Three-goal Marlon Patterson set the seal on a victory for the Chelmsford City over South Essex side Aveley with a 19-minute hat trick to send Blue Square South side into the semi finals of the Essex Senior Cup.
City now seek a place at a third consecutive final as they face a tough encounter away at local rivals AFC Hornchurch.
Glenn Pennyfather’s defending champions had already marched into a lead through Ollie Berquez and Rob Edmans with only 6 minutes on the clock and Patterson’s deadly finishing towards the end added a deserved gloss.
City’s Head Coach believed it could have been an even wider margin on the night but he was ecstatic that his blend of youth and experience was balanced perfectly to give him future selection headaches.
Chelmsford’s bench was made entirely of the club’s youth products, with a number of teenagers on the pitch at the final whistle, and Pennyfather said: “The result was great but I was just as pleased with our application and we’re back to keeping clean sheets – that’s three on the bounce now. I’m also delighted that our infrastructure with the youth system has been fantastic and the more players we have coming through the better it is for the club, not only for enticing good players here but for the financial side of things.”
City got straight off the mark as early as the 3rd minute when Berquez wasted no time in firing past a helpless Rhys Madden in the Aveley goal from around the penalty spot. The young goalkeeper was again picking the ball out of his net three minutes later as Edmans was sent clean through and he lifted over Madden into the net. The shell-shocked Ryman League side will have feared the final result by this stage, but the scoring halted there for a while as both sides went close with a selection of opportunities.
A long-ranger from City’s Ricky Holmes and a low, Ricky Modeste effort from range were followed by a further Holmes twelve-yard soft side-footer. Ryan Edgar was next to threaten at the other end on 18 minutes, stinging the palms of Madden’s opposite number Ashley Harrison who had to parry a shot from distance. Patterson could also have opened his account earlier had he not miscontrolled when through on goal.
Before the interval there was more action, Aveley’s Edgar going close two more times from outside the box, striking straight at Harrison from a set-piece and sending a 44th-minute whistler wide of the Clarets’ custodian onto the foot of the post. City additionally threatened via Edmans, who guided the ball across the face just out of the reach of Patterson, then Dave Rainford who headed wide from the winger’s subsequent cross.
Aside from Edgar’s wrapping of the post, Aveley enjoyed a flurry of chances just prior to the break as David Knight brought a diving catch out of Harrison to his right and Sam Lechmere made the most of some space afforded to him on the right to dribble inside before forcing Harrison into another save with his legs. City entered half-time with a decent cushion but it could feasibly have been a high-scoring draw on another day.
Early in the second half Edmans charged forward and found Madden closing him down in the opposite direction to claim while Modeste lobbed wide when the Millers’ stopper went walkabout with the next period promising more of the same. In the 65th minute, however, a move certainly deserving of a goal saw Rainford combine cleverly with Holmes inside on the right and the latter’s classy, outside-of-the-boot strike came back frustratingly off the angle of the post and the crossbar.
The hosts were taking pot-shots at goal by this stage and a further Patterson prod was blocked though his ruthless double on 71 and 72 minutes totally ended the contest. Holmes initially squeezed in a cross from the right to a well-placed Edmans whose first-time tester was brilliantly thwarted by Madden. A desperate defender could only knock the loose ball onto his own bar and Patterson picked-up the pieces. Then Edmans was through and he laid the ball on a place for Patterson to finish into an empty net.
City’s tall striker Edmans found himself with just Madden to beat on numerous occasions though when he was in a genuine race with a defender on 76 minutes he had to stretch to poke over the bar. Though he galloped away in the final minute, this time rounding the ‘keeper and, with the angle tightening, he teed-up the arriving Patterson who gratefully accepted the invitation, hammering into the bottom corner for his hat-trick.
Speaking of his fresh-faced squad that continues to develop under the guidance of the first-team management and City’s youth coaches, Pennyfather reviewed: “It augurs well for the future and I’m a great believer in giving young players the opportunity because if somebody didn’t give me an opportunity I’d never have got any experience. I’ll continue, as long as we’ve got good young players coming through, to give them that chance.”
