Soccer: Steady Billericay keep their feet on ground

It would be difficult for anyone at Billericay to clear their heads of the forthcoming clash with arguably the best non-league team in the country, who thrashed Northwich Victoria 6-0 at home in the Conference on Saturday, out of their minds.

The game is expected to attract a 2,000 plus crowd to Blunts Wall Road and the fact that the star-studded visitors are favourites to not only win the Trophy but also gain election to the Nationwide League by capturing the Conference championship has added extra spice to an already eagerly-awaited date.

Any chance that we were going to see a soccer classic at New Lodge last weekend was ruined by the near gale-force winds that blew throughout much of the country on Saturday afternoon.

Billericay, without their first choice strike duo of Colin Simpson (suspended) and Stafford Browne (injured) fell behind early on to a controversial goal and spent a lengthy spell in a fruitless search for an equaliser.

During the past couple of months you would have taken Billericay to have given up the ghost and settled for a hard-luck story and no points.

Yet here there was again a heartening reminder that Gary Calder's men, boosted by victories in three separate cup competitions in the previous fortnight, are made of sterner stuff these days.

They finally got their deserved reward after 57 minutes when Dean Parratt's free-kick from deep on the right was headed back from the far post with precision accuracy by Chris Moore for Paul Linger to smash home an unstoppable shot from the edge of the box.

Hitchin, who beat Billericay 4-0 in the second game of the season but have generally failed to keep up that sort of form since, got the "Abbey habit" after just ten minutes of play.

The ball was knocked dangerously down the middle, but Hitchin's Zema Abbey seemed to clearly foul home man Russell Penn before breaking clear to comprehensively beat goalkeeper Gavin King.

Penn, not surprisingly, argued vehemently, but referee Andy Wilkins (Gravesend) was having none of it and later further upset the home contingent by turning down loud appeals for a penalty for handball.

In fact, neither side were particularly happy with the match official, who officiates at Conference level, and Billericay will certainly be hoping that he enjoys a less controversial afternoon when he takes control of next Saturday's big Trophy game.

However, it must be said, it was the weather, rather than the referee, which made this generally an afternoon of frustration.

Without Simpson and Browne, Billericay did look more than a little lightweight up front although flankman Joe Baker, signed from Conference side Sutton after previously being with Leyton Orient, again looked a tremendous talent.

Whether on the left or right, he mesmerised the visiting rearguard time and time again and one particularly delightful run soon after the break had the home crowd in raptures before it was ended when home defender Russell Lawes chopped him down on the edge of the box.

That earned the offender one of five cautions handed out by Mr Wilkins during the afternoon, but left most of the near 500-strong crowd rueing the fact that Baker cannot play against Rushden as he's cup-tied.

For all Billericay's first-half pressure, an inswinging free kick-off from Justin Gentle which visiting goalkeeper Richard Wilmot almost misjudged in the wind before turning the ball over the top, was the nearest they came to a goal before the break.

Billericay stayed in 11th place with the point gained here, but the thoughts of most at New Lodge as the final whistle sounded was that next week can't come quickly enough.

Breaking through - Billericay Town scorer Paul Linger tries to evade two Hitchin opponents

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.