White Ensign

Epping entertained league leaders, White Ensign, for their first match of the New Year, but with the harsh weather conditions on the morning of the match, it was 50/50 whether the match went ahead. Groundsman Bill Towers carried out a pitch inspection at midday and declared that he was happy with the playing surface, which left referee Steve Gleeson to carry out a further check prior to kick-off and finally declare the match on! It was the visitors though who adapted quicker to the difficult conditions and Epping struggled to find any fluency in their play or retain possession for long periods. Ensign had the majority of the play for the first half hour but rarely threatened Epping keeper Jonathan Thomas's goal, with a shot from distance from Neil Benson that hit the outside of the post being their only real chance. Epping began to get into the game more as the half progressed and took the lead on the verge of half-time. A superb cross-field pass from the left from Adam Connolly evaded Ensign's defence and Ash Conlan got in behind them and duly despatched his shot past the Ensign keeper to put Epping 1-0 up at half-time. Manager Neil Whitbread had not even got out of the changing rooms for the second half when his side were awarded a penalty. The eagle-eyed assistant referee spotted an Ensign defender pull Leon Rolle back in the box and after consultation with the referee a penalty was awarded. Connolly converted from the spot for his 7th goal of the season. Epping then began to take control of the game, with Connolly, Conlan and the hard-working Richard Hilson on his full home debut, causing the Ensign back line all kinds of problems. It was no surprise when they increased their lead through substitute Olly King who was in the right place at the right time in the box to score from 6yards out after a scramble in the area. Epping were playing with confidence now and they continued to threaten throughout the remainder of the match but did not add to their tally. This was arguably Epping's best performance of the season so far and with Ensign having only been beaten once previously so far this season, the result will have sent shockwaves around the league. The Gaffer said "We owed White Ensign something after the game at their place earlier in the season where we should have come away with at least a point. Their manager stated then that we were the best side that they faced so far this season and I think that today's result fully justified that observation. It's important for us now to follow it up with another top performance, something which we've unfortunately been unable to do so far this season, with inconsistency being our weakness."