Rookery Hill Saturday, April 9th, 2011   Isthmian Division 1 North Attendance: 420         East Thurrock United 2-1 Needham Market
2010 /11

Comments :

Went on my own to this game as it was a top of the table clash, pretty much a title decider. Took about 40 minutes to get there on a lovely sunny day. Parked up along a side street and made my way in. £8 entry wasn''t bad and pretty good attendance for a lower league match. Stadium was very basic but not bad given the level. So to the match. Going into the game both sides had played the same amount of games but East Thurrock had a 3pt gap on Needham at the top with both sides a full 15+ points clear of 3rd place. The game started at lightning pace and East Thurrock quickly took the league after an error by Needhams Left Back. Needham equalised very quickly from a set piece header and the fast pace slowed after the equaliser. Thurrock had a huge coloured dude up front who was a real physical presence and Needham struggled to deal with him. The 1st half went quick and there was a good atmosphere throughout. Sadly Needham conceeded a sloppy second goal again the Left Back was at fault. So Thurrock finished as winners and go 6 points clear at the top and with 4 matches left almost certainly have the title sewn up. Needham will go into the playoffs and incidently 3 of their final 4 matches are against teams likely to fill the other playoff spots.