Ely men’s 1’s were looking to put a stop to the losing streak this week with a visit from the league leaders the Old Southendian’s first team.
A good warm up on what could have been the coldest day of the season so far, saw Ely’s slightly depleted squad throw caution to the rain and try and push for the all but deserved points on the day.
As play started so did the rain, Ely started strong, but got caught out at the back with a short corner being award. With a great diving effort the Ely keeper Parker found himself coming up short against a fluffed Southendian strike.
This was the all-important wakeup call the Ely men needed, managing to see off wave after wave of attacks from the Southendian striker’s. The Ely men themselves gave the southendian’s something to work on around the back as they broke quickly a frequently down the left hand side. This saw Ely up to half time.
During the half time break the Ely men regained focus and will power to try and overcome the slight deficit they had accumulated again. This saw Ely start from half time on the front foot, they were working as a well-oiled traction engine gaining momentum and speed throughout the first few minutes, absorbing the probing attacks from the opposition coming down the flanks giving them the only option of going straight for the heart of the Ely defence, straight down the middle Ely’s midfield kept these attacks at bay but only to keep conceding fouls and free hits which saw the only card for Ely’s stand in captain Nick Wells. This effort in the midfield and defence was soon rewarded with an overload down the right wing with Feroze Abbas keeping calm and slotting the ball home past the southendian keeper, bringing Ely back onto level terms.
Was this the start of the season for the Ely men?
I’m disappointed to say no this was not the start to the Ely season, the southendians attacked again and again, probing away at the strong Ely defence saw the score two more goals in quick succession. Ely never gave up with man of the match Thomas Grimshaw putting in a hard work rate up front to keep the southendian defence on their toes, keeping them pressured and stealing the ball on a few occasions saw the visitors panic but somehow keep the Ely’s strike force at bay.
Overall this was a vastly improved Ely performance with still a little work to be done but constant improvement from the Ely men is surly to be rewarded soon.