Shenfield v Basildon Town

Friendly

Wednesday 13th July 2022

Kick Off 19.15 Actual 19.14

Shenfield 0 Basildon Town 5, attendance 27

23’ 0-1

34’ 0-2

60’ 0-3

83’ 0-4

90’ 0-5

@ St. Martin’s School, 3G Pitch

St. Martin’s Close

off Hanging Hill Lane

Hutton Mount

CM13 2HQ

No Admission or Programme.

Tonight’s match saw Essex Olympian League Premier Division (Step 7) host Eastern Counties League Division 1 South (Step 6). The cage here, which has spectator access along all bar 25 yards of one side, is Shenfield’s normal home venue and not one that I feel is worth ’wasting’ a Saturday on to visit, but perfect for a friendly!

This was a really good open game and an enjoyable watch. The two teams were in the same division last season, with Basildon Town gaining promotion following a second placed finish. The visitors opened the scoring midway through the first half, breaking quickly after defending a corner, before doubling their lead ten minutes before halftime, scrambling in from close range after the ’keeper had saved an unmarked header from a corner on the right. Three second half goals, all scored from inside the six yard box saw them round off a resounding 0-5 win. It could have been more, but a combination of some resolute defending and a couple of decent saves by the Shenfield ’keeper kept the score down, as Basildon piled on the pressure in the last fifteen minutes or so.