Gonnella at the double.
On a day where a swirling, blustery wind welcomed the players of both sides when they arrived, the team that adapted to the conditions the best was more than likely the team that was going to win the match.
Keeping the ball on the ground was going to be a key element for each team if they were to get the points and with the type of players the Crows had in their side, most spectators were confident that the Crows would be able to deal with the South Westerly wind.
The home side had Adam Faith, a loan player from Tooting & Mitchum, making his home debut in goal for the suspended Callum Hampson, whilst another loan player, Ronnie Conlon, was also making his home debut, having joined the Crows for a month from Lewes FC.
Antonio Gonnella was the third loan signing in the starting line-up, from Sittingbourne, and it was he who had a big say in the final result before going off injured in the 75th minute to be replaced by Ryan Hinkson.
The Crows won the toss and elected to play against the prevailing wind and were on the offensive from the off as Erith Town decided to sit back and try to hit the home side on the break using their pace out wide.
It was probably fair to say that even passing the ball on the ground was not that easy and despite dominating possession and chances, the final ball from the Crows was sometimes disappointing from the home supporters perspective, sometimes over-hit, sometimes under-hit and good chances went begging.
Erith did have moments, sparse as they were but Faith did everything he had to do efficiently and effectively, mainly from crosses and he was helped out by his back four in front of him. With captain, Paul Butler, sitting in front of the defence, they stifled the attackers of the visitors and Faith only had one direct effort to save in the whole of the 90 minutes.
The creativity and pace of Ridley, Gonnella, Clarke and Conlon, plus the runs of the returning Biddlecombe, gave the defence of Erith a torrid time, especially Osibodu at left back, however, the chances that arrived, and there were a few, were either missed or saved by Hagan in the visitors goal and it looked like the Crows were going in at half time 0-0.
Finally though, following a great run and cross by Conlon as first half time was ticking away, Gonnella took advantage of a goal-mouth scramble to fire the ball into the net, much to the delight of the home players and to the relief of the home supporters.
It was no more than the home side merited for their efforts and the half time drink will have gone down a lot better for the home side than for Erith Town, whose manager was definitely letting some of his players know what he thought about them conceding a goal at that time.
The second half mirrored the first half as the Crows once again dominated possession and chances, Conlon hitting a post as early as the 48th minute after a jinking run into the penalty area and the ball eventually was cleared.
It was not long after that it was 2-0, Gonnella again, who used to play for Erith Town by the way when his brother was their manager, put the ball in the net following great work by Clarke inside the Erith area.
As usually happens during the second half of games when one team dominates, the team under pressure makes substitutions which disrupt the flow of the opposition and the game overall and this happened to the Crows as Erith shuffled their pack.
The Crows still looked most likely to score although it became a bit scrappy at times and eventually Conlon was replaced by Shea and Biddlecombe was replaced by Carrington, who has now recovered from his injury, although he now needs some game time to get match fit again.
With the score at 2-0 and the game entering added-on time, the Crows were awarded a free kick some 25 yards out, Ridley took the chance to get himself on the score-sheet and fired the ball over the wall and into the net, giving Hagan no chance, despite his acrobatic dive.
The referee blew the whistle seconds after Erith had restarted the game and so the three points went to the Crows, much to the satisfaction of the home players and supporters.
If there was any negatives for the Crows it was that Biddlecombe and Matthews received yellow cards when handbags were exchanged by the dugouts with an Erith player and MOM Jason Hollick also saw yellow for an infringement by the home stand.
The Crows performance was definitely one of their best of the season so far, the defence looked solid throughout, contributed to the attacking element at times as well, especially Matthews and Tear, Butler, Ridley, Clarke, Gonnella and Conlon were mobile and creative in midfield and Biddlecombe was always a willing mover upfront, giving his teammates opportunities to exploit the space created, all in all, a great team performance.