Canvey Island enter the new millennium on the crest of a wave after ending 1999 on a historic note in their first season as a Ryman League Premier Division club.

This big Bank Holiday Monday attraction drew a League record crowd of 2,003 to Park Lane and Canvey faithfuls among the huge attendance were delighted to see their heroes inflict a first League defeat since late August on the leaders.

No one could suggest that Jeff King's men were not worth their triumph. True, Gary Hill's Daggers started off at express-train speed and could have been two or three goals ahead in the first 20 minutes.

However, from that point on, Gulls gave as good as they got on an enthralling afternoon to enhance suggestions that they can yet mount a serious bid for Championship honours themselves.

The fact that Daggers did not take a stranglehold on the proceedings in that frenetic opening burst owed much to an outstanding display from Canvey stopper Ashley Harrison, who displayed a growing maturity in goal to continuously thwart the visiting attack, and some rank poor finishing.

However, most of all, Canvey's early great escape owed everything to one of the best goal-line clearances I can remember witnessing in all my days of watching soccer.

When Mark Janney crossed from the right after seven minutes, it looked to have goal written all over it as Junior McDougald, who scored twice here on his last visit in the FA Cup with Brighton, threw himself at the ball at the far post.

As home followers prepared to groan, veteran defender Garry Britnell somehow clawed the ball from the line and cleared it.

From that point on one guessed that this might be Canvey's day and so it proved in a two-minute spell just after the half-hour mark when the Islanders twice profited from mistakes by visiting goalkeeper Paul Newell, the ex-Leyton Orient first-teamer who was once on Southend United's books.

After 31 minutes another ex-Blues man, Steve Tilson, took a quick free-kick on the left and Newell dived to save at the far post.

However, he was unable to hold onto the ball and on-loan Colchester United striker Neil Gregory was on hand to take control and score from a difficult angle.

Two minutes later, Tilson fired in another set-piece, this time from the right. Again Newell could only parry the ball - this time against his own player - and Andy Jones, as so often in his long and illustrious career, was on hand to pick up the bits and pieces and score number two.

Daggers' boss Hill bravely went into action with a three-pronged attacking force after the break and the introduction of Paul Cobb from the bench only served to emphasise the mystery as to why he was not on the field from the start.

To my mind Cobb is one of the most lethal finishers at this level of the game - a point he proved within nine minutes of his arrival by picking up a ball through the middle and leaving Harrison for dead in a manner his team-mates had failed to do during the entire first-half.

Daggers were not going to suffer only their second League defeat of the campaign without a fight, but that left them vulnerable in defence - a situation the ever-improving Gregory took full advantage of after 74 minutes when his outrageous piece of skill left the visiting rearguard for dead.

Left in a one-on-one situation, Gregory bore down on goal before releasing Chris Duffy to shoot home Gulls' third and effectively end the contest.

At the end delighted home boss King paid tribute to former League and Gulls' star Tony Mahoney who now acts as the club's "superspy" watching forthcoming opponents in action.

Showing me his report on Daggers, which suggested it was important that shots were on target as there was a suspicion about Newell's ability to hold onto the ball, King said: "Once we withstood that early pressure I felt that we were the better side and deserved our win.

"It was a tremendous clearance off the line from Britnell which stopped us from going behind and I was really pleased for Ashley Harrison. He gave an outstanding display - even though he didn't have too many direct shots to save."

"All in all this was a day to remember for Canvey Football Club and I couldn't be more pleased. It certainly wasn't a bad way to bow out of the 20th Century."

Get in there - Andy Jones puts the ball past stranded Daggers keeper Paul Newell to score Canvey's second goal against the Ryman Premier high-fliers

Picture: LUAN MARSHALL

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