Budd's the hero as Mead go up

They beat hosts Maldon & Tiptree 4-1 on penalties after fighting back from 2-0 down to earn a 2-2 draw in the Ryman North play-off final and make it a bitter end to the season for the Essex club, who at one stage topped the table by 15 points.

It was all Maldon from the start and they were two up inside 12 minutes. Ollie Berquez turned in James Robinson’s cross to make it 1-0 in the ninth minute and the lead was quickly doubled when Lee Boylan tapped in from Joe Gardner’s centre.

The league runners-up continued to dominate with their flowing football but the turning-point of the match came just before the half-hour mark, when Michael Toner missed an open goal provided by Boylan.

A third goal would surely have ended the contest. Instead, almost immediately, a Maldon free-kick was cleared, Mead broke quickly and top scorer Stuart Zanone rifled an unstoppable shot past Joe Wright to put his side back in the game.

Better was to follow for the visitors in the 40th minute, when Berquez fouled Rob Carter and Chris Edwards levelled the scores with a confident penalty.

The second half was scrappy, with both sides looking afraid to concede a decisive goal. Thamesmead had a header cleared off the line from a corner in added time and, later still, Budd pulled off a good save from Jamie Guy at the other end.

It was the same story in extra time, though Edwards almost won it with the very last kick of the match, a 25-yard free-kick which Wright managed to push wide at full stretch.

So to penalties, with Thamesmead first up. James Donovan, Baff Addae and Tyrus Gordon-Young all netted for the visitors but it was a different story for Maldon.

They entrusted their first three kicks to their three substitutes and, after Guy had scored, Kevin McLeod and Ben Bowditch were both denied by Budd. That gave Edwards the chance to win the match and he made no mistake.

Budd is pictured (by Gavin Ellis/TGS Photo) saving at the feet of James Robinson.