Wealdstone 2 – 0 Aveley
Wealdstone
2 - 0
AveleyGoals from Kieron Forbes and Greg Ngoyi were enough to earn Wealdstone all three points in this encounter with lowly Aveley, moving them up one place in the Ryman League Premier Division to 13th.
With the treacherous weather having decimated the weekend’s Ryman League fixtures, some excellent work from the Wealdstone ground staff ensured that this game went ahead, and they will be glad it did as they dominated the game and perhaps should have won by a greater margin.
In a line-up which contained a number of changes following Monday night’s League cup encounter with Wingate & Finchley, there was a welcome return to the side for Greg Ngoyi, and the powerful front man was in the thick of the action as early as the second minute. Peter Dean’s neat forward header saw Ngoyi beat the offside trap to find himself through on goal, however his effort was well saved by David McCartney in the Aveley goal.
Ngoyi then had the ball in the net two minutes later, tapping in from close range after some good work down the right hand side from James Hammond, however his celebrations were cut short by the linesman’s flag.
Wealdstone’s early pressure continued, with Peter Dean seeing his superb curling effort from the edge of the box cannon off the cross bar, and then Ngoyi finding himself one on one after an Aveley clearance found its way into his path, however he was again thwarted by the excellent McCartney.
David McCartney was certainly keeping his side in it, and he again came to the rescue on 15 minutes. Kieron Forbes raced into the box where he was tackled by an Aveley defender, however the ball rebounded to Dean who saw his powerfully struck effort well saved by the former Maldon stopper.
With four goals in his last three games, Alex Dyer is certainly enjoying some good goal scoring form at the moment, and he came close to adding to that tally on 28 minutes, firing just wide after he had seized on some sloppy play from the Aveley defence.
Greg Ngoyi then had the ball in the net for the second time of the afternoon on 34 minutes, firing in on the turn from Kieron Forbes’s flick, however once again he was flagged offside.
With the sides looking like they would go in level at the break, Stones were given one last chance to take the lead on the brink of half-time. Danny Spendlove burst into the Aveley box where he was chopped down by Spencer Harrison. After consulting his assistant, referee Steven Rea adjudged that Harrison was the last man, giving the central defender an instant red card. Peter Dean stepped up to take the
penalty, however he saw his powerfully struck spot kick rebound off the inside off the post.
It was another let off for the visitors, but they now had to play the second half with ten men.
With Aveley having reshuffled following Harrison’s dismissal, Stones had the first chance of the half on 53 minutes, with Dyer firing over from the edge of the box after a surging run from Forbes.
Stones did finally break the deadlock on 56 minutes. James Hammond played a neat through ball to Forbes, who took a touch before firing in a vicious low shot from the edge of the box which beat McCartney at his near post. The relief was plain to see on the faces of the players, as they had finally broken a resilient Aveley backline.
Wealdstone then had two chances soon after to double the lead. The first of these seeing Greg Ngoyi’s close range effort well saved after a good interchange between Spendlove and Dyer, before Dean’s effort from an acute angle was cleared off the line with McCartney beaten.
Ngoyi’s perseverance was finally rewarded on 79 minutes when he got the goal he had been searching for. The former Northampton man latched onto a clever through ball from Forbes before slotting past McCartney to seemingly put the result beyond doubt.
The visitors tried in vain to grab a consolation, and will perhaps feel aggrieved not to have been awarded a penalty in the closing stages, as substitute Luke Stanley was fouled on the edge of the box, and then it appeared he was again tripped inside the box as he tried to stay on his feet. The referee however pulled play back for the first foul resulting in a free kick. From the resultant free kick the
ball was played short to Stanley, however North saved well at the strikers feet.
Next up for Stones is another home game against Northwood in the Middx Senior Cup, then attention turns to a daunting, but exciting trip, to Newport County in the First Round Proper of the FA Trophy. The lads will be backed as always by a large vocal following and will no doubt raise their game as clear underdogs with the aim of causing an upset.
Wealdstone: North, Hammond, Chappell (c) (Lavers 85), Parker, Massey, Dyer, Dean, O’Leary, Ngoyi (Gill 85), Forbes, Spendlove. Subs not used: Yorke, Brookes, Cronin
Man of the Match: Kieron Forbes
Steve Foster Match Pics HERE