Great Wakering Rovers 2-2 Thurrock

From Burroughs Park

Ryman One North

 

GREAT Wakering Rovers snatched an injury time equaliser against south Essex rivals Thurrock in a fiercely contested derby at Burroughs Park, which saw three men sent off.

Former Rover Ross Wall, and Fleet’s top goalscorer, saw red in the second half, after they had taken an early lead from Lewwis Spence.

But an equaliser four minutes from time by Jay Nash looked set to secure a hard-earned point for Dan Trenkel’s men.

That was until Kweku Ansah scored two minutes from time, only for Rovers to snatch back a point thanks to Eljay Worrell in the dying seconds.

The game had looked set to end on a sour note after the returning Billy Radley, out for a month with a hamstring injury, and Abs Thompson were sent off after clashing.

But up popped Worrell to snatch a point.

Trenkel, who had picked up the Ryman One North manager of the month award for December after three successive wins, has now watched his side suffer back-to-back defeats after a New Year’s Day loss to Harlow Town.

And it was a early goal that looked set to prove decisive in this match, coming from away captain Spence.

The influential captain netted after only two minutes after fine work by Thompson to hand Fleet the lead.

Lewis Clark shot over for the away side before Wall glanced wide.

Thompson missed two further one-on-one opportunities before Lamar Reynolds shot straight at the impressive Adam Seal between the posts for Rovers.

Rovers were let off after Wall netted, only for the linesman to deem that Remi Sutton’s cross had gone out of play before the forward netted.

And Wall’s red card, for reacting angrily after he was put through, could have been a turning point.

And so it proved when Nash scrambled in the loose ball in the box.

Terrific work from Reynolds allowed in Ansah and he chipped Seal for his first ever goal for the club.

And when both sides saw a man sent off in added time, after Thompson was adjudged to have thrown a punch at Sparrow, the Fleet man and Rovers’ Radley were both shown red cards.

But it was the hosts who had the last laugh as Worrell scored with the last kick of the game in a thrilling contest.

Great Wakering Rovers: Seal, Pugsley, Worrell, Skeels (Kent), Sparrow, Hepburn, Bradley, Ranger, Jacobs, Nash, Johnson (Strickland)