Cricklefield Derby Stalemate

Monday Evening Football returned to Cricklefield with a derby between Barkingside & Ilford in an ESL encounter.

‘Side started this match slightly better as Ilford seemed content to allow their opponents to come at them, though they defended stoutly. Barkingside forwards Luke With and Michael Ademilyu both had chances to put the Sky Blues in front, though both efforts were comfortably saved by Ilford ‘keeper Chris Clark.

As the first half wore on, the Foxes came back into the match, with the strike pairing of Dan Jones & Sipho Mtyanda being denied. Ademilyu though continued to be a threat for the ‘hosts’ though, running down the left flank, it certainly gave the Ilford defence something to think about.

Half-Time: Barkingside 0 – 0 Ilford

The second half began with ‘Side once again looking to get forward, though soon afterwards, the game started to see a number of crunching tackles going in, something that we didn’t really see in the first period.

Ilford’s Aziz Kanu blasted a good effort from 20 yards over the bar around the hour mark, as the Foxes really looked to ramp it up going forward. At this point, the game went into its most frenetic phase. With had a decent strike blocked on the line for ‘Side, who then saw captain Paul Wright sent off for a bad tackle.

‘Side substitute Danny Hayes nodded a header over the bar from a free-kick though in the latter stages, the ‘home’ side had to focus on their defensive duties, especially being down to 10 men.

Ilford piled forward, desperate to break the deadlock in an increasing feisty match, captain Isaac Nkosi having arguably their best chance, directing a free header straight at ‘Side ‘keeper Sam Roach from a Joe Killingback corner. Jones and substitute Harry Matthews both had chances as the clock wound down, though ‘Side held firm with stout, if last-ditch defending.

Leon Smith was sent off with moments remaining for dissent (his second yellow), so ‘Side finished with nine men, though Ilford will wonder how they didn’t create more clear-cut chances, and Ademilyu was still making a nuisance of himself on the counter-attack for ‘Side.

Full-Time: Barkingside 0 – 0 Ilford

After the final whistle, both sides had to be separated from their ‘afters’ which saw ‘Side Chairman Jimmy Flanaghan ordering his players back to the changing room.

Report by Scott Waple - @scottmhc14