery Hill to progress.

5:00pm

5:00pm

EAST THURROCK HAVE EQUALISED AT CHELMSFORD! NEWBY IN THE 98TH MINUTE!!

4:58pm

Lots of pin ball at the moment. Both sides working hard to get their foot on the ball but neither able to carve out an opportunity at this stage.

Thurrock appear content with the draw. Viner lazily gets the ball after a freekick is given to them. He proceeds to kick the ball into touch. Disappointing stuff.

4:54pm

Five minutes added on here. Both sides have had chances to win this. Will either get one more?

4:53pm

Turpin heads over a powerful 25 yard volley by Avery. Still anyone's game at Ship Lane.

4:52pm

4:52pm

Heartbreak for Rocks... but there's 10 minutes added on time!

4:51pm

4:50pm

Reports of a goal in Chelmsford...

4:50pm

Great solo run by Honest from in his own half wins Fleet a corner. Wanadio to take. Can Fleet nick this?

4:49pm

Lovely move by Fleet, forces Holloway into a great save as he reaches for the top left hand corner.

The throw was played into the box, Honesty tee'd up Stimson whose shot was pushed over by the Margate keeper. The resulting corner is poor.

4:47pm

4:45pm

Rhodes volleys for Gate after Fleet fail to clear, but Griffin somehow heads in behind. Fair to say he can't have known much about that.

Bit of a scramble, Margate seem to have the home side on the ropes as they fail to deal with several corners.

Eventually Margate's poor delivery saves Fleet.

4:43pm

Chance for Thurrock as Walster nicked the ball away. He played it into Stimson who jinked inside before shooting. But his tame effort trickled towards goal and was easy for Holloway to collect.

4:42pm

4:41pm

4:40pm

4:40pm

4:39pm

Good from Honesty again. His cross is headed clear, but finally Thurrock are putting balls into the box and looking dangerous.

4:38pm

Good example, as Margate counter attack. It's 2 v 1 situation (in favour of Gate), but Stubbs elects to go alone, with his shot ending up in Viner's arms. Great attack, poor decision making by Stubbs. Rhodes was in acres of space to his left.

4:37pm

This game could go either way at this stage. Thurrock have had the better of the last 10 minutes, but Gate, and in particular Murphy who's been excellent so far, has potential to cause problems.

4:34pm

Tom Murphy cuts in off the left, shoots right-footed but it's deflected just wide.

Thurrock deal with first corner but concede a second in the process.

4:33pm

4:32pm

More good work from Honesty, this time his low cross is excellent, but Stimson is just beaten to it by Beals.

4:31pm

Nice early touch from Honesty, running at Phil Starkey. Fleet looking good here, still struggling for that final ball though. They've had so few chances on goal.

4:29pm

Margate make a change, too. It's Lawrence Ball off for Michael Alaile.

4:27pm

Break in play for an injury here. It's a Margate player down, but can't make out who.

Thurrock take the opportunity to make a change. It's Leroy Griffiths off for Harry Honesty.

4:25pm

It's still Chelmsford 1 - 1 East Thurrock in the FA Cup

4:25pm

Good football by Fleet as Griffiths and Stimson swap passes. But the manager's son carries the ball a little way before shooting high and wide.

4:22pm

4:22pm

Thurrock riding their luck. Tom Murphy darts down the left, cuts the ball back. Griffin nearly turns it into his own net as he goes to clear and but it's saved by Griffiths as he scuffs it away on the line.

4:20pm

4:15pm

4:15pm

Good response from Fleet as Wanadio's cross is flicked to the back post by Stimson, but Griffiths can't turn his shot goalward, slicing a volley wide.

4:14pm

Well I was just about to comment on how well Fleet had started the half. Ben Smith had gone close with a header at one end, but with a long ball out, Tom Murphy picked the ball up, rushed into the box and smashed it past Wil Viner at the near post.

4:11pm

4:10pm

They're back underway in Chelmsford, too.

4:10pm

Couple of half-time changes for Margate.

Matt Bodkin is replaced by Dan Stubbs and Alex Rhodes is on for Carl Rook

4:07pm

Here come Margate now - after peppering the Thurrock goal in the first half, they'll be frustrated to be a goal down at half time. Very interesting to see how they respond!

4:06pm

Thurrock coming out for the second half. This would be a huge win if they can hang on!

Big half for Stimson's men.

4:01pm

Half time scores from elsewhere:

FA Cup Fourth Qualifying round:

Chelmsford City 1 - 1 East Thurrock United

Ryman Division One North:

Grays Athletic 0 - 1 Harlow Town

Heybridge Swifts 2 - 1 Tilbury

Ware 0 - 1 Aveley

3:50pm

3:49pm

1 minute added time at Ship Lane

3:49pm

Chelmsford level the scores at Melbourne Park as here, Griffiths puts a poor cross into the box.

3:48pm

3:47pm

I think it was Lawrence Ball who made the tackle on Wanadio for the penalty. My opinion is that it was a tad dubious. But the referee didn't think so.

Fleet have been on top since scoring as well. They've not registered a second shot on goal yet but Thurgood and Berry are working very hard in the middle and Griffiths is causing all sorts of problems down the left.

3:44pm

Well how about that? Just as it seemed Margate were turning the screw, Thurrock break. Leroy Griffiths laid a ball off to Wanadio and he was scythed down. Whether it was in the box or not was questionable, whether it was actually a foul was questionable.

Good point made on the Margate twitter feed, too. That was in fact Fleet's first shot on goal.

3:40pm

AND ON THE RARE OCCASION THEY BREAK UP THE PITCH, WANADIO WINS A PENALTY FOR FLEET!!

3:38pm

Smart take by Viner. But his clearance is straight to Starkey, and Margate come again. Much more effective defending from Thurrock

3:38pm

Rocks might be on top in Chelmdford, but here Thurrock are under a fair bit of pressure.

They're struggling to clear their linesand inviting pressure back on. Corner now for Margate after Griffin clears another cross.

3:35pm

3:34pm

3:34pm

Another chance goes begging for Margate.

It's a great ball down the channel that Sam Long collects. In the box, he turns and plays the ball across, but Rook can't turn it in. In the end, Viner collects.

3:30pm

Both sides working very hard. It's a close game in the middle, but neither seem able to pick a final ball at the moment.

As a promising counter attack for Fleet comes to nothing.

3:29pm

3:25pm

More good counter attacking from Margate. This time, Long plays the ball across, with Tuping turning it over.

The corner leads to a goaline scramble. The ball falls under the bar, with bodies flying at it to turn it in/away but it's Viner who palms the ball clear.

3:24pm

3:23pm

As they probe in the Margate half, they leave themselves a little open, and two quick passes from defence allows Murphy to bear down on the Thurrock goal. He opts to shoot from range though, firing high and wide.

3:22pm

Meanwhile, at Ship Lane, it's a story of Thurrock trying get a hold of the game in the middle. When they have the ball and have a bit of time, they look very good.

They've got Gate camped in their own half a the moment.

3:22pm

Meanwhile, at Ship Lane, it's a story of Thurrock trying get a hold of the game in the middle. When they have the ball and have a bit of time, they look very good.

They've got Gate camped in their own half a the moment.

3:19pm

3:18pm

3:18pm

SAM HIGGINS GIVES EAST THURROCK THE LEAD AT MELBOURNE PARK!

3:17pm

Margate should definitley lead after some poor defending by Turpin. He's a little cumbersome as he chases the ball down the right, Rook cuts in, shoots, Viner spills but Murphy can't turn it in from a tight angle.

3:17pm

Margate should definitley lead after some poor defending by Turpin. He's a little cumbersome as he chases the ball down the right, Rook cuts in, shoots, Viner spills but Murphy can't turn it in from a tight angle.

3:14pm

3:13pm

Great build up by Fleet, with Thurgood, Berry, Smith, Stimson and Wanadio all involved. The ball goes in, is cleared but Thurrock retrieve and keep the pressure up. Best spell so far for the home side.

3:11pm

First chance of the game goes Margate's way and they should lead. It's a long free kick into the box, knocked down to Beals who fires a low shot at goal from 10 yards. Should have scored, but somehow a Thurrock defender blocked it.

Fleet a little sleepy here, the corner is played short and Thurrock aren't switched onto it. Viner collects the cross though.

3:09pm

Smith and Berry are new additions to the Thurrock side. Will be interesting to see what they add to the side. Fleet looking ok in the early stages though. All the game being played in the middle third at the moment.

3:07pm

They're underway at Melbourne Park now, too, in the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup: Chelmsford City vs East Thurrock United.

3:06pm

Bright start to the game. No chances of note in the opening few minutes, but Thurrock are looking confident as they pass and move their way out of defence.

3:01pm

Matt Bodkin in the Margate XI. He enjoyed a successful spell at Thurrock! Super Matty Bodkin, they call him here.

Thurrock in their traditional yellow and green, Margate in their changed orange and black strip.

3:00pm

Slight delay to kick off at Ship Lane. The Thurrock U7s are coming out with the players, which is a very nice touch. Lots of parents with cameras down by the pitch!

2:58pm

Here are the line-ups at Melbourne Park:

Chelmsford City:

Searle; Miller, Palmer, Tann (c), Clark; Bridges, Simmonds, Rainford, Welsh, Cornhill, Slabber.

East Thurrock United:

Wray; Sammons, Harrison, Peddie, Stephen; Parmenter, Newby, Gilbey, Ruel; Araba, Higgins.

2:52pm

Some team news at Ship Lane then:

Thurrock:

Viner; Jones, Walster, Griffin, Turpin; Wanadio, Thurgood (c), Berry, Griffiths; Stimson, Smith.

Subs: Honesty, Hughes, Onyemah, Pooley, Jeffries

Margate

Holloway; Starkey, Pooley, Avery, Beals (c); Ball, Bodkin, Corneille, Murphy, Rook, Long.

Subs: Rhodes, Whitnell, Stubbs, Dolby, Alaile.

2:49pm

Elsewhere today, Grays Athletic are up against Harlow Town at Rush Green.

Aveley are away to Ware and Tilbury have made the trip to Heybridge Swifts. There will, of course, be updates from those three games as well!

2:45pm

I'm here to take you through the motions as Fleet go about climbing the table. Lots of optimisim at Ship Lane but it's getting more and more crucial that they hit a good run to escape a relegation dogfight.

Of course, there is also the small matter of East Thurrock United bidding to make it to the first round of the FA Cup for the second successive season.

James Colasanti, the non-league reporter of our sister paper the Echo is at Melbourne Park to watch as John Coventry's Rocks take on Chelmsford. We'll keep you well posted on events there, too.

2:42pm

Good afternoon!

So the Premier League is back after a disappointing international hiatus for England.

But non-league football never stopped! Last week's Non-League Day was a roaring success and the action continues this week.

For Mark Stimson's young Thurrock side, the tough games keep coming.

Last week they battled to a superb 2-2 draw with third place Wealdstone. Today, they take on fourth place Margate!