Concord Rangers 3-0 Whitehawk

From the Aspect Arena

Conference South

 

CONCORD Rangers cruised to an impressive win against promotion chasing Whitehawk, with Steve Cawley the star of the show.

The striker netted twice in the 3-0 win to move the Beach Boys up to mid table, with Sam Collins also getting on the score sheet.

Whitehawk began the day in third place in the Conference South but they were no match for Concord, who were flying after their midweek win over Dagenham & Redbridge on the Essex Senior Cup.

Manager Danny Cowley handed a first start to on-loan Bournemouth defender Callum Buckley and he had an assured debut at the back.

The hosts should have taken an early lead through Joe Gardner, after he beat the offside trap but his low shot was well saved by goalkeeper Craig Ross.

But Ross went from hero to villain as a misunderstanding in defence allowed Cawley to nip in between him and the hesitant Tom Cadmore and slot into an empty net.

Concord looked likely to add to their lead, coming close on a number of occasions before the half-time interval.

But the Beach Boys continued in a similar fashion in the second half, Collins capitalising on another error from Ross to tap home.

Although there was nothing the stopper could do about the decisive goal, as Cawley ended a neat passing move to curl beyond Ross and into the far corner.

Captain Tony Stokes could have added more gloss to the scoreline but his late effort was cleared off the goal line in fine style.

Concord Rangers: Vickers, Walker, Buckley (Ogilvie), Woodyard, King, Fry, Gardner (Miles), White, Taaffe (Stokes), Collins, Cawley