Kingstonian 2-1 Billericay Town
GRAY GIVES TOWN THE BLUES

Bobby Traynor's ton tally will have to wait another week as his solitary goal in the victory against Billericay bought him tantalisingly one goal short of the hundred mark.

With the opponents threatening the goal throughout the first half but not keeper Rob Tolfrey, a rare bit of pressure at the other end saw Paul Nicholls tip over Carl Wilson-Denis and then have to face a penalty from Traynor, after Luke Hickie was bought down needlessly in the area.

A low shot from the spot to the right corner and 99 was up for him, as Nicholls was left stranded.

An equaliser before the hour mark was soon however cancelled out when Matt Gray shot direct from his free kick around the defensive wall leaving Nicholls once again stranded.

The game began poorly for Ks, who needed to wipe out the memory of Harrow days earlier and James Baker was soon heading towards the home goal but the ball went across and out

It then got worse as Adam Thompson then pulled up with a leg injury in the ninth minute to be replaced by Rob Sheridan. Fortunately Sheridan was able to take on the mantle.

Dave Wareham then saw his shot deflect off Max Hustwick and go wide and all in the first 14 minutes. However gradually Ks began to reorganise themselves in mid-field where they had been allowing the visitors to boss them around.

However it was still Billericay that were more likely to score - if they could get their shots on target. Gareth Street found a lurking Danny Green on the left of the area but once again Green could shoot wide of the near post.

From the goal kick Ks launched a promising attack and only the fingers of Nicholls denied Wilson-Denis. From Gray's corner the ball found Hickie in the area surrounded by blue shirts, one of whom decided to tackle him unnecessarily.

From the penalty Traynor duly scored. At the other end Tolfrey got his fingers to a shot going over by Russell Pond. From the corner Ks launched another attack and then in a fast flowing end to the half Wilson-Denis shot over and Green shot across at the other end. In injury time Green hit the ball powerfully into the side netting.

The second half started almost in similar vein with Gray trying a long shot from 35 yards out only for the ball to just clear the crossbar. Then Chris Wild shot wide at the other end before finally Lee Kersey headed in from the left off a corner on the right.

From the restart Ks attacked and Wild's reckless tackle on Wilson-Denis earned him a yellow and Gray a free kick 35 yards out in the centre. His shot then curled low around the wall and into the net. Parity had lasted all of three minutes.

With this the game quietened down as the midfield once again began to restore some order on the game. Indeed not until Wilson-Denis went wide in the 78th minute did the game begin to open up again. A series of attacks saw Traynor denied before Dave McSweeney was beaten by last-minute defending at the other end.

However in a rare poor mistake by Sheridan, he was outdone by Green who then shot from some distance out. Tolfrey dived and somehow put his hand up for the ball to go high in the air and then carry on goalwards. Sheridan by then had tracked back quickly and was able to clear the ball away ahead of the onrushing visitors.

A thrilling game at times for a neutral saw Ks do the double over Town and consolidate second place in the table. With eyes on Traynor to score his century of goals for Ks, it allowed others to shine. Sheridan was impressive and in spite of his late mistake, he was able to rectify it with the help of an excellent stop from Tolfrey.