Sub-edited by Carlos Acosta Juckes
The lowest ranked team left in the competition, Canvey Island, look to continue the fairy-tale tonight against National League side Boreham Wood. They currently sit in the eighth tier of English football, three below their opponents. Canvey have already had to win six games to get to this point, most recently beating Banbury United, 2-1, in the first round. Boreham Wood have already pulled off an upset of their own, beating League One side Southend United on penalties, after being level at 3-3 after extra time.
Harry Buckett will be taking you through all the action.
Starting Lineups:
The winner of this tie will face Millwall in the third round, following the draw.
KICK OFF After a false start, we are off at Park Lane.
4′ Sorba Thomas drives across the edge of the box and finds a gap to get a shot away. It’s quite a tame effort and bobbles wide of the post.
8′ GOAL (BHW) Boreham Wood strike early! A great bit of footwork by Kabongo Tshimanga opens up an opportunity for him to strike the ball into the bottom right corner. Bobby Mason gets a hand to it, and possibly could have done better. Canvey are going to have to work hard now to pull level.
14′ Kane smith hits a first time looping cross towards the back post. The ball meets the head of Matt Rhead, but it takes all the power out of it, making the goalkeepers job rather easy.
19′ Canvey struggling to hold onto the ball at the moment. They get themselves in good areas but the execution of some of their passes is letting them down. If they can become more accurate throughout the game, they may have a decent chance of levelling up the scores.
24′ A high ball is sent into the box by Conor Hubble but it doesn’t quite meet a Canvey head. The Gulls are however pressing forward more now.
28′ GOAL (BHW) Wood double their lead. Thomas lays off Smith down the left side of the box, who decides to hit the ball across goal. It takes a big deflection off the boot of Mason Hall, Clips the post and ends up in the back of the net. Unsure of whether it was a cross or a shot from Smith, but it’s a goal nevertheless.
33′ The ball is kicked out of play as Thomas is down injured. After a closer look it doesn’t seem to be anything serious, just winded after being hit in the stomach with the ball
37′ SAVE Wood hit Canvey on the counter as Tshimanga breaks forward with pace. He finds the feet of Thomas who takes a touch has a low driven shot. Mason gets a strong hand to it and Canvey are able to clear.
40′ SAVE Excellent stop from Mason! A corner is sent towards the front post, and flicked on to the far corner by Rhead. Mason reacts quickly to claw the ball away from the line. Great keeping from Mason, holding the deficit at two goals.
42′ Boreham break into the Canvey box yet again and it looks like they are going to get a third. Hall gets across to Thomas quick enough to prevent his shot from reaching the goal. Canvey will be praying the referee blows the whistle soon because Wood are really threatening for a third goal.
HALF TIME Canvey Island 0-2 Boreham Wood
Boreham Wood have looked far the better team in the first half, with Canvey not posing much of a threat to the National League side’s defence. Canvey have really struggled to keep possession of the ball with the oppositions midfield proving too much for them. It’s going to take some really special words to be said at half time if Canvey are to pull off a comeback. Having said that it is the FA Cup and as we have already seen this campaign, anything can happen.
46′ Canvey Island get us back underway for the second half.
50′ Canvey still struggling in the final third. They do all the right things until it really matters. They really need something to change this half otherwise the game is as good as done.
55′ A momentary pause in the game after a flare is thrown onto the pitch. You may be wondering who by with an empty stadium, but there is a group of fans who have found a spot behind the stadiums fences, and are watching on.
59′ Evans Kouassi shows off his speed down the right hand side but he is unable to slow down quick enough before making contact with Femi Ilesanmi. A free kick is given to Boreham Wood.
61′ SAVE Mason pulls off another decent save after Thomas tries his luck from a free kick. Thomas struck it well, with a good amount of curl but it wasn’t enough to beat the keeper.
67′ Canvey have their first attempt on goal. Elliot Ronto is given too much time on the edge of the box and gets a shot away under very little pressure. It’s a good strike of the ball, but not too difficult for Nathan Ashmore to hold.
69′ SAVE Another fantastic stop from the Canvey number one. Thomas’s initial free kick effort is dropped by Mason, but he is quick enough to get in front of Tshimanga’s rebound and prevent another goal. He has been his team’s best player by a mile tonight and the main reason they are still in this game.
73′ A period of pressure on Wood’s defence as Canvey have back to back corners. They aren’t quite able to deal with the pestering of the Canvey forwards, until Jamie Salmon slips in the box, allowing Wood to win back the ball and push up the pitch.
76′ CHANCE It really should have been 3-0. Thsimanga has a golden opportunity, pretty much one on one with the keeper. However he doesn’t get the connection he desires and it rolls along the floor into the arms of Mason.
79′ Kouassi goes on a solo run through the middle of the park, beating his man near the penalty area. He deserved something at the end of all that but his shot goes straight down the middle to Ashmore. Kouassi has really come alive in this second half, and if Canvey do get anything out of this game it’s likely to come through him.
82′ INJURY Smith is down with an injury as play comes to a stop. He has had injury problems in the past, but it doesn’t look too serious and he’ll be able to carry on.
84′ GOAL (BHW) That should be it now. Rhead gets on the end of Tshimanga’s chipped ball, and nods the ball into the back of the net. It’s a bit of a shame for Mason as moments before he pulled off another great stop, after Rhead flicked on the original cross from the opposite side.
88′ SAVE How many times have I written this tonight. Mason makes another save to deny Wood. He gets down low quick enough after a free kick is flicked on towards the far post.
FULL TIME Canvey Island 0-3 Boreham Wood
Boreham Wood progress to the third round of the FA Cup for the first time in their history. A dominating performance from them and a thoroughly deserved result. Canvey did have their chances, mainly coming through Kouassi, but the Wood defence just proved to be too much. Mason earned his money tonight, after facing fourteen shots and making some highlight worthy saves. A player that I thought really impressed on Boreham Woods side was Sorba Thomas. He was creative, worked the goalkeeper and looked really comfortable on the ball. He is certainly becoming one of the bigger talents in the National League.
Boreham Wood will look ahead to the next round of the FA Cup, where they will be hosting Championship side Millwall.
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