CLIFF AT THE DOUBLE

 Thurrock bounced back from their midweek defeat to Hornchurch with a determined performance on this very hot afternoon played on an excellent playing surface.

The opening 20 minutes they enjoyed much of the better possession and the The Magpies  had their keeper – Nick Hart to thank for two outstanding saves to deny Fleets Martyn Lawrence. The visitors did create a couple of decent chances but Fleet keeper – Paul Gothard was never called upon to make a save of any real note.

Most of the first half play was condensed to the midfield area with little real goal mouth action.

After a goal less first half the game came to life just after the interval. The lively Cliff Akurang surged past the visitors defence and fired a fierce drive which was save point blank by Hart and the ball fell at the feet of Mark Goodfellow on the edge of the box. The young Fleet defender raced past his marker into the area an saw his well struck shot flash past the far upright.

The half was just 6 minutes old when Fleet took a well-deserved lead. It was almost inevitable that it should come from Cliff Akurang, who is enjoying a rich vein of form.  A Dave Collis corner was only half cleared by the Magpies center half and the ball was sent back into the area where Steve Heffer struck a goal bound half volley, Akurang intervened to fire the ball home to give Fleet the lead.

Try as they might Maidenhead just couldn’t seem to make any inroads on the Fleet defence and Akurang scored again in the 66^th minute to extend the Fleet lead. His goal came from a long kick from Gothard which, the visitors defenders couldn’t cope with. Akurang closed down the defenders space and won the ball, which then saw him step inside another defender and coolly passing the ball into the far corner for an excellent finish. One could have been forgiven for thinking that the game was won at this point.

However in the 72 minute, a great run from United’s Brian Connor into the Fleet area was halted by a tackle from Lee Allen, which, had the referee pointing to the spot. Martin Lee made no mistake with the spot kick giving Gothard no chance.

This set back did not seem to cause the panic that sometimes ensues when the opposition get back into the game and if anything it seemed to spur on the Fleet side.

Fleet sealed the victory in the 88th minute when Lee Allen showed good pace to flick the ball past the advancing keeper and a defender before skillfully curling the ball into the far corner from the edge of the box.

 All in all a good performance from the team who now face two away trips next week beginning with a League fixture on Tuesday evening at Bishops Stortford. On Saturday its FA Cup action with a trip to Ford Meadow, home to Buckingham Town who play in the "Eagle Bitter" United Counties Football League.