Brentwood Town 4, Tilbury 2

TILBURY'S season of statistical lows reached a bottom level on Tuesday night, though it was home side Brentwood from the Essex Senior League that were doing the counting.

It had been 19 games featuring 17 defeats and two draws since Town had won, but they managed to avenge an earlier defeat at Tilbury in this season's second meeting in the Eastern Floodlight League.

Tilbury fielded a weakened side, with several trialists on show, and took a considerable time to gel in the first half, kicking against a strong gale.

The home side deserved the lead which came from veteran Tony Pizzey who picked up a weak clearance from Dockers keeper Dave McCartney and lobbed the ball back over the stranded keeper from all of 40 yards.

However the goal inspired Tilbury, rather than Brentwood and the visitors drew level soon afterwards when Keith Wilson produced a deflected right foot finish after he had made a strong run into the box.

As is their luck this season, the elements that had been against Tilbury subsided somewhat in the second half but they still managed to go ahead with a fine strike from John Langton soon after the restart.

The game then turned on a couple of contentious decisions.

Somewhat harshly a Tilbury hand was adjudged to have stopped a strike at goal but McCartney pulled off a fine save to push impressive youngster Hussein Isa's spot-kick around the post.

However his joy was short-lived when the linesman intervened and adjudged he had moved off his line. Isa made no mistake with a fiercely struck second attempt into the roof of the net, though Tilbury were pointing out in vain to the officials that at least two Brentwood players had encroached several yards into the box.

Inconsistent officials and a lack of luck with poor decisions haven't quite played almost as much a part in Tilbury's appalling season as their own inabilities, but they certainly hasn't helped a side who rarely seem to get a break.

Then again, it's said the harder you work, the luckier you get and some Tilbury players have to ask themselves if they are working hard enough!

The manner of conceding the lead knocked the stuffing out of Tilbury, a side already low on confidence and short on quality and Brentwood finished the game much the stronger and thoroughly deserved the win that came courtesy of Joe Benson's goal with his first touch after coming on as sub and late, and superbly struck second goal from Isa.

Bizarrely, despite losing three of four games in this competition, Tilbury could still go through to the quarter-finals knock-out stage unless Brentwood earn a point at Concord Rangers in the group's final match. Officials from both clubs had thought the group was all decided until late consultation with the rulebook showed that two sides are set to go through from each group this season rather than one.

On Saturday Tilbury have probably their last chance of getting back into the Southern League Division One East relegation dogfight when they face Boreham Wood at home, and on Tuesday evening they travel to Bowers and Pitsea United in the Thameside Trophy to face a side buoyed by their fine 3-1 Essex Senior Cup fifth round win at Waltham Forest on Tuesday.

Floodlight League Group 3 P W D L F A Pts Concord Rangers 3 3 0 0 10 4 9 Tilbury 4 1 0 3 8 10 3 Brentwood Town 2 0 0 2 7 11 3