Whitehawk vs Maldon and Tiptree

Again I traveled on a coach with the players and some of the 'fans' of Maldon, the atmosphere was a bit better this time following the win over Cambridge City in the FA Cup. We had a 4 hour round trip, which meant sitting on a coach with people around me who where slightly annoying for 4 whole hours...but it had to be done.

Turnstiles. 

Both teams seemed to be trying to pace themselves in the extremely hot conditions but Maldon & Tiptree had a setback after only 20 minutes when Joe Pearman went down with a hamstring injury and had to be replaced by Freddie Ladapo. Whitehawk’s Jerahl Hughes was beginning to cause problems on the right flank and on 22 minutes he created the home side’s best chance when he went past Dave Collins to pull the ball back from the byline to Sam Gargan who shot wide of the target. Maldon & Tiptree responded immediately and had three chances in a hectic two-minute spell when first Yao shot wide from the edge of the area on the left on 23 minutes, then Ladapo was also wide from a similar position and finally James Lawson was only just too high with a powerful effort as he drove into the penalty area from the right. On 26 minutes Maldon & Tiptree’s injury woes continued when James Abbott had to leave the field with what appeared to be a second hamstring injury, to be replaced by perennial substitute Jack Stevenson whose first action was to concede a free kick just outside his own penalty area. Gargan’s fiercely-hit low effort was confidently saved by Darren Behcet in the visiting goal.

A rare Maldon attack.

Young Marcus Milner was having a very impressive game at right back where he looked very much at home in his more defensive role and virtually no danger came from Whitehawk’s left flank. On 32 minutes, Ollie Berquez fired a long-range effort over the bar and five minutes later Ross Wall appeared to escape punishment when he accidentally caught Sami El-Abd with a high boot but the referee Mr Hatzidakis spoke to both players later and it was unclear whether he issued a belated yellow card. Whitehawk had their best chance five minutes before the interval when the M&T defence let a ball bounce on the edge of the penalty area, allowing Harding to attempt a lob, but Behcet managed to get his fingertips to the ball to deflect it inches wide of the far post.


Halftime: Whitehawk 0 - 0 Maldon and Tiptree


The opening minutes of the second period were again very quiet with both defences on top but Ladapo had a half-chance on 48 minutes when he broke away on the left but his final cross was disappointing and was cleared by Paul Armstrong. Whitehawk made a double-substitution on 52 minutes when Ben Godfrey surprisingly replaced Pat Harding and Josh Jones came on for the ineffective Callum Saunders, as the home side added more height to the side and opted to take advantage of the slope by adopting a long-ball approach. But, just as Marcus Milner had been the M&T player of the first half, Ian Cousins was the hero of the second period as he competently dealt with any aerial threat Whitehawk produced. Sos Yao was proving to be the main attacking threat for M&T but he was tending to hold on to the ball for too long rather than utilise the support of those around him. Whitehawk had the ball in the net on 60 minutes but the referee’s assistant had flagged some time earlier for offside. The home side enjoyed a period of pressure as M&T temporarily conceded midfield and Josh Jones shot narrowly wide on 66 minutes after the visiting defence had failed to get in a challenge. On 67 minutes Whitehawk made their final substitution when Joe Keehan gave way to Karley Akehurst but it was the visitors who had the best chance of the game three minutes later.

Maldon defenders. put under pressure.

Sos Yao reached a through ball from Ladapo ahead of goalkeeper Winterton wide on the left but was forced even wider and, as he attempted to get a better shooting position he managed to stay on his feet after any one of 3 challenges could have resulted in a penalty only to eventually fire wide of the target when he finally attempted a shot when off balance. On 73 minutes M & T gave the first indication that they were probably satisfied with a draw when Adam Flanagan came on to make his first competitive appearance for the club after a lengthy lay-off with a knee injury, replacing Ross Wall. Flanagan took his place in the back four and Billy Burgess pushed further forward in a 4-1-3-2 formation. The move frustrated the home side who were unable to create any further chances and M&T had the better opportunities in the final minutes as the hardworking Yao headed a corner into the hands of Winterton and then, in the third minute of time added on and with the final touch of the game, Ollie Berquez rose unchallenged in the Whitehawk area from a corner but agonisingly headed just over the bar. 


My man of the match went to Marcus Milner, this was because he was playing at a different position for him, which was right back. He kept Whitehawk's wingers at bay for the whole of the game and was a performance to be proud off.


Full time: Whitehawk 0 -0 Maldon and Tiptree
Attendance: 104