Canvey Island 2-2 Hashtag United

Match Report by David Powell

Canvey Island were made to settle for just a point on Saturday afternoon, as they drew 2-2 with Hashtag United at the Moviestarr Stadium.

In front of a decent crowd of just under 500 on Non League Day, the Gulls raced into a 2-0 lead early on, only to see defensive errors cost them again as the visitors equalised late in the match after reducing the arrears before half time.

It was Canvey who made possiblely their best start to a match in weeks, looking confident from the get go as Jamie Salmon fired the first warning shot, testing visiting keeper Joshua Strizovic with an effort from range in the opening 3 minutes.

They were made to remain on their guard at the other end though, as an organised Tags side nearly caused them grief on 8 minutes, with the lively Luke May-Parrott missing a big opportunity as he fried wide of the near post after a defensive lapse in concentration.

Still, it was the Gulls asking a lot of the questions in a lively start to the match. Good work from Bradley Sach fed in Elliott Ronto on 10 minutes, but the midfielder fired wide of the mark. Sach would get his chance on goal a short time later, but curled a testing effort just wide of Strizovic's far post.

The pressure would tell however, and it was Canvey who took a deserved lead on 27 minutes. Conor Hubble picked out Elliott Ronto in the box with a clever pass, with the midfielder managing to square the ball to Elliott Johnson, who fired home from close range after good pace to rush into the space.

The Gulls were in the ascendancy, looking particularly lively down the flanks as they had their opponents backtracking. One of the afternoons standout performances came from Jaden Crowhurst, and he was instrumental in creating Canvey's second on 36 minutes.

Good hold up play from Hubble on the right fed in Crowhurst, who tricked his way into the box and to the byline, skimming an inch perfect ball in to Bradley Sach, who was never going to miss just yards from goal - 2-0 and the Gulls in the ascendancy.

The visitors were never out of the game however, lively on the counter themselves, and they forced a way back into the game just before half time as they halved the deficit. A wayward pass in the midfield was seized upon quickly, as the recycled ball was played through to Toby Aromolaran, and the midfielder squeezed his effort beyond on the onrushing Sam Jackson to give his side hope at the break.

In the second half, and the Gulls looked to keep up the quality they displayed in the first 45 minutes, with an early Bradley Sach chance from range forcing Strizovic to stretch well to parry his effort.

The visitors had wind in their sails after reducing the score however, and began to test the Canvey rearguard as they looked to turn the tide of the game.

They began to force several chances on goal, with Percy Kiangbeni firing over the crossbar on 59 minutes, before Luke May-Parrott should have equalised 10 minutes later as he put another big chance wide of goal.

Canvey looked to hit their opponents on the counter as they soaked up the pressure, and the introduction of Reon Smith-Kouassi added more pace upfront, but they began to find chances at a premium, with Sach in particular limited to shots from range that Strizovic was able to deal with.

Canvey would be punished for allowing their opponents a route back into the game though, and their pressure told as they grabbed an equaliser on 86 minutes. Aromolaran was allowed to cut into the box on the Canvey right and squared a ball to a familiar nemesis in the form of Alex Teniola, the striker unmarked as he fired home from close range to level up the game.

Suddenly, it was the visitors who were looking to force a winner, and Canvey had to be sure at the back to keep them out in the closing minutes of the game. The Gulls weren't without their chances however, with their best opportunity coming after good work from Smith-Kouassi saw him break into the box after holding off his man, but he couldn't find the right pass to feed in Sach, who was in scoring range.

After four minutes of additional time, the referee would bring to an end what would have been an entertaining game for the neutral, but it marked a frustrating result for the Gulls, who despite stopping the recent rot of consecutive defeats, will have been gutted to have been so close from the win they craved.

Folkestone's win at Cray Wanderers the following day means the Gulls now drop to 17th, though remain 15 points above the drop zone after the bottom 4 all failed to win. They'll be hoping to make further certain their Isthmian Premier status next weekend as they travel down to Sussex to face Whitehawk.