Our first league win at the Bob Lucas Stadium this season came in sensational style after we thrashed Welling United 5-1 last weekend.
We were rampant for almost the entire game, and when Brooklyn Genesini opened the scoring inside 20 minutes we led for the remainder of the match.
A goal from Jake McCarthy was then met with an answer from James Alabi during the first half, before another goal each from Brooklyn and Jake, sandwiched by Josh McQuoid finding the net, secured a sensational result for us.
Besides the display, Saturday’s win has important repercussions – it shortens the gap towards safety, with us now 11 points behind the 20th-placed Wings who occupy the final safe place.
It was a vital victory that everyone at the club desperately needed – having not won a single game in the league at home for exactly 10 months, this result was exactly the right one to potentially kick start another ‘Great Escape.’
While this was an emphatic team performance, our standout man, as voted by you, was Euan Pollock, who in the words of Warren Feeney put in a “proper centre-forward’s performance.”
Moving forward, our next performance comes in three days’ time, as we are back on the road, this time to Chesham [15.00 GMT].
Brooklyn And Jake Lead The Rout
Unsurprisingly, Warren was “delighted” with our “outstanding” performance after the final whistle, he told us he was “a wee bit unhappy,” over how we “took a while to get into the game.”
With his words in mind, it was Rod Stringer’s side who appeared the most dangerous early on, as Jordon Thompson and Will Buse were both tasked with keeping the ball at bay in the opening six minutes.
The Wings’ abilities were further showcased on the quarter-hour mark, when we were handed a let-off.
Ex-Tottenham Hotspur youth right-back Maxwell Statham crossed the ball towards forward James Alabi, who headed beyond Busey and into the net.
It was a piece of play that would have given Stringer’s side the lead, had Alabi not been ruled for offside.
The Wings appeared confident after their close chance, as they looked threatening once again just three minutes later.
The Wings flew down the pitch on the counter-attack and played the ball into the appropriately-named Dan Quick, who had burst into space.
It took a smart save from Busey to push away Quick’s strike and keep the scoreline level.
But, with these early chances, the game suggested that it would change soon.
Which it did.
We won our first corner of the game in the 20th minute, which was taken short into Brooklyn, who was in space approx. 25 yards from goal.
Those who have watched Brooklyn this season will have noted his love for trying his luck, and this time he did the same thing once again.
Rarely in football do strikes look to be going in from the moment the ball is struck, but our right-back’s beautiful curler travelled into the top-right corner, leaving Dylan Berry with no chance as we took a 1-0 lead.
From then on something clicked – we could have doubled our lead just four minutes later when Corey Jordan headed Brandon Goodship’s delivery just a few yards right of goal.
Though we wouldn’t have to wait long to establish further dominance when Goody sent in another free-kick delivery.
Coming from the right this time, the ball bobbled around the box before JT’s deflected effort landed at Jake’s feet left of Berry’s goal.
Our midfield veteran, who scored a last-minute equaliser in our previous home game, sweetly slotted the ball into the bottom-right corner to double our lead with over 15 minutes of regular time remaining.
But, as is written in these reports almost every week, the opposition responded in true end-to-end fashion.
Just as we had finished our celebration, Stringer’s side responded just three minutes later when left-back Daniel Martin sent in a powerful cross into the head of Alabi, whose header bounced off the bar to halve his team’s deficit.
Unfortunately we couldn’t rely on the officials this time.
Following the first-half frenzy, the second suggested much of the same 10 minutes when Brooklyn’s byline-cross only just missed both Euan and then Diamond Edwards by barely an inch.
But just two minutes later, Goody had the chance to send in another one of his deep deliveries.
From near the right corner-flag, his ball appeared to be caught by Berry, but a calamitous moment from Berry saw him drop the ball out of his hands and right into Josh’s path, who only had to tap over the line to restore our two-goal lead once again.
After weeks of bad luck, we benefitted from a major error to give us a 3-1 with just over half-an-hour to go.
From then on we looked full of confidence, and could have had a fourth four minutes after the hour-mark when Ben’s swerving low cross unexpectedly fell to JT just a few yards from Berry’s goal.
But our centre-back just missed the ball as the visitors were let off.
Momentarily.
Leo delicately passed in a low cross into the box, which looked to be intercepted by the Welling defence before Euan Pollock unexpectedly intercepted near Berry’s goal, winning a foul in the process.
Penalty!
While Euan didn’t score that day, his relentless movement off the ball caused constant problems for the bemused backline.
Now, we had the chance to increase our lead to three goals from the spot.
Up stepped Jake, who took very few steps before slotting the ball in off the post for his second penalty in as many home games, and our fourth of the afternoon.
After scoring one in our previous four contests leading up to the weekend, we now had four times as many in 72 minutes.
Surely we wouldn’t get a fifth?
Well, that was until Brooklyn had the ball at his feet once again.
The silky full-back sent Martin for a hot dog before lofting another long-range curler into the top corner for his second worldie of the game, and our fifth.
If that wasn’t spellbinding enough, he then came within inches of securing a stunning hat-trick two minutes before stoppage time, his half-volley being scrambled away by Berry.
By the time the game was in its final minute of stoppage time, our chance to add another once again, and could have done had the Welling defence not somehow scooped substitute Harrison Day’s open-goal tap-in off the line.
But while we didn’t get to see a sixth, what we did see was dazzling display long overdue…
