Tuesday 15th December 2009, Capershotts, Kick-Off 7:45pm, Essex Senior Cup supported by BBC Essex Fourth Round.
A Harry Elmes double helped Waltham Abbey power through to the Essex Senior Cup supported by BBC Essex Quarter Finals after a comfortable victory over Bowers & Pitsea at Capershotts.
The striker’s goals proved to be defining points of the match. Elmes’ first from the penalty spot on 21 minutes came about after he was tripped inside the box, putting Abbey in front for the first time at 2-1 and the Elmes double was completed in the 49th minute when he smashed home through a crowded area, giving Abbey some breathing space.
Abbey’s win sets-up a home quarter-final tie against AFC Hornchurch, in which Waltham Abbey Manager, Glen Alzapiedi, admitted his side will need to be at their best. He said “I expect a really difficult game as they beat us 5-0 here [Capershotts] not so long ago, so it’s a game we will have to perform well in to progress.”
The game was played in bitterly cold temperatures, making passing very difficult on a near-frozen pitch which was nearly called off for a third time after two previous attempts to play the fixture were thwarted due to a waterlogged pitch. Abbey dominated large parts of the game but it was Bowers who came flying out the blocks when they took the lead in the 3rd minute, Paul Carr the first to get to a cross that left him with a simple tap home.
From then on, the home side settled down and started to edge more possession, which ultimately saw them score from their first clear-cut chance after a quarter of an hour. Following a neat passing move, Aaron Gayle broke past the defence and slotted past Richard Bastin inside the box to equalise.
Xaniel Doku rounded-off the scoring for Abbey in the fourth minute of second half stoppage time when he latched onto a long ball from goalkeeper Aaron Tillbrook and, after a short run to the edge of the box, he fired home past Bastin. Abbey had chances to add to their tally and Elmes himself wasted a glorious opportunity in the final minute of the first half, firing wide when one on one with keeper Bastin.
Bastin was helpless for all four goals but made a couple of outstanding saves to keep his side in the game. First a well-struck effort 25-yard effort from Miles Mitchell-Coop in the 19th minute and then an amazing reflex save at point blank range from Doku in the 87th minute. The visitors, who beat League One side Southend United in the previous round, had chances of their own though, with their best falling to the Captain Craig Gillam who rifled a 25-yard shot against the post which had Tillbrook beaten on 59 minutes.
Waltham Abbey: Aaron Tillbrook, George Chanda (Jack Daveney, 45), Lee White, Matt Attard, Jordan Bostock, Miles Mitchell-Coop, Andy Keepence, James Elmes, Aaron Gayle (Billy Holland, 75), Harry Elmes, Xaniel Doku. Unused Substitutes: Barrington Brotherton, Dave Ayres, Matt Allen.
Bowers & Pitsea: Richard Bastin, Jack Main, Marcus Allen, Derek Birkett, John Mbaramam, Neil Marron, Craig Gillam (Emmanuel Erasmus, 62), Nick Judd (Gary Strongman, 84), Paul Carr, Michael Dekeyezer, Michael Hart. Unused Substitutes: Chris Lipton, Ben Cook.
Bookings: Waltham Abbey: Gayle (72, dissent). Bowers: Judd (68, foul).
Referee: Adrian Oldershaw (Brentwood).
Assistant Referees: Stephen Moore (Brentwood) and Tom Brooks (Dagenham).
Attendance: 41.
Man-of-the-Match: Harry Elmes (Waltham Abbey): Won and converted his penalty as well as scoring again to put his team in control. A continual menace to the Bowers defence, constantly finding space and holding the ball up well.