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Leyton 0 Brentwood Town 1 (From Brentwood Weekly News)
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Leyton 0 Brentwood Town 1
1:27pm Monday 7th December 2009
A RESOLUTE Leyton team looked to have earned a draw until Dean Pennant’s late debut-goal saw Brentwood take three points and extend their unbeaten league run to eight games.
Pennant, a midweek signing from Ryman League rivals Waltham Forest, headed in a Danny Glozier free kick in the 87th minute.
Until then it had been an increasingly frustrating afternoon for Brentwood, who had had enough chances to have won the game comfortably.
Brentwood also included another new signing, Ian Luck, the former Canvey Island striker, who was transferred from Aveley on Saturday morning.
Brentwood looked the stronger side from the kick off, with Reiss Noel a threat at set pieces, but Leyton had a great chance in the seventh minute.
From the right wing, Chetin Ali played a low cross from the goal line to the feet of Fabian Brown; but Brown did not get enough power on his shot and goalkeeper Jim Hasell was able to make a good save.
Most of the play was in the Leyton half and their skipper Steve Sheehan made a good tackle on Luck as Brentwood put pressure on the home defence.
Pennant could have scored in the 11th minute when a cross from Dee Okojie found him in space at the far post, but Leyton goalkeeper Elliott Justham saved the shot.
Noel hit the crossbar with a speculative clip into the penalty area in the 18th minute and chances continued to come the way of Brentwood. The best of these fell to Joe Sweeney in the 22nd minute.
A Glozier free kick from the right wing found Sweeney unmarked at the far post, but the striker’s side-foot volley went over the bar.
Although Brentwood continued to enjoy good possession, with Pennant covering a lot of ground in the middle of the park and Richard Priest again impressing on the left wing, the Leyton defence, well marshalled by Sheehan, restricted their scoring opportunities in the rest of the half.
At the other end, Brentwood’s centre backs, Noel and Darren Blewitt, dominated the Leyton forwards, winning almost all the aerial challenges.
Pennant volleyed over the goal from a Glozier free kick early in the second half, but Leyton were becoming more of a threat when they went forward.
They were dangerous from corners, with Sheehan and the tall Lucien Ntolla a handful in the air, and Hasell did well to smother one effort on his goal line to prevent his side from falling behind.
Luck had two good opportunities to put Brentwood ahead, but he failed to hit the target both times after he got on the end of crosses from Glozier and Okojie.
Sweeney’s skill then created another chance, but Justham was quick off his line to smother at the expense of a corner.
It looked as though Blewitt had put the visitors in front in the 67th minute when the ball came to him in space following a Priest corner.
Blewitt hit his shot into the ground and it looked as though it was going in, but the ball was cleared off the line by a desperate home defence.
Justham saved very well from substitute George Lay’s volley after a fine run and cross from the right wing by Okojie, and when Luck shot over from a Priest free kick in the 82nd minute it looked as though Brentwood were not going to score.
Indeed, Leyton were still in the game, and Mario Sousa headed a difficult chance wide from a Luis Valencia cross.
But the breakthrough came when Okojie was fouled near the right corner flag and Glozier’s in-swinging free kick found Pennant in space. He stooped and headed the ball down and past Justham, much to the relief of Brentwood and their supporters.
