CONLON, "IT'S EASY AS ONE, TWO, THREE!"

Ronnie escapes the Cray Valley defence.
When arriving at the ground, it was obvious that the conditions were much the same as the previous game at home to Erith Town, a blustery wind blowing diagonally across the pitch, a nip in the air and the threat of rain always hanging around.
However, the surface was not as good as ours and, of course, there's the slope to take into account, plus a rather boggy area from penalty spot to penalty spot, which made running through the centre of the pitch a difficult task.
Therefore, the team that adapted best to those conditions were more than likely to win the game and being the home side, it was no surprise that Cray Valley took a hold on the game from the kick off by playing a high tempo style supplemented with a physical and aggressive attitude from the bench through to the players.
The home side had the slope and wind in their favour during the first half and this aided their long-ball style, plus they had the electrifying pace of Byron Walker up front who gave Hollick and Everest an uncomfortable first 45 minutes.
Cray took the lead after 11 minutes, Faith in the Crows goal came out to punch clear a cross and whilst the punch cleared the area, he was unfortunate that it fell straight to a Cray player who volleyed it back goal wards. Faith managed to get both hands to the ball in an effort to knock it over the bar however, it nestled in the back of the net.
Only 4 minutes later, it was 2-0, a long ball, helped by a deflection, fell to Walker who used his pace to escape the Crows defence, round goalie Faith and slip the ball into the open goal. It has to be said it was no more than the home side deserved at this time as they dominated possession.
The Crows became frustrated as they found it hard to get any rhythm going and this led to Hollick receiving a yellow card for querying a decision made by referee Wager, who at the time, seemed to favour the home side as many 50/50 tackles ended up with Cray getting a free kick.
Crows had their first real effort on goal in the 29th minute, Conlon having a curling shot just fly by the post which Brown in the Cray goal would not have saved if on target.
Unfortunately, in the 36th minute 2-0 became 3-0 when a flowing move by the home side down the Crows right ended up with a great low cross being put into the area for Harvey to slide in and tap home.
Despite the score line, the mood of the Crow's fans was still upbeat, their attitude being if one team can score three goals in a half, then so can we in the second, based on the fact that they were expecting to go in at the break 3-0 down.
However, a lifeline was thrown to the Crows when a neat move ended up with Funnell having the ball just inside the area and his chipped cross found Conlon in the centre of the Cray goal and he headed the Crows back in contention, 3-1 with 39 minutes on the watch.
The goal definitely lit up the Crows and the match as the following 6 minutes saw more goals, bookings, players fronting up to each other and the benches will probably not be sending Christmas cards to each other.
Biddlecombe made it 3-2 in the 42nd minute when he was brought down in the penalty area by Potter, who got a yellow card for his misdemeanour and Biddlecombe took the kick himself in emphatic style.
The euphoric mode of the home bench, players and supporters now changed and the voice level of everyone associated with them increased by many decibels as they saw everything now going against them.
Cray centre forward Harvey and Crow's captain Butler both incurred the wrath of referee Wager who flashed a yellow card to each of them in the 44th minute, as they had a minor disagreement on the pitch, this card was to prove crucial for Harvey later in the game.
Right on half time the home side's mood changed again, they were happy once more, Walker tapping home from close range after the Crows failed to clear a corner and from thinking they would go into the break 3-0 down, the Crows found themselves 4-2 down but with the wind and slope in their favour during the second period.
In the second half Cray still played the same way as the first but the Crows started to get more possession and control of the ball gradually thus upsetting and unsettling the Cray side and this ended up with Lawrence getting booked in the 58th minute for kicking the ball away in frustration.
After 66 minutes it became 4-3, a neat passing move, involving Matthews, Conlon and Funnell saw the latter put over a great cross for Conlon to head home unmarked in the six yard box. Both Ridley and Conlon became more effective as the game went on, Ridley keeping possession and finding players in space whilst Conlon's positive attacking intent was causing the Cray defence problems whenever he got the ball.
Both sides then shuffled their packs, Benbow going off to be replaced by McDonagh in the 68th minute for Cray and Funnell went off after 73 minutes to be replaced by Waterman.
Disaster struck for Cray in the 75th minute, Harvey getting his marching orders from referee Wager for a tackle on Tear, it could have been a straight red or a second yellow, either way, he had to go, much to the disappointment of the home side's bench and the player himself, who initially refused to go to the dressing room until encouraged to by the referee a few minutes later.
The Crows were on top before the sending off but the pressure increased even more after and in the 84th minute Conlon made it 4-4 with a shot from the edge of the area which took a deflection and looped up in the air as it went goalwards, Brown went to catch it but it went through his hands and into the net, much to his disappointment but to the joy of all associated with the Crows.
In the 86th minute Biddlecombe received his obligatory yellow card for a tackle but if he was disappointed he did let it get him down as in the 89th minute he scored the winner with a rasping drive that flew into the net from just outside the area, 5-4 Crows with minutes to play.
In added time, Biddlecombe went off and Carrington came on in the 90+1 minute and the home side replaced Craig with Gross in the 90+2 minute plus the Crows replaced Shea with Hinkson in the 90+4 minute but in reality, Cray had gone and therefore, the Crows could see out the match quite comfortably.
In summary, not a great start by the Crows to the game as they were outfought, physically bullied at times and seemed a yard off the pace, however, they never, ever gave up throughout the 90 minutes and earned the win the hard way, whilst Cray paid for an overtly aggressive and physical approach by having a player sent off and losing their focus as they stopped doing what led to them having a 3-0 lead at one point.