Brentwood 0 Thamesmead 2 (From Brentwood Weekly News)

Brentwood 0 Thamesmead 2

3:37pm Monday 8th February 2010

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A PROFESSIONAL Thamesmead performance proved enough to overcome Brentwood at the Brentwood Arena on Saturday.

On a run of six games without a win, Brentwood boss Les Whitton rang the changes for this encounter, as Darren Ebsworth, Jason Mason, Dee Okojie and Dean Pennant all came into the starting line-up.

The Blues started the game much the stronger side, and passed the ball with a fluency that their opponents lacked. Both Pennant and Okojie were in the game early down either flank, yet Brentwood were unable to transfer their dominance in possession into a clear cut opening. A chipped cross from Ojokie in the ninth minute allowed Darren Blewitt to spring the offside trap, but the centre back's first touch let him down and Thamesmead were able to clear. Both Piers Wixon and Kris Lee managed to find half a yard of space as the half wore on, but were unable to test Steve Northwood in the Thamesmead goal.

For their part, Thamesmead struggled to gain any real momentum in the opening exchanges, particularly after centre forward Lee Barnett was injured early in the match. The turning point came in 27th minute when Andy Constable raced on to a through ball, and was unlucky to see his shot bounce off the post back into the arms of the grateful keeper Jim Hasell. Although this did not break the deadlock, it proved to be a warning shot as to just how dangerous Thamesmead were on the counter attack.

Ten minutes later, Hasell raced out of his area to attempt to sweep up a long ball, but his headed clearance fell to the feet of Constable. The burly striker steadied himself, before aiming a 20 yard lob over Hasell and a sea of defenders into the net. A 1-0 deficit was harsh on Brentwood, who were still enjoying far more of the possession, and it almost got worse on the stroke of half-time when a diving header from Marcus Perona thudded on to the crossbar.

Thamesmead came out for the second half clearly determined to kill the game as quickly as possible. It took just nine minutes of the second half for them to find a second goal when substitute Callum Mageehan found acres of space at the edge of the Brentwood penalty area and arrowed a shot into the bottom corner of Hasell’s net. Immediately after, Mageehan rattled the Brentwood woodwork for a remarkable third time with a thumping volley.

The introduction of Gary Bowes allowed The Blues to begin to gain some momentum as the half drew to a close, and he had a couple of shots well saved by Northwood. The game drifted to its conclusion with no real excitement leaving Brentwood seven games without a win and perilously close to the relegation zone.

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