Impressive Millers, not so Great for Rovers

Parkside, its great, glass frontage facing away from the sun, glimmered only occasionally, whilst the pitch in the foreground was illuminated, making the world look warmer than it actually was. Fans of Aveley and Great Wakering Rovers beginning to gather, an hour before kick off, were undoubtedly hoping for more than the occasional shaft of light during the ninety minutes of action they were here to witness, but truthfully, most were probably so ensconced in their football honeymoon period after finally being allowed out once more that they’d not be too downhearted even if they got a dour, nil-nil draw.

But nobody really expected a dour, nil-nil draw.

Football purists often argue about whether old-fashioned football grounds are better than the sleek, modern variety. Parkside, home of Pitching In Isthmian North side Aveley FC, is likely to polarise opinions somewhat, as it is undoubtedly modern and sleek- the kind of modern and sleek that you get for four million pounds of hard-earned cash- but it has absolutely no nostalgia value. What it has, however, are comfortable seats where your view isn’t blocked by pillars, a wonderful, warm bar, fabulous catering facilities and clean, sanitary toilets. Anyone who ever waded through the gents at the old Wembley will particularly appreciate the latter- indeed, they’re probably now shuddering at the very thought. Apologies if you are reading this over breakfast the morning after.

Many- perhaps most- Parkside regulars remember the club’s old ground along the road, Mill Field, but whilst there is nostalgia about some of the football they watched there, it seems there is little fondness for the facilities. “This is like the Premier League compared to that place,” explained one. He may also have been talking about the quality of the football as well as the improvement provided by the facilities and the pristine 3G surface.

The last time Aveley were in the Isthmian Premier was 2012. That they are amongst the favourites to rejoin our top flight ten years after they left it is not a surprise given the mix of youth, flair and experience boss Keith Rowland has brought to the club, but in truth it might be suggested that had it not been for the pandemic they might be there already; they were in second place when 2019-20 came to a premature end and sitting comfortably with games in hand when last season went the same way. Add in runs to the Quarter Finals and Second Round of the FA Trophy during the last two campaigns and the regulars have had plenty to shout about, with giant-killing galore.

The Millers started their campaign with a draw at AFC Sudbury, but perhaps set down a marker last week when they visited perhaps their chief promotion rivals, Maldon & Tiptree, in the FA Cup and left with a one-nil win. It might not have earned them any league points but it surely must have been a psychological boost; particularly given the Jammers won seven-nil the previous weekend. The fans certainly didn’t seem to need a psychological boost, however, their confidence was unshakeable.

Archie, Dean, Dave and Lee- all pictured- typified the attitude of those following the home team. Asked about their hopes for the season, Dave uttered one word, “promotion.” Asked if there was a danger of over-confidence, Lee added, “with that squad, we should be confident.” It wasn’t difficult to understand what he meant.

“We should be among the favourites to go up, and perhaps we’ll have a good cup run, too. We’ve had a few of those now, and it makes you want more.”

Was the new ground having a positive impact on the local area?

“A big impact. We get far bigger crowds here than at Mill Field, and look how many we took to Notts County. But more than that, the ground is in use all the time, hosting large events, local matches and events, charity games. If you can pick up a couple of fans from each of those events we will soon have a much larger following yet. It’s a real hub of the community.”

The visitors tonight, Great Wakering Rovers, don’t have such expectations on their shoulders, and nor do they have the resources of their hosts, but they have improved year upon year since returning to us for 2018-19. Fifteenth in that first season was followed by seventh place when 2019-20 shuddered to a halt, and they were comfortably in mid table when last season ended extremely early. They narrowly lost their opening match of this campaign, before defeating much-fancied Heybridge Swifts three-one in the cup last weekend. Manager Stephen Butterworth and his coaching team really don’t get the credit they deserve.

It was Rovers who got us underway. They were wearing sunshine yellow, in an attempt to make those of us who were suddenly glad they’d brought a coat feel warmer. It didn’t work.

The Millers, in navy blue, were the first to get a sight of goal. It was a half chance, but from the corner of the box Marlon Agyakwa got a narrow glimpse of the target and fired the ball just wide of the far post, giving the fans who had gathered in one of the two stands behind the goal something to shout about. The next real chance came the way of the home side, too, the impossibly tall George Sykes- or perhaps his markers were impossibly short- firing over. A solitary Rovers fan at the other end waved a flag in the air and sang loudly. They soon became a duo, and to give them credit they were soon making more noise that their home counterparts, despite the fact that the ball was almost exclusively in the visitors half.

Despite having almost total possession of the ball, it took the hosts twenty minutes to get the first corner. Manny Ogunrinde was first to it but couldn’t force it home, and Sykes slipped when trying to reach the rebound. The first shot on target came soon afterwards after some good work by Agyakwa, but Harry Donovan couldn’t get any power behind his effort and Tim Brown had a relatively easy save, but it seemed to finally usher in some real momentum. Brown was again in action two minutes later, blocking from Agakwa at point-blank range, and from the resulting corner Donovan rattled the crossbar. A stoppage for an injury to Connor Martin bought the visitors some welcome respite, whilst the Rovers duo found a drum, which sadly- depending on your point of view- drowned out their vocal repertoire.

The first Rovers chance, sent over the bar by a stretching Mitchell Gilbey, came almost on the half hour- but it was immediately followed by the breakthrough. Jon Nzengo, continually making a nuisance of himself down the right, had a tight angle to aim for but smashed the ball across the keeper and into the corner. It was absolutely deserved.

The second came soon afterwards, and it came after some fabulous skill from Agakwa, who had become increasingly influential as the half progressed. Almost on the line to the right of the goal, he mesmerised the ball and the defenders, skipped inside and passed it home. A moment of absolute beauty. “We can’t hear you over there,” sung the away support, in unison.

Jake Gordon, who had been the main Rovers outlet throughout the half, quickly got on the end of a ball out of defence, hared forward and pulled a fierce drive wide- not too wide. It was a warning, if one were needed, that the game wasn’t won yet- but it almost was a minute later, as a stretching Sykes was millimetres away from reaching a deflected cross. The whistle blew soon afterwards, and almost everyone went in search of a burger, a beer, or a warm up, whilst a number sang “woo-hoo” as a Blur classic (no, not Parklife, that came later) was broadcast over the p.a.

Rovers were back out for the second half more than five minutes before their opponents. Perhaps they’d been “refocused” by their manager. Whatever happened, it was the Millers who had the first shot of the second half, Shad Ngandu forcing Brown into a save, and soon afterwards the frustrations of visiting striker Martin Tuohy earned him a card that matched his shirt, as he complained far too vociferously about a perceived injustice. Ngandu had the next shot, too, but this one- seven minutes after the restart- was shanked into the home support to the right of the goal.

Less than a minute later it was number three. A corner looked like it was too long, but Tom Anderson thought otherwise, and forced the ball home. There was no way back from that for the visitors. Even the singing, dancing duo behind the Millers goal went quiet for ten minutes. Perhaps they were just exhausted- but it wasn’t long before they got a second wind and began to windmill their arms like a pair of Southend Morrisey’s, albeit minus the gladioli.

On sixty three minutes Rovers decided to have a go. George Cox did the unthinkable, and forced David Hughes into a diving save to his left, resulting in a corner, which resulted in…not very much. The Millers responded, and Ogunrinde did all the hard work; all he needed was to put it either side of the keeper and it was surely four, but he had so much time he seemed to become indecisive, and shot far too close to Brown, who probably couldn’t believe his luck.

In the seventy fourth minute Ogunrinde again outpaced the Rovers defence, but again Brown was equal to his effort, diving to his left to hold- but you suspected that, if another goal did arrive, it would arrive at the same end. Just a minute later exactly that happened- Nzengo firing home his second of the night.

By now, it might have seemed a case of “how many,” but the pace of the game slowed a little. The impressive Agyakwa forced Brown to push a shot onto the top of the bar, but the Millers, now assured that the job was done, made two changes- and the visitors knew it too.

They did get a corner with six minutes remaining, but summing up their whole night the cross bypassed every player in the box and went out for a goal kick. They persevered, driven on by their three substitutes, and as we entered the eighty eighth minute fashioned a shooting chance, Hughes having to get down to make a save.

Some of the crowd began to drift away, but the vast majority stayed, perhaps hoping for a fifth. They were to be disappointed in that, but they can’t have been disappointed by very much else.

The whistle blew on a thoroughly entertaining evening, and it seemed that Archie, Dean, Dave and Lee were right to be confident. Their favourites had been dominant, but despite that had seemed to be playing within themselves. Heaven help much of the rest of the North Division when they start firing on all cylinders.

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