Waltham Abbey 3 Tilbury 1
TILBURY’S run of games was stretched to nine at Ryman One North promotion-chasing surprise package Abbey.

Dockers boss Graham Chester, who lost Jason Fontaine to injury in the warm-up, tinkered with his line-up and gave a striker’s role to the experienced Michael Black to add bite to a front line that has been shot-shy of late – particularly since the goals stopped flowing from Chris Stowe.

Unfortunately the plan didn’t quite work out, though Black did have two good chances to score, the first coming in the tenth minute when he was set free by Rashid Kamara’s pass.

The much-travelled player, whose career highlight is an appearance for Arsenal in the Champions League against Panathinaikos nearly ten years ago, failed to convert the chance as keeper Joe Taylor saved.

There had already been early drama in the game before Black’s chance, Waltham Abbey having to replace striker Louis Collins with youngster Chris Flanagan after just five minutes.

It was a change that was to pay off for the home side as, on 16 minutes, Flanagan sprang a dilatory offside trap by running from deep and though Andy Hall saved his first effort, the Abbots’ replacement converted at the second attempt.

Things got worse for Dockers, who had already had Stephen Read booked, on 21 minutes when Billy Holland took a tumble in the box and from the subsequent penalty Lee White doubled the advantage.

To their credit Tilbury refused to fold and they got right back in the game in the last minute of the half when Greg Cohen’s corner was handled by Dan O’Sullivan and Joe Keith, another ex-pro in the Tilbury ranks, showed all his experience to coolly convert.

Tilbury were looking for the momentum of the penalty to spark a second half revival and it looked likely when Black was through on goal soon after the restart but he struck his angled shot into the side-netting.

It was to prove a crucial miss as the Abotts netted again soon after, this time after Tilbury failed to accept a couple of chances to clear their lines and Flanagan slotted the ball past Hall, who was booked for a verbal blast at his own defenders in the wake of the goal.

It’s not the first time Dockers players have clashed with each other this season. Prior to his abrupt departure in midweek, Anton Stephenson and Junior Baker had bitter words with each other against Thamesmead last week and it is imperative that Dockers channel that emotion into a more positive vein if they are to break a sequence of results that has turned a very promising start to the season into the obscurity of lower mid-table makeweights.

The disappointment in the Chadfields camp was increased in the closing stages when Read somewhat unluckily picked up his second booking for a miss-timed challenge.

Dockers have a midweek friendly against Chester’s old club Eton Manor to try out some new faces and weigh up new options.

It’s not to late to mount a season-ending revival and Dockers have a couple of minor trophies still to play for. In recent seasons going into Christmas they have been a club in crisis – that’s nothing like their position at the moment but it’s difficult to shake off the feeling of what might have been for a club that went into the season with high aspirations.

Tilbury: Andy Hall, Courtney McLean, Joe Keith (Emmanuel Olademi), Jamie Wallace, Steve Reading, Danny Smith, Clinton Hodge (Nathan Philip), Greg Cohen, Michael Black, Chris Stowe, Rashid Kamara (Stephane Koffi). Subs not used: Jason Fontaine, Patrick Gaskin.