Tilbury 1, Ilford 1

A late, late goal from Paul King earned Tilbury a draw from Tuesday's hard fought Ryman Division One North clash, cancelling out Kevin Riley's 14th minute 25 yard drive.

Both sides played two thirds of the match with ten men after the dismissals of Tilbury's Nana Badu and Ilford's Bradley Brotherton after an ugly and protracted first half fracas, sparked when Brotherton apparently bit deep into Badu's hand.

There seemed little in an innocuous challenge by Badu on Brotherton but the Ilford man's response sparked a five minute stoppage in play which saw the red mist descend on Badu, who might just have been unfairly treated when the referee meted out his red card.

Brotherton was already well on his way to the dressing room for his part in the incident when Badu got his instructions from the ref and the Tilbury man charged across the field, only being pulled back by teammates at the last second from extracting the revenge that he clearly felt he might as well take after being sent off anyway.

The incident is sure to be investigated further, with the referee reportedly acknowledging the deep wound in Badu's hand that could spell big trouble for Brotherton.

Football wise, the match rarely hit the heights but was always closely contested on a bitterly cold evening.

Tilbury should have been lifted by Saturday's win against Enfield, and their win at Ilford just a couple of weeks before but they were rocked back in the early stages by the visitors and King's early strike.

From then on Tilbury were evenly matched throughout with their near neighbours, who did come close to getting a second goal when Riley hit the bar moments before the biting incident.

Unsavoury as it was, it probably fired up Tilbury and certainly seemed to distract Ilford, though neither side was able to create a clear cut opening in the remainder of the half.

After the break Tilbury just about had the edge, though they rode their luck with one of two pacy Ilford counter attacks.

However, they did have the lion's share of pots on goal, though many were high, wide and not so very handsome.

At the other end Dockers enjoyed a touch of good fortune Bradley Smart's endeavour earned them when Andy Purcell burst through and lobbed Dean Neil. The ball was goalbound but Smart didn't give it up and stretched to make a clearance, knocking the ball onto the cross bar and away from danger.

Having deserved that bit of luck, Tilbury pushed forward with more venom, even if their final ball was generally wayward.

Ilford keeper Andy Hall didn't have a great deal to do but became his side's hero five minutes from time when Danny Jones burst through the middle and fired a low drive to the keeper's right where he somehow blocked the ball away.

Many thought that was it for Tilbury, but they kept plugging away and their persistence was rewarded deep in injury time when Jordan Tolan swung over a deep, curling cross that caused hesitation in the home defence and King nipped in to bundle the ball over the line and earn his side a share of the points.

Tilbury's goal provoked a hostile verbal blast from Tolan at some of the home supporters who had barracked him earlier and his full-mouthed tirade is unlikely to win them over.

Perhaps he was inspired by his manager Tony Cross, who had used two pages in the match programme to blast the Gazette's coverage of Tilbury and who had barred publication of Saturday's report in its pages.

Football is all about opinions and Cross is perfectly entitled to his and to resort to personal criticism, calling me bitter and twisted among other things, though most match reports are produced from sources within the club.

He has refused to speak to the paper all season, which is a shame but we are agreed on one thing; the key for Tilbury now is to get results on the pitch.

Four points from two home games may well be the start of a revival in the club's fortunes and they next take their campaign to Arlesey on Saturday.

Results elsewhere on Tuesday went well for Dockers, with most of their neighbours in the lower reaches of the table losing so they now have the incentive and opportunity to go on and climb up the table.