Brentwood 1st XI vs Chelmsford 2nd XI

Brentwood ended their rocky start to life in division 1 with the most complete team victory in emphatic style against local rivals Chelmsford.

On the back of a long and for the most part unlucky losing streak, Chelmsford provided all the incentive for a determined Brentwood side to begin to claw their season back. As the game started, Brentwood matched their opponents well, even from the start forcing them to rely on their centre-back to either throw long ariels or crash-balls to gain any penetration into the Brentwood half. The start got even better as minutes in, a sliding James Duggan turned one home from close on his return from injury. The early goal put Brentwood on the front foot and in control of the game, something that often hasn't been the case this season. Brentwood contained Chelmsford well and won a penalty-corner for their pressure. Steven Naven stepped-up and with the sun behind him, threw a screamer of a drag-flick into the top right hand corner, leaving the keeper clueless. Chelmsford who were beginning to feel the heat began breaking down play and making cynical fouls, although Brentwood carried on undeterred, winning another penalty-corner. Steven Naven once again stepped up and produced a powerful drag-flick, leaving defenders to dodge out the way, as the ball flew into the top left corner. Going into half-time, Chelmsford already looked a beaten side, having been out-classed in every aspect of the game.

The onslaught continued. Brentwood looked a new side, as they maintained possession and strung passes together, as they had failed to do in previous weeks. A nice passing move down the right with Kris Waites moved the ball into the circle and Henry Wollaston pounced on it, to gain his first if the match as Chelmsford's woes continued. Chelmsford then lost a player to the sin-bin for a cynical foul and Brentwood struck again, this time through Jak Taylor, who managed to hit the post from a yard out, but then snuck the rebound in. It was messier than Naven at pub golf, but it still counted. Another goal-mouth melee saw the ball rebound off the keeper to a waiting Naven, who launched the ball into the roof of the net for his hat-trick, bringing the score to an incredible 6-0. Brentwood were untouchable, with solidarity stemming from the defence through the pitch. There was a period of worry however as Brentwood received two yellow cards in quick succession, with Aaron Doyle and Steven Naven given 10 minutes on the sideline for tackling too passionately. Chelmsford were given a penalty-corner, which was kept out by a diving Ian Malone in goal, looking to preserve his first clean-sheet of the season. Brentwood however remained calm and saw out the sin-bins and returned to 11 players. The damage was not done, as Alex Henderson, was fed through on goal with a one-on-one with the keeper, which he cooly put on his reverse to convert. Brentwood saw out the rest of the game to take a well deserved win 7-0.