Canvey 1, Hendon 1.

By Harvey Rader31/3 20:09Mon Mar 31 20:09:20 2025

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CANVEY 1, HENDON 1.

MATCH REPORT
- by Olsen's Standard Book of British Birds.

Hendon's winless run has extended to a whole half-season's twenty-one league games, following a 1-1 draw by the mudflats of the Thames Estuary.

The result leaves the Greens 8 points adrift of both Canvey Island and the trapdoor, with only 5 games remaining. Canvey's point edges them closer to safety and takes them to the intoxicating heights of 17th, following leaders Dartford's 3-0 win in Camberwell - a result that drops Dulwich Hamlet down to 18th.

If Hendon somehow manage to relegate "The Omelette" I will buy a 25/26 season ticket for Silver Jubilee Park.
I might even sponsor a match.
I won't turn up, but it's the thought that counts.

Although Hendon's one shot on target (for the second week running) and single corner (down from last week's brace) suggest otherwise, the Greens' performance for much of the second half at Park Lane arguably entitled them to more than a share of the points and will quite possibly have instilled some misplaced confidence ahead of next week's match against play-off-chasing Chichester.

On an extremely pleasant spring day, with the temperature at a balmy 18 centigrade, scarcely a cloud in the sky and the breeze blowing off the Estuary into their faces no more than "refreshing", Hendon kicked towards the Kent coast in the first half.

The Dons lined-up 4-5-1, with Alkeo Bani and Lonit Talla sitting fairly deep in midfield and Leo Sery providing the most assistance to lone striker Niko Muir, from his position on the right flank.

Canvey, as one would expect in Saaahf Essix, deployed a conventional 4-4-2. Although Jimmy Wallace is of traditional Saaahf Essix #5 proportions, his central defensive partner, Oliver Parsons, is not of sufficient dimensions to be joining historical behemoths, such as Rob Swaine and Chris Wild, in kicking sand in Charles Atlas's boat-race on Concord Beach... not that there's much sand on Concord Beach.

Even given the lack of Talos & the Titans in yellow shirts, this was much more like a Division #7 football match than last week's faff-about in Sussex. Lawyers for header-related cognitive impairment cases would have been licking their lips at the aerial action on view.

The first chance fell to Hendon. A neat exchange between Kofi Anokye-Boadi and Leo Sery on the right allowed skipper Niko Muir to take down the ball on the right edge of the D and fire a venomous snapshot a yard over Bobby Mason's crossbar. The second chance also fell to the visitors when Leo Sery nodded a Stefan Ilic cross over the bar.

The first three free-kicks awarded were for offside.
"Hooooof!"
The first foul, in the ref's opinion, wasn't committed until past the quarter-hour. Canvey, in keeping with their rugby ethos, hoisted a "Garryowen", which Matteo Salamon leapt to take impressively. The Greens then unwisely stood off Darren Foxley, whose low, fizzing drive went a yard or so wide of Salamon's right post. At the other end, Sery fired over after a neat turn and jink. Chris Harris shot wide for the Gulls.

Having been felled on the right apex of the area, Foxley curled a cross-come-shot goalbound from the free-kick and there was a loud appeal from the Essex players and fans when Salamon, having caught the swerving ball safely, took a big step back and came perilously close to taking it over his goal-line. The linesman was no more than two yards from the corner flag and shook his head. It looked uncomfortably close.

Salamon took another mightily impressive "up and under" in a manner suggesting he might have played Aussie Rules at some stage. Not quite Tony Modra but Mason Cox doesn't get that high for a mark, even starting from 6'10".

It was past the half-hour when Canvey won their first corner. There were five yellow shirts in the six-yard box. Skipper Elliott Ronto rose to flick the delivery on, from outside the near post, but the resulting close range header sailed wide.

Nikolai Krokhin collected a yellow card for an innocuous but unnecessary high boot in the centre circle, as Canvey's midfield began to exert a worrying degree of control.

Right-back Tobi Tinubu was causing Hendon problems with his surges into the final third and one such sortie resulted in a high hoof that dropped near the penalty spot. Salamon thought about trying to claim it, but wisely remained in his six-yard box. The ball dropped to left-back Tom Stephen, who thundered a low volley that sent the keeper swooping rapidly to his right to turn the ball away. An excellent save.

Canvey's second - and last - corner saw Ollie Parsons rise, 10 yards out, to angle a header against the foot of Salamon's left upright. Canvey were turning the screw.

By my reckoning, Canvey did not commit anything the ref judged to be a foul - straying offside apart - until the 40th minute!
Shortly after being awarded their first direct free-kick of the game, the Dons produced a pleasing passage of passing, in which Talla, Halsey and Muir worked an opening, but Talla's cross was gathered by Mason.

Hendon were soon back on the ropes, with Canvey pounding away like the sadly departed George Foreman. Tinubu rampaged down Hendon's left flank again and launched a fierce drive that Salamon tipped onto the underside of his bar. Following up outside the far post, the stretching Ronto couldn't angle his shot back beyond the upright and the Greens gratefully headed to the dressing room on level terms.

It didn't appear that a Muhammad Ali "rope-a-dope" was in the offing, but the breeze was definitely picking up and was in Hendon's favour in the second half.

Niko Muir picked-up a yellow card almost immediately after the restart: raising a foot towards Mason. There appeared little contact, but the keeper let out a bloodcurdling scream reminiscent of an extra being despatched off-screen by a xenomorph in an "Alien" movie and rolling around like the wreath going after the Lamborghini Miura in the opening scene of "The Italian Job."

A mouthy native, brandishing a pint, strolled in front of the Hendon fans and unleashed a torrent of abuse. He received the predictable response. Canvey have changed the colour of their shorts to a fairly standard royal blue. Maybe periwinkle blue would suit them better. I briefly tried to remember where the paralytic, Chelsea-supporting, drunk/junkie spent a second half at the Hendon end, hurling abuse, around 20 years ago. It was somewhere civilised. Lewes, perhaps? Anyhow, a few "caravan" comments are all he got from Hendon. I hope he doesn't try it against Wealdstone.

Canvey initially maintained the upper hand on the resumption. Santos-Hurtado had a shot saved by Salamon, low to his left. Something resembling a rolling maul from a rugby match then collapsed on the left edge of Hendon's D. The ref pinged Hendon - perhaps for not rolling away - and Santos-Hurtado pinged the free-kick six feet over the bar.

Hendon then grasped the initiative. Sery's low shot from the outside-right berth hit the side-netting, before the boss introduced Tope Fadahunsi for Ilic and adventurously went with what looked like a 2-4-4 formation when in possession. Fadahunsi's physical presence made a difference.

The Greens forced their first and only corner just after the hour. Alkeo Bani's delivery to the near post appeared to get stuck under Joe Halsey's boot, no more than a yard out, upsides Mason's right stick. The ball came free and somehow got stuck at Fadahunsi's feet, dead centre and no more than 3 yards out, before being scrambled away.

Anokye-Boadi had a shot blocked, Muir failed to control the ball when almost in on goal and gave away a free-kick, Bani narrowly cleared the bar with a drive, Anokye-Boadi slipped over when a half-chance seemed likely to present itself, then he again managed to hit a defender with what looked a goalbound effort.

The goal Hendon desperately needed arrived with just under 20 minutes to play. Wallace and Mason stood looking at each other, allowing Fadahunsi to pinch the ball and nip in behind them. He squared to an unmarked Anokye-Boadi, five yards out. Even a Hendon player couldn't miss from there. One-nil.
I have to say the players looked as if it genuinely meant something to them - Alkeo Bani being especially excited.

Hendon reverted to a more orthodox formation but appeared to retain control. This situation changed with ten minutes to play. Hendon were dispossessed on an attack down their right. Canvey snaffled the ball, Krokhin lunged to snuff out a potentially dangerous counter-attack and caught Chris Harris in full flight.
No complaints about the second yellow and a red card.

Kawimbe immediately replaced Muir, as Hendon tried to shut-up shop, but they quickly began to creak. Essex sub Conor Hubble rifled a shot over. Harris also cleared the bar with a header.

Hubble then found Tinubu, whose right-wing cross was met by a diving Harris, 10 yards out and upsides Salamon's right post. Peter Osgood couldn't have connected any more sweetly. The ball flew into the net. One apiece.

Canvey might have nicked all three points, but for another fine Salamon save to a Hubble free-kick.

Overall the Dons can have few complaints about the points being shared.
I don't see the Greens' defence holding either Chichester or Dover at bay... and 2 shots on target across the forthcoming 3 hours is a tally unlikely to provide a return.
I'm sadly confident the relevant warrant to send Hendon down - most likely for a lengthy stretch😕 - will be signed at the Crabble in a fortnight's time.

Canvey 1 (Harris 84')
Hendon 1 (Anokye-Boadi 72')
Att: 390.

Line-ups:
Canvey (4-4-2)
Bobby Mason; Tobi Tinubu, Oliver Parsons, Jimmy Wallace, Tom Stephen; Jeremy Santos-Hurtado, Elliott Ronto, Emmanuel Adebiyi, Darren Foxley; Chris Harris, Finlay Dorrell.
Subs - Conor Hubble (for Foxley 68'), Kane Gilbert (for Stephen 81'), Jamie Salmon (for Adebiyi 87').
Hendon (4-5-1)
Matteo Salamon; Joe Halsey, J'Ardell Stirling, Nikolai Krokhin, Isaac Currie; Leo Sery, Kofi Anokye-Boadi, Alkeo Bani, Lonit Talla, Stefan Ilic; Niko Muir.
Subs - Tope Fadahunsi (for Ilic 56'), Kombe Kawimbe (for Muir 82'), Rohdell Gordon (for Bani 88')
Sent off - Krokhin 81'

Stats:
Shots on target: Canvey 6, Hendon 1.
Shots off target: Canvey 8, Hendon 5.
Shots blocked: Canvey 0, Hendon 3.
Corners: Canvey 2, Hendon 1.
Free-kicks: Canvey 16, Hendon 7.
Caught offside: Canvey 3, Hendon 4.
Yellow cards: Canvey 1, Hendon 3.
Red cards: Canvey 0, Hendon 1.

Next week: "Ethel the Aardvark goes Quantity Surveying."

Edited by Harvey Rader at 20:11:14 on 31st March 2025
Edited by Harvey Rader at 20:13:41 on 31st March 2025

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