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07.08.2007 @ 19:45 The Recreation Ground |
Crowd: 2216
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Grays Athletic
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2 - 3
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Tottenham Hotspur
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Referee: J Hopkins
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Friendly-Match
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Manager Justin Edinburgh was in bullish mood after Tuesday night's friendly with his former club Spurs, despite seeing his side beaten, two of his players clash onfield and another sent off.
Grays were determined not to be outclassed by a visiting Spurs team with a number of internationals among its rank.
However, early on the pace and class of the men from White Hart Lane caught Grays cold. In the sixth minute Spurs defender Lee Mills was given acres of space at a corner and headed easily into the Grays net.
The next ten minutes were dictated by the Spurs midfield of Tom Huddlestone, debutant Kevin-Prince Boateng and Adel Taarabt.
Slowly though, Grays got back into the game with Ben Watson bustling up front and Charley Hearn in midfield determined to get a foot in and establish a foothold in the game.
They were rewarded in the 22nd minute when, following Hearn's free-kick, a Spurs error in the box opened the door for Watson to nip in and produce a close range equaliser.
Tottenham became increasingly fractious as the half wore on and Grays started to dominate.
However the bad temper wasn't confined to the men in white. Grays had some argy-bargy of their own with an extraordinary bust-up between captain Jamie Stuart and left back Ernie Cooksey.
After the break, in which Stuart was left in the dressing room, Grays continued the momentum with increased fluidity, especially in midfield where Karl Murray proved nearly impossible for Spurs to mark.
Although they didn't carve out any real chances, the crowd of 2,216 were clearly impressed with the team's intent and enthusiasm.
Unfortunately, against the of play, Spurs struck in the 56th minute when Andy Bartrum pounced on a mistake and passed to Boateng who opened his Tottenham account.
Things got worse for Grays in the 56th minute when Murray was given a straight red card for stamping on Huddlestone and nine minutes later Taarabt, who by this time was getting acres of space, capitalised on Grays' generosity when striking a third from outside the box.
This should, like the weather, have opened up the floodgates, but the Grays players stuck to their task and received reward in the 87th minute when a beautiful move involving James Lawson and Danny Kedwell culminated in Aaron O'Connor bundling the ball home.
After the game Grays boss Justin Edinburgh said: "I've taken lots of positive out of this match and all the friendlies.
"I don't like losing but there was enough in this performance against some excellent Spurs players for us to feel ready to face the challenges of the new season."
Goals
Grays: Ben Watson (22), Aaron O'Connor (87)
Spurs: Leigh Mills (6), Kevin-Prince Boateng (56), Adel Taarabt (65)
Yellow Card
Charley Hearn
Red Card
Karl Murray (56)
Grays Athletic Starting Lineup
Danny Knowles
Andy Sambrook
Jamie Stuart
Dennis Oli
Craig McAllister
Karl Murray
Charley Hearn
Ben Watson
Ernie Cooksey
Mark Marshall
Jack Haverson
Subs
Jon Ashton -> Jamie Stuart (46)
Adam Gross -> Ernie Cooksey (64)
Jamie Day -> Charley Hearn (71)
Danny Kedwell -> Craig McAllister (75)
Aaron O'Connor - > Ben Watson (75)
Jamie Day -> Charley Hearn (71)
James Lawson -> Mark Marshall
Spurs Starting Lineup
Tommy Forecast
Chris Riley
Yuri Berchiche
Tom Huddlestone
Phil Ifil
Leigh Mills
Wayne Routledge
Kevin Prince-Boateng
Lee Barnard
Jamie O'Hara
Adel Taarabt
Subs
Andy Barcham -> Wayne Routledge (46)
Jacques Maghoma -> Kevin Prince-Boateng (57)
Report by Michael Casey
Thanks to the Thurrock Gazette for the report
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