Thurrock 1,

Maldon & Tiptree 1

RICARDO Santos’ looping header rescued a point for a Thurrock side who played the entire second half with 10 men.

Fleet battled for a draw at Ship Lane in a match which saw 12 bookings, including one which resulted in a red card for Thurrock forward Charlie Stimson just before half time. The first half saw little goalmouth action, but there were four bookings as the referee bowed to pressure from Maldon’s players.

Maldon took a 40th minute lead with Spencer Harrison’s expert volley.

But it only lasted two minutes as Lewis Clark’s free kick was headed home by Santos. Just before half time Stimson saw red after being shown a second yellow card for a deliberate handball.

The second half saw both sides struggle to get into their stride due to the stop-start nature of the game, and the only Fleet chance of note was a Santos header that went over the bar.

Thurrock: Walker, L Clark, Blackwood, Gilman (Martin 46), Santos, Stanley (Warner 46), R Clark, Hazelwood, Wall (Ibe 85), Stimson, Perkins.

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