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CELEBRATION: Debutant Calum Dodkins (3) and Sam Groombridge join on-his-knees Jamie Gray after the goal. Picture by Adam Lowe

Tilbury 1, Waltham Forest 0

A FIERCE 35-yard drive from Jamie Gray proved the difference between these two Ryman Division One North relegation battlers at windswept Chadfields on Saturday.

Quality football was a rarity in an encounter dominated by the swirling conditions but the venom Gray injected into his long range strike at goal was a moment to be savoured, though visiting keeper Jamie Brown, who had earlier produced an astonishing save to deny Chris Stowe, will feel he could have kept the pile-driver out rather than palming it into the roof of the net.

The winner came 11 minutes into a second half that was infinitely more entertaining than the dour opening 45 when Forest failed to make the most of the driving wind at their backs.

Tilbury, who gave a debut to 17-year-old left back Calum Dodkins, had a simple plan for the first half: keep their visitors at bay.

Yet the plan could have gone astray, for all the right reasons, after just eight minutes when Tom Poole found himself with only keeper Brown to beat but he knocked his shot wide of the target.

Other than that Tilbury spent most of the first half on the back foot, but they were rarely troubled despite conceding a large number of corners as the elements blew in their faces.

Having got to the break with the game goalless, Tilbury stepped up their attacking intentions on the restart and might have gone ahead in the 46th minute but Brown somehow produced an athletic stop to fingertip Stowe's well directed header from Poole's cross over the bar.

ON ITS WAY: Jamie Gray's thunderous strike about to bypass keeper Jamie Brown's attempt to palm it over. Picture by Adam Lowe.

The save was the highlight of the game to that point and Tilbury appeared entranced by it when play restarted, allowing Forest make a probing counter-attack that should have resulted in the opening goal but for an impetus strike over the bar.

The game's decisive moment came when Luke Stanley was fouled midway in Forest's half and Gray stepped up with a thunderbolt that appeared to catch Brown by surprise and his attempt to push the ball over the bar ended only with a bulge in the roof of the net.

Tilbury ought to have gone on and dominate but strangely they failed to make the most of conditions and showed a remarkable incapacity to hold onto possession, particularly in the closing minutes when Forest had several chances.

Thankfully for Dockers' survival chances, Forest weren't able to make the most of them and a clash that always bordered on the fiery boiled over in added time when Rashid Kamara kicked out at Bradley Smart and he was sent off.

Dockers have played better and lost, but that wasn't the point of Saturday, it was all about character after the midweek 7-0 humiliation at Ware and manager John Lawrence was delighted with his team.

"They showed real bravery to bounce back," he said. "It wasn't a great game but I think we wanted to win it more than them. We had a plan and just about stuck to it.

"Not conceding against the wind was key and then I think we just about deserved it in the second half though we needed to show a little more maturity in the closing stages when we could have made it easier for ourselves but kept giving the ball away too easily."

Next up for Dockers is an Easter Monday trip to borough neighbours Aveley.

With the Millers still in with a shout for a play-off spot after a great recent run of form Lawrence knows his side face a tough task, but he believes they have the bottle for it.

"Rod Stringer is a manager I have come to have a great amount of respect for and he's become a good friend. He's done a fantastic job at Aveley since going there in mid season and in my mind he deserves a shot at manager of the year for what he's done.

"I know we won't get anything cheaply there on Monday but if we can apply ourselves to the job like we did today, particularly in the first half, we have a chance."

Tilbury: Richard Wray, Sam Groombridge, Calum Dodkins, Bradley Smart, Paul King, Danny O'Connor (Ajibola Olatunbosun 65), Chris Brown, Jamie Gray, Tom Poole (Reece Philips 76), Chris Stowe (Andre Humphrey 90), Luke Stanley. Subs not used: Nathan Philip, Jon Wightman.

Ryman Division One North, up to and inc Sat, March 22

7:14pm Saturday 22nd March 2008

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