Kingstonian 2-0 Aveley

Kingstonian picked up their second win in three days on a blustery and cold evening as they scored twice in the last ten minutes with goals from Bobby Traynor and Matt Gray to eventually run out 2-0 winners.

In weather conditions not conducive to good football, albeit played on an excellent surface, it was lowly Aveley who immediately threatened as early as the third minute. A wickedly inswinging corner was partially cleared by Tolfrey under great pressure, but as the resulting shot from Orlando Smith ricocheted around the box, Huckle miscued his header and was relieved to see the ball land on the bar.

In the sixth minute Kingstonian skipper Bashiru Alimi was taken off injured following an innocuous tackle and replaced by Lee Hall. Two minutes later it was Kingstonian's turn to threaten as a deep corner from Matt Gray bypassed everyone to crash off the back post. Tait reacted quickest to the rebound, only to see his improvised overhead kick slip agonisingly past the same post Gray had hit only moments earlier.

After this early excitement both teams struggled to exert any form of sustained control as the swirling wind continued to cause problems. Kingstonian came closest to scoring just before half time as Bird whipped a wicked ball across the face of the goal.

The weather conditions had, if anything, got worse by the time the second half kicked off. However with the swirling wind now predominantly on their backs Kingstonian started to look the more dangerous side. First it was the impressive Tait, on his home debut, who hit the post in the 51st minute with a smartly taken shot from a Gray cross, before Dolan headed powerfully over from a corner four minutes later.

Having started with only one man upfront, Aveley were now rarely threatening. Despite lone striker, Josh Llewellyn, manfully sticking to his task and holding the ball up well, the only threat came from attacking midfielder Orlando Smith with the occasional skilful run. Indeed the closest Aveley came to scoring in the second half was from a mis-hit Smith shot which landed on the top of the goal.

Recognising Aveley were now showing little attacking intent, Dowson took off Jinadu in an attacking switch with Sam Clayton in the 75th minute. Chances immediately started to flow with a deflected Gray shot narrowly missing the far post. This offered only momentary respite as the resulting corner wasn't cleared properly and eventually fell to Traynor on the left hand side of the area and his first time shot unerringly found the bottom left hand corner of the net. It was a high class finish and the sort of clinical taking of a half chance that makes him so dangerous.

Kingstonian now pressed forward in an attempt to extend their lead. Never short of confidence, Matt Gray decided to try a shot from 50 yards as he spotted the keeper on the edge of the area. The idea was better than the execution as the shot passed comfortably wide of the goal. However, it was not long before a rampant Kingstonian added a second. The move started with Tom Bird winning the ball well in midfield with a committed tackle before he released Hall down the left flank. His dangerous cross flew across the six yard line before reaching Gray at the back post who then buried a well hit shot. Kingstonian almost added a third in the dying minutes of the game as Tait hit the crossbar with an exquisite chip.

Six points and second clean sheet in successive matches was a good outcome for Kingstonian. The result came from a brand of no-nonsense defending combined with high energy levels and commitment in the final quarter of the game. It took a long time to break down Aveley, but ultimately Kingstonian demonstrated good patience and a cutting edge in front of goal.