Billericay Town 1
Hastings United 0
Billericay Town made it five wins on the spin as a second half strike from Anthony Jeffrey sealed a 1-0 victory over fellow playoff hopefuls Hastings United.
It was a quiet first half at New Lodge as the rain poured down with Ricay’s top scorer Alfie Cerulli being the brightest spark on the pitch.
Following a handful of attempts that went off target the 21-year-old very nearly embarrassed visiting goalkeeper Louis Rogers. A curling free kick from Cerulli headed straight at Rogers however the 24-year-old shot stopper saw the ball slip through his grasp and fly just past the far post.
Billericay goalkeeper Harry Seaden is yet to keep a home clean sheet this term and he was called into action early in the second half; making an important save to keep the game goalless. A Hastings set piece caused panic with Ricay’s Marvel Ekpiteta slicing his clearance. This resulted in the ball looping backwards towards his own goal and Seaden had to be alert to tip the danger over the crossbar.
Within a minute of this opportunity Billericay then took the lead. The lively John Ufuah burst down the right-hand side before dragging a cross back to the edge of the box where Jeffrey was on hand to fire home for his third goal of the season; a strike that sees Hastings’ impressive record of four consecutive away clean sheets come to an end.
Dan Brown’s side could've doubled their lead with 20 minutes left on the clock from another Cerulli free kick. This time the striker unleashed a dipping effort from 25 yards out that forced Rogers into action requiring the goalkeeper to tip the ball over.
Despite a few late set pieces from the visitors, Billericay held firm to secure the three points and their first clean sheet at New Lodge this season. A win also sees Ricay’s impressive home form continue with the Blues not losing on home turf since August. Brown’s side have now risen three places up to 9th in the division; just one point behind Hastings.
Defeat for the U’s means they miss out on the chance to move into the playoff positions as Hastings’ four game unbeaten away run comes to a disappointing end.
ATT: 553
MOTM: John Ufuah (Billericay)
Billericay Town: Seaden, Wind, T. Stevenson, Agyemang, Ekpiteta, Chambers, B. Stevenson, Ebuzoeme, Cerulli, Ufuah, Jeffrey (Dickson 84’)
Goals: Jeffrey 52’
Hastings United: Rogers, Worrall (Pinto 60’), Stone, Chalmers, Dixon, Pope (McKenzie 62’), Adams (Hull 69’), Hasler, Brefo, Penn, Elliott
Goals: N/A
By Nathan Williams
Well done Ricay, very vocal Hasting fans
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