New Salamis 2 - Maldon & Tiptree 1

A ten-man Jammers team was narrowly beaten by New Salamis on a grey afternoon in Harringay, yesterday (February 4).

Maldon came into Saturday's fixture on the back of taking 4 points against East Thurrock United and Wroxham and were looking to avenge the 5-2 defeat by Salamis back in November.

There was a setback before a ball had been kicked as Maldon's Joe Turpin was injured in the warm up and was replaced by Toib Adeyemi. Manager Peter Taylor handed new signing, Lewis Jaggs a debut in midfield and gave a place on the bench to Friday's other signing Chris Gregan as he reverted to the 4-3-3 that rescued a point against Wroxham on Tuesday night.

The Jammers picked up where they left off against Wroxham and started the brighter of the two teams and nearly took the lead when Michael Finneran headed over the bar after 3 minutes.

In spite of that bright start, however, it was New Salamis who took the lead after 7 minutes. A throw-in was well moved across the pitch from Maldon's right and found Louie Remi who placed a curled shot past Tommy Dixon-Hodge into the bottom right corner of the net.

A couple of set pieces offered the home team a chance to extend their lead, but Maldon stood firm to see the danger through.

Ten minutes after going behind, the Jammers drew level through a well worked move. Peter Mokwenye received the ball at left back and played an inch perfect ball for Scott Kemp who put the afterburners on to beat his man. His cross in carved the defence apart and found George Smith in the middle who slotted home his first Jammers goal.

That equaliser seemed to spur the home side on. George Lutaaya, in particular, was constantly finding space on the Maldon right hand side and put in good ball which Harrison Georgiou headed over. On 37 minutes, Salamis striker, Derek Asamoah was put through, but that man Tommy made a great one on one save to keep the scores level.

Just before half-time, the game exploded into life. First, there was a chance for Smith to double his tally. Smart play from Terrell Egbri and Harry Phillips allowed Smith to get a shot away, but Salamis goalkeeper, Reuben Rabstein got down quickly to his right to keep the ball out.

The turning point came on the stroke of half time when Luke Foster and Terrell Egbri got involved in a handbags scuffle in the far corner after they got tangled up together after a challenge by Foster. The Salamis man saw yellow, but Egbri was sent off to leave the Jammers facing an uphill battle in the second half.

In spite of the numerical disadvantage, The Jammers started the second half well. Five minutes in, a cross in from the left from Kemp found Smith on the edge of the 6 yard box, but the shot on the turn was straight at Rabstein. Just before the hour mark, it was Smith again worrying the home side, making a great run down the left-hand side, he cut inside but could only shoot into the side netting.

Moments later, Maldon were made to pay for the missed chances as Lady Luck once again this season deserted them. A cross in from the New Salamis' right took a lucky deflection which put the ball into the path of Georgiou at the back post. He rifled a shot in to make the Jammers' afternoon even more difficult.

Undeterred, Maldon went looking for another equaliser and they nearly replied straight away. Determined play from Mokwenye to win the ball back allowed him to play a one-two with Smith. As he made his way into the box, the opportunity opened up for him to take the shot on, but he tried to pull the ball back and the chance was gone.

Still the chances came. Smith, who got nothing from the referee all afternoon, had a penalty appeal waved away before more good combination play from Mokwenye and Kemp, following a quick release from keeper Dixon-Hodge, but Smith's shot was wide of the mark.

With 10 minutes left, Maldon were now starting to throw the kitchen sink at New Salamis and the continued link ups between Mokwenye, Kemp and Phillips, as well as the introduction of new man Chris Gregan, ensured Salamis would have to work hard for their win.

A stunning one handed save from Dixon-Hodge, to push a Louie Remi shot wide kept the Jammers alive on 85 minutes. By now, Toib Adeyemi had set up camp on the Jammers' front line to add a considerable aerial threat. A succession of Maldon freekicks around the 18-yard box failed to produce a deserved equaliser. The best of these late chances saw a Gregan effort deflected over the bar by a New Salamis player only to see the referee award a goal kick …It was one of those days.

The hosts held on through five minutes of stoppage time to condemn Maldon to a harsh defeat, who - with better finishing - might even have taken all three points.

This harsh defeat keeps The Jammers in 13th place, nine points clear of the bottom four, ahead of Bury Town's visit to 'the Home of Football' on Saturday 11 February.