Tilbury 1 Leyton 0
TILBURY pulled off their first home Ryman One North win since early September on Saturday in a dour game of few chances.

That’s won’t worry Dockers boss Graham Chester who was jubilant himself after Greg Cohen’s 51st minute sparked great celebrations to emphasise the battling spirit in his team.

The first half was one that won’t remain in the memory, notable only for injuries to Dockers’ Courtney McLean and Nathan Philip who were replaced by new signing Rickie Hayles from Brentwood and Junior Baker respectively.

The only effort on goal worthy of the name came from Leyton’s Ricardo Amado on 34 minutes which produced an uncomfortable moment for home keeper Andy Hall as it bounced in front of him.

However, the second half was a much improved affair, particularly for Dockers supporters after Cohen’s goal.

It came after Chris Stowe had been brought down en route to goal and though Joe Keith’s free-kick struck the wall, Cohen - who has been a leading light for Dockers of late - struck with a fierce shot that took a slight deflection as it zipped past keeper Sam Tanner.

Dockers were determined not to concede and took a defensive strategy into the remainder of the game, packing men behind the ball.

They were rarely troubled by Leyton, and indeed threatened a second when sub Rashid Kamara was through on goal after replacing the largely ineffective Jason Fontaine.

He slightly overran the ball after rounding Tanner but squared it into the box and, in his desperation to clear, defender John Hyatt lashed the ball goal wards where his blushed were spared by a goal-line clearance from former Docker Gbenga Songu.

The only scare for the home side came in added time when Ross Edwards found space in the box and fired at the goal, only to see Hall pull off a match-winning save at full stretch.

Tilbury: Andy Hall, Courtney McLean ( Rickie Hayles), Joe Keith, Danny Smith, Steve Reading, Jamie Wallace, Nathan Philip (Junior Baker), Michael Black, Jason Fontaine (Rashid Kamara), Chris Stowe, Greg Cohen. Subs not used: Patrick Gaskin, Emmanuel Alademi.

Ryman Division One North, up to and including Sat, Aug 29

  P W D L F A +/- Pts 1 Aveley 19 13 6 0 43 17 +26 45 2 Ware 19 14 2 3 43 23 +20 44 3 Waltham Abbey 19 13 4 2 49 18 +31 43 4 Brentwood Town 17 11 4 2 35 16 +19 37 5 East Thurrock United 17 11 1 5 34 24 +10 34 6 Concord Rangers 19 9 4 6 32 18 +14 31 7 Northwood 19 9 4 6 28 21 +7 31 8 Wingate & Finchley 16 8 6 2 30 16 +14 30 9 Cheshunt 18 9 2 7 25 22 +3 29 10 Redbridge 18 7 6 5 32 20 +12 27 11 Leyton 18 8 2 8 32 25 +7 26 12 Potters Bar Town 19 7 5 7 27 23 +4 26 13 Tilbury 19 6 4 9 26 28 -2 22 14 Great Wakering Rovers 18 6 4 8 24 30 -6 22 15 Maldon Town (-3) 17 7 3 7 24 25 -1 21 16 Thamesmead Town 20 5 5 10 24 37 -13 20 17 Enfield Town 17 5 4 8 33 40 -7 19 18 Chatham Town 19 4 2 13 20 34 -14 14 19 Ilford 18 4 1 13 10 40 -30 13 20 Waltham Forest 20 3 3 14 19 43 -24 12 21 Witham Town 16 2 1 13 17 51 -34 7 22 Hillingdon Borough 18 2 1 15 12 48 -36 7