Dave Stittle fired home a superb 20 yarder to earn in-form Brentwood their sixth straight League victory which lifted them to seventh place in the table at a windy Waltham Abbey on Saturday.
Brentwood manager Paul Delea had to reshuffle his team as the experienced trio of midfielder Jason Fairweather and central defenders Graham Wood and Danny Robson had to pull out because of work and personal commitments.
The rearranged defence took time to settle and Brentwood found themselves 1-0 down in the 11th minute when a cross from Dean Connolly was headed home from four yards by an unmarked Lee Sontag.
But Brentwood have a new-found resilience these days and after Iain Smith had a goal disallowed because the ball had already gone out of play in the 12th minute, the visitors levelled a minute later.
Top scorer Liam Bright, far from 100 per cent with a stomach bug, was flattened by Bobby Gilpin in the penalty area and the lethal Bright converted the spot-kick himself with ease.
On a difficult playing surface, both sides made mistakes though Waltham Abbey's John Sapsford should have done better when he fired over from 15 yards in the 16th minute.
Less than sixty seconds later, Brentwood took the lead when a flowing move from the half-way line involving Julian Ashby, James Grandison and Riki Holmes ended with Holmes' perfect pass to Bright who fired home low just inside the near post.
By now, the Brentwood defence had settled down with Paul Brewington and Craig Mead enjoying more control at the heart of the back four though alert keeper Dave Pether had to race out to hack clear in the 36th minute.
On the stroke of-half time, Brentwood, who had just had Mick Karby booked, went close to goal No.3 when Smith's crossfield pass was met on the volley by Holmes but his 20-yarder just cleared the crossbar.
Brentwood, with the wind behind them in the second-half, had looked the team most likely to score again but it was Waltham Abbey who found the net in the 65th minute.
Ashby slipped on the greasy surface and John Sapsford's fierce cross shot was well-parried by keeper Pether only for the ball to fall to Connolly who scored from close range.
In the 76th minute, Waltham Abbey, with the linesman flagging, made frantic appeals for a penalty when they claimed the ball hit Ashby on the arm.
However after-match investigations revealed the linesman was in fact waving for a foul on a Brentwood defender and that is why the referee allowed play to continue.
With Martin Jenkins replacing the unwell Bright in the 76th minute, Brentwood kept plugging away and Stittle's excellent low half volley into the corner of the net finally earned three more points.
Brentwood manager Paul Delea said: "The defence was a bit shaky at the start and we missed some good chances but it was an excellent battling performance and I am very proud of what we have achieved in the last three months."
Published Wednesday, January 22, 2003
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