Concord Rangers 1-6 Wealdstone
Concord Rangers
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WealdstoneThe ‘BeachBoys’ of Canvey Island were well and truly left beached as Wealdstone’s lethal loanee Richard Jolly helped himself to a cool quadruplet of goals, fully justifying Manager Gordon Bartlett’s dramatic move to bring his prolific old boy back to the Stones. Jolly’s sudden return to goal scoring form could be a bitter-sweet tonic for Stones as his rehabilitation could hasten a return to his parent club, not that Sutton will be ungrateful; Stones will look to continue to make the most of his short loan period.
Thus Stones romped to victory in front of a sparse crowd on a bitterly cold afternoon in deepest Essex, against a surprisingly poor looking Concord Rangers outfit, that had lost only one of its previous eight matches and had been in a rich vein of form in their debut season in the Ryman Premier.
Peter Dean, in his favoured striking role, completed the goal scoring for the rampant away side grabbing a brace, including a well taken penalty that saw Concord’s flustered goalkeeper Dale Brightly sent off for bringing down Jolly in the second period. But by the time the red card had been brandished the game was already in the bag for Stones increasingly rejuvenated team, bolstered by Jolly’s new found ability to finish; but he will no doubt be the first to admit that Wealdstone’s brand of neat, albeit sometimes fragile, quick fire passing football, is ideally suited for his deadly poaching abilities in and around the box.
Remarkably, if Jolly had taken the penalty award and scored he would have been the first player to score 5 goals for Wealdstone in a league match since the club turned professional in 1971. Mark Graves is the only player during the last 40 years to score 5 in a match for Wealdstone but that was in a friendly against Wimbledon (now MK Dons) back in 1983.
Stones performance was unrelenting throughout and was not just about ‘The Fox’; this was an excellent overall attacking team effort and Bartlett and his management group will have been delighted with a three match winning run which must surely now have stopped the considerable rot that had set in with dismal form when the FA Trophy run came to an end.
The away side attacked from the off with Danny Spendlove getting through on a couple of occasions and feeding Jolly who was caught offside early on. Chances came and went but Jolly was not to be denied as Stones piled on the pressure; with half time approaching he netted his first, after an initial save from the Concord keeper, from a great ball from defender James Hammond. And in first half injury time the diminutive Jolly grabbed his second from a Spendlove cross, handing a huge psychological blow to the home side .
The second period was again dominated by Wealdstone’s attacking prowess and the away supporters didn’t have to wait long for Jolly’s third and his hat-trick as a missed clearance by Brightly was seized upon and the finish was emphatic.
The fourth soon came as a great through ball allowed Jolly to round the beleaguered keeper and tap in.
Alex Dyer was almost in on the act with a fine shot that was only just clutched by Brightly. The on-fire Jolly then had the chance to claim his fifth when chopped down for a clear penalty but unselfishly allowed fellow front man Peter Dean to net for his side to go 5 up.
Concord’s Harry Elmes pulled a goal back for his side following some unfocussed defending after a corner. But this was a mere consolation as Stones rubbed more salt into the home team’s wounds; substitute and new loanee from Wycombe Wanderers Jerome Federico showed his renowned blistering pace to send in a peach of a cross that shouted ‘goal’ and the on-hand Peter Dean duly obliged to complete the scoring and a huge win for Stones, the first time in 13 years that Wealdstone have had a player to score 4 goals in a competitive match.
As a result Wealdstone move up into 13th position in the league, doing their goal difference a power of good in the process.
Next match for Stones is at The Vale on Monday evening (31 January) when Harefield United are the visitors in the Middx Charity Cup, Kick off 7.45pm. Admission is reduced for this game.
Wealdstone: North, Hammond. Massey, Parker, Cronin, Dyer, Spendlove, Brooks, Dean, Jolly, Chaps Subs Morgan, Martin (used), Gill (used), Federico (used), Leggett (GK).
Steve Foster Match Pics HERE