Bexley Athletic looked to have a tough morning ahead of them as they face Valley Park Rangers in a double header at Hall Place. Their opponents were top of the league at kick off, with an impressive 100% league record at this stage of the season. How things would change in a few hours.
Bexley were stretched for the first game with only a bare eleven available. Josh and Louis both came in with Laurie moving to left back alongside Steve. Valley Park were understandably cocky prior to kick off however they were quite quickly bought back down to earth with Bexley’s first set piece. A corner from the left taken by Louis left the keeper flapping at fresh air. Matty B comes with his own health and safety warning these days as he is very much on fire at the moment, and it was the striker come midfielder who was on hand to nod in a crucial goal.
Valley Park were by no doubt shell shocked that a team dared to take a lead against them. Their response was nullified by Bexley’s rock solid defence aided by the midfield and even Elton doing their fair share of defensive work. Testament to this was the fact Dan was relatively underused in the opening period, as he was only required to tip a dubious shot wide and helping a corner over the bar. Bexley’s best chance of doubling their lead looked to be from a set piece, but they just couldn’t connect with one of Louis’s deliveries, with James firing the odd free kick over the bar.
The atmosphere was good at half time and Pete was pleased. Valley park were clearly rattled. They did up the ante in the second half but Bexley were up to the defensive challenge and used the shorter 30 minute period to their advantage. Valley Park were contained and restricted to speculative shots outside of the box, none of which hit the target. The one time they did get the wrong side of the defence; Dan made the correct decision this week and made the save. Steve led his troops from the front in the closing stages making two crucial blocks. Valley Park will feel hard done by, but they like many teams could not overhaul the Bexley defensive effort as they fell to their first defeat of the season.
