Halstead boss Paul Grimsey was far from happy after his side missed the chance to seal the Jewson League division one title.

Town went into last night's game full of confidence after hammering in eight goals at the weekend.

But Long Melford put up far sterner resistance than lowly Downham.

Grimsey said: "We were a bit negative and sat back too much.

"To be fair to Melford, they worked their socks off. It was a local derby and they didn't want us winning on their own patch and I can understand that."

Halstead's Simon Atangana showed glimpses of his class throughout the match and it was he who looked most likely to prise open a determined Melford defence.

After an even first 20 minutes, Atangana burst into action.

He worked himself a good position from the right, before crossing it into Andy Taylor, who fired his volley wide.

Minutes later, the former Cameroon international was at it again, jinking his way down the right before crossing to Jimmy Chatters.

Chatters rose well but his deflected header bounced off the crossbar and out for a corner.

Matt Chinnery then came close to scoring twice within 20 seconds.

First his header was cleared off the line, then a fierce goalbound shot was blocked.

Just before the break, Atangana coaxed his way into the box and, with a brilliant piece of skill, completely fooled the Melford defence.

But his final shot was woefully high.

The second half was much poorer than the first with few chances created for both sides.

Town now have to get a draw from their final game at Swaffham on Saturday to clinch the title.

Published Wednesday, April 30, 2003

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