Upminster travelled to Witham on Saturday off the back of their excellent home win last weekend.
In poor conditions both teams went straight into this bruising battle where some questionable decisions set the tempo for what followed. Upminster looked excellent on the break and should have scored when Luke Alexandrou failed to get a shot away and the danger was cleared. Witham then won numerous PCs but some strong U’s defending kept the scores level. Eventually a quick free hit between Hodges, Alexandrou who in turn fed MOTM George Chiverton inside the ‘D’, made no mistake with a fine finish on his reverse. Upminster could have doubled their lead when Chiverton found Toby Dunlee who’s shot went just past the post.
After the break Witham tried to push forward for an equaliser but Upminster’s backline and especially DOTM Nick Green broke up most of the home sides attacks to just half chances. Witham thought that they had scored but after a long discussion, the umpires decided that a ball hit was not inside the ‘D’. Upminster knew that the next goal was crucial to give them some daylight but Witham finally equalised from a Penalty Flick after another decision that was questioned from both sides.
A few tackles started making life difficult to keep control of the game and when Alexandrou was flattened inside the ‘D’, the U’s were denied a clear Penalty Flick. After further clashes Witham finished off a slick move to take a 2-1 lead with just 10 minutes to play. With time running out, it was Alexandrou who again drove forward pulled back a pass which was turned into the home sides net to give Upminster a decent draw under the circumstances.
MOTM – Chiverton
DOTM – Green
