It was a rather frustrating start to the month for us having to wait a long, long time to get our 2016 underway. But eventually when we did get underway on the 16th it was well worth the wait. This Tilbury side were full of confidence and on the verge of the playoffs and Aveley had to ride the storm at first, but goals from Abs Seymour in the first half, and Arian Retkoceri’s goal in the second half put the game to bed. Tilbury did come back strongly but James Marrable stood strong and denied his former side a goal.

This match was followed up with the match against top of the table chasers, Harlow Town. Unfortunately due to injury, suspensions and other reason the Millers were handicapped with the striking options. It was quite a comfortable half for the Hawks with Piers Wixon and Junior Dadson scoring the goals to make it 2-0 at the break. Aveley put up more resistance in the second half but just couldn’t really carve the chances. However, we did finally find the breakthrough with two minutes left, Abs Seymour’s shot was deflected in by Liam Nash to find it’s way past Hughes in the Harlow Town goal, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to give the Millers a share of the spoils.

The disappointment continued after being knocked out of the Essex Senior Cup to deny a Millers second appearance in the Essex Senior Cup semi final in two seasons. It was a team full of changes for both sides and within 20 minutes, we found ourselves losing 1-0 and down to ten men after James Marrable was wrongly sent off. So a right back had to go in goal for the best part of 70 minutes, and ten minutes later it got even worse with Heybridge doubling their lead. A Liam Nash rocket found its way into the top corner to give the Millers a glimmer of hope, and Retkoceri levelled things up with a tap in after a cross was not cleared away. It was all Aveley in the second half, but Swifts stole the game with a 93rd minute winner after their top scorer Barham nodded in from close range to send them through the the Semi-Final of the Essex Senior Cup.

After those frustrations against Harlow and Heybridge, the Millers put on a show away at Phoenix Sports. Although Sports had a few chances, it was Aveley who showed that clinical and dominant touch in a 3-0 win. Abs Seymour crossed to the near post and Alex Teniola was there to smash home to give the Millers the lead in his return from suspension. A minute after the break Arian Retkoceri fired home after a smart knock down from Spencer Harrison to give us the much needed breathing space. After that second goal the Millers were finding the spaces in behind Phoenix Sports defence who were pushing forward to try and get back into the match. However, after a smart move from Michael Pindy, Liam Nash tapped in at the back post to round off a well hard fought victory and all three points to end off a promising start to 2016.

Season Stats so far-

Goals-
Liam Nash - 23
Petrit Elbi- 9
David Fallah- 7
Billy Holland- 7
Alex Teniola- 7
James Peagram- 6
Lee Prescott- 5
Junior Baker- 4
Arian Retkoceri- 4
Marcus Elliott- 2
Steve Willis- 2
Ahmed Deen- 2
Abs Seymour- 2
Tyler Myers- 1
Lee Weemes- 1
Paul Preston- 1
Spencer Harrison- 1
Michael Alaile- 1
Tarryn Allarakhia- 1
Reece Conway- 1

Assists-
Liam Nash- 9
Petrit Elbi- 6
Tarryn Allarakhia- 6
Abs Seymour- 6
Paul Preston- 5
Billy Holland- 4
James Peagram- 3
Marcus Elliott- 3
Lee Prescott- 3
Joe Pearman- 2
David Fallah- 2
Spencer Harrison- 2
Steve Willis- 1
Junior Baker- 1
Perry Dunn- 1
Ahmed Deen- 1
Michael Alaile- 1
Arian Retkoceri- 1
Michael Pindy- 1

Yellows-
Abs Seymour- 5
Lee Prescott- 3
Spencer Harrison - 3
Paul Preston- 2
Steve Willis- 2
Billy Holland- 2
James Peagram- 2
Petrit Elbi- 2
Jamie Dicks- 2
Ahmed Deen- 2
David Fallah- 2
Lee Weemes- 1
Dee Okojie - 1
Brian Okwera- 1
Liam Nash- 1
Arian Retkoceri- 1
Jack Edwards- 1
Ruddock Yala- 1

Reds-
Lee Weemes- 1
Junior Appiah- 1
James Marrable- 1