Canvey Island 1, AFC Hornchurch 0 (From Echo)

Canvey Island 1, AFC Hornchurch 0

10:44am Monday 8th March 2010 in

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THE visiting Urchins were blown out of the water by two subs as Canvey maintained their outside play-off challenge with a goal in the third minute of injury-time.

Striker Jay Curran, who came on for Jason Hallett after 76 minutes, latched onto a fine right-wing cross from Gabriel Fanibuy-an, who replaced Leon Gordon at the same time, to head home in fine style.

But life could have been far easier for Gulls but for their now renowned inability to put their opponents on the spot.

Only 51 seconds had gone when midfield man Kevin Dobinson was fouled in the penalty area and he got himself up but placed his set-piece far too close to Urchins’ goalkeeper Darren Behcet, who dived to save with ease.

It was the fifth time in league games this season that the Islanders had failed to convert penalties despite, trying out a number of marksmen.

Manager John Batch admitted afterwards: “Those missed penalties have cost us 10 points already this season and it’s something we’ll have to continue trying to work on.

“To be honest, when it was 0-0 with just a couple of minutes left I thought the spot-kick failure was going to be costly again.

“So you can imagine how delighted I was when Jay turned up with the winner from Gab’s cross.”

On a good, flat, Brockwell Stadium surface that had dried out far quicker than expected after a rare week without rain, this was never going to be a footballing classic.

With both teams on the fringes of the tightest play-off race for years, tensions were high and there was rarely much free-flowing football in a mostly highly-forgettable affair.

Canvey just about deserved their success in as much as they kept Urchins’ stopper Behcet far busier than his opposite number James Russell.

Hornchurch’s ex-Billericay striker Jo Flack and his colleagues were rarely able to get the better of a resolute home defence in which central defender Chris Moore earned man-of-the match ratings.

Both Jason Hallett and fellow striker and top scorer James Rowe missed out on rare half-chances that came Canvey’s way.

But at least it all came good for the Islanders, watched by a 359 crowd, in the end and enabled them to improve on a poor Park Lane record that had seen them win only four times in 14 starts previously this term in the league.

Gulls fans will hope that Curran’s late goal will inspire Canvey to become the impregnable home force they have been in previous seasons for the rest of the term — starting with tomorrow’s home clash with an in-form Harrow Borough side.

If they can do that and maintain their impressive away results season 2009/10 could still be one to remember for the club.