Three players sent off and a substitute dismissed from the bench for the Oysterboys.
This is one of the hardest match reports I've had to write in my time doing them for the club and the website. Normally, there's plenty of football and the associated chances for either side to comment on but in this match one side wanted to play football, whilst the other side wanted to turn it in to a physical confrontation from the first whistle until the last one and didn't care how they did it.
From the very first minute the visitors played with their bodies and forearms more than their feet, holding arms and pulling shirts at every opportunity and weren't shy in putting the boot in off the ball and out of the site of the match officials.
I wrote in my review that I thought this game would be an entertaining affair and would prove to be a tough game for us to earn the three points. Unfortunately, I was not expecting it to be a fore-runner to the Haye v Bellew fight scheduled for later that night, perhaps the visitors were going to watch the fight as a group and decided to warm up for it during the match.
I won't go in to every incident, suffice to say that three away players seeing red, four more away players seeing yellow and a substitute for them being dismissed from the bench really says it all. The player from our side who seemed to be singled out for some targeted assaults was Jack Walder, as two of the straight red cards shown to Town players were for nasty tackles perpetrated on him, one whilst prone on the ground, the other for a late tackle from behind which left Walder with a very badly swollen right calf muscle.
The visitors could have, and perhaps should have, had another couple of players sent from the field of play, one when their full-back, who had already seen yellow, could have received a second one for late challenge on Crabb, however, referee Conn decided, not for the first time, to call over the Town captain, Gillman and the offending player for a chat. I have to say that I lost count of how many times that scenario occurred during the game but it had very little effect on the style of play employed by the visitors.
The second occasion happened when Perry, whilst jumping up for a header, was caught in an arm lock by his marker and dragged forcibly to the ground, his head then being forced against the turf to such an extent that he had to leave the field in a very dizzy condition and heading off to hospital to be checked out. To everyone's surprise not even a free kick was awarded on this occasion when perhaps a red card should have been the order of the day.
Now that side of the match has been catered for, let's talk about some football. The Crows did not start very well at all and the visitors were very much on the front foot from the whistle and hit the post in the 2nd minute before the ball was cleared by Turner for a Town corner. From the resulting kick, Thompson hook the ball in to the net and it was 1-0 to the away side after 3 minutes.
From here-on in their tactics changed and the Crows struggled to get a grip on the game, the passing was not as accurate and sharp as usual, the movement lacked any tempo and if the away team's tactic of being physical was aimed at putting us off our game, then for the first 25 minutes, it definitely worked.
Gradually the Crows started to get in to the game and when a Town attack broke down a ball from the back saw Muggeridge, Perry and Carrington through on goal with only two defenders and goalkeeper Eason standing in their way. Muggeridge took the ball on before timing his pass to Carrington who took his time, controlled the ball before firing it past Eason in the Town goal for 1-1 in the 35th minute.
The Crows only had to wait 2 minutes before their second goal arrived, Carrington hit a shot that Eason turned around the post for a corner, a routine by Carey and Muggeridge saw the latter put over a cross which Carrington got his and the Crows second goal, 2-1 to the home side.
Before the break the Crows had Ellis booked for remonstrating with the Town captain, Lee, to add to the various yellows and red card shown to the Town players.
As normally happens when a side is reduced to 10, Town rather shut up shop in the second half and relied on breakaways to get back in the game, therefore, the Crows faced a nine-man wall of players who were by now using even more aggressive tactics than they were in the first half.
For much of the half the Crows knocked at the door before Carrington saw yellow and in the 78th minute Dawodu became the second Oysterboy to see red. Pearson had to replace Perry in the 79th minute and scored the third goal in the 81st minute, firing in from close in after being played in by Muggeridge, 3-1 and the game won, three points in the bag.
Before the end of the game there was still time for Carey to be fouled off the ball, necessitating him to be replaced by Vickers, Morris to become the third Town player to see red and Vickers to see yellow for the Crows. After 98 minutes the whistle went and what players were left went off the pitch to their respective dressing rooms.
Our Match Day and Match Ball sponsor, Goodwin Betting, selected two-goal hero Sam Carrington as the Man of the Match for which he and his teammates left to rapturous applause for another well-earned three points.
As this was the first meeting of the two sides this season one can only hope that our away game against the Town is played out in a different manner to this one and that all spectators see two teams trying to play some football throughout rather than one team concentrating on the more physical side of the game.
I have to wonder personally what has changed in the sides that play us, as in the last three matches six opposition players have been dismissed, two Corinthian players, one Erith Town player and three Town players in this match, whilst we haven't had anyone dismissed.
It remains to be seen in our remaining games how the opposition chose to play against us, I'm aware being near the top of the league makes other teams play harder against you but in the last three games they have over-stepped the mark and paid the price as judged by the relevant match officials on the day.