BRENTWOOD TOWN 0 CHESHUNT 2
Ryman League Division 1 North
Tuesday 13th January 2009
Harry England reports........
After the initial game was abandoned due to floodlight failure at 2-0 to the home side, Brentwood were looking to secure the three points in Tuesday night's game versus Cheshunt. It was the Ambers' first game of the year, and a starting place was given to Ola Akinnawo, with Tom Tresadern also making his first start. Gary Schillachi and Nick Thorogood were also back in action.
Tom Tresadern's early cross was searching for Ola Akinnawo in the first few minutes, but Jack Buckland held the ball comfortably. Just over ten minutes later, Brentwood began their first-half domination and Chris Goodchild was forced to tip over a stinging drive from Lee Perry. The home side continued to attack, but couldn't find a real opening, although forced Michael Pelley into a booking on twenty-five minutes for persistent offences.
Glen Parry made a rare error at left-back, as the ball slid under his foot into Sherwin Stanley's path. Fortunately for the Ambers, Stanley couldn't get past the as-ever superb Chris Goodchild, who made another fine save to deny the forward.
It was Cheshunt's chance against the run of play that looked most dangerous though. Akinnawo showed some real promise with a blistering drive down the right wing and with fire coming from his heels, he rolled a perfect ball to Clark Akers, who blazed his shot way over from the edge of the area, a shocking miss.
On the brink of half-time though, Cheshunt got in front. A well executed ball from Gary Schillachi found Mervin Abraham, who, with his back to goal, pivoted and rolled the ball confidently into the bottom right corner of the net. Bradley Harrison also had a rasping drive watched wide in the first half's stoppage time.
Cheshunt set the early pace in the second half and Kai Ramshaw gave the home side a scare early on with a long-range effort, but the game began to get scrappy as Brentwood searched for a way back in. Mervin Abraham made a needless tackle on the halfway line which earned him a yellow card, and then Akinnawo was torn to the floor. Riki Holmes could think himself lucky to get away with just a yellow for this tackle, as the ball was a fair way from Akinnawo, who had to receive treatment on the field.
Schillachi was then brought down by Mitch Hahn as both were chasing the ball, but the referee allowed play to continue leaving Hahn one-on-one with Goodchild. The Cheshunt keeper protected his goal superbly though but if a goal had been the outcome there would have been uproar from the travelling fans. Goodchild was injured in the process and had to receive several minutes of treatment before he could continue.
As Brentwood continued to pressure the Ambers Bradley Harrison made a superb last-ditch tackle to divert a shot for a corner. The resulting cross saw a goalmouth scramble follow, and as Nick Thorogood ran with the ball on the counter-attack, he too was ripped down to the floor, with the offender somehow going un-carded. 
Brentwood skipper Steve Good then had his side's best chance of the half, as a lethal volley scraped the crossbar from around twenty yards. Sherwin Stanley then got through for the home side ten minutes before the end of the game, but hit a disappointing left-footed effort just wide.
Just two minutes later and Goodchild was pulling off more heroic saves, as Hahn's shot took a deflection off Akers, but Goodchild somehow clawed away the ball from its’ new path. Brentwood's desperation was showing now as the game entered its’ final stages. Another goalmouth scramble ensued, but still they could not find the equaliser and it meant that after ninety-two minutes Mervin Abraham's long ball to Daniel Bradford was taken down well. He beat a defender, and with Jack Buckland way, way off his line, Bradford kept his composure and took his time to hit a very neat chip into the roof of the net from all of thirty yards, capping off a great team display by the Ambers and the first three points of the year!
Brentwood: Buckland, Wilson (Bolle 90'), Glozier, Good (c), Blewitt, Street (Symons 66'), Hahn, Holmes, Stanley, Wareham (Crowder 77'), Perry
Unused: Parratt, Ashby
Cheshunt: Goodchild, Schillachi, Parry (c), Thorogood, Pelley, Harrison, Akers, Ramshaw (Taylor 76'), Akinawwo (Bradford 69'), Tresadern (Roberts 53'), Abraham
Unused: McGowan, Harris
