Great Chesterford FC 3, Milton 2 CARETAKER Great Chesterford manager Elliot Smith was delighted as his side came back from two down to win, on Saturday. I am really proud of the player s grit and determination. We ve come back from 2-0 down to bea

Great Chesterford FC 3, Milton 2

CARETAKER Great Chesterford manager Elliot Smith was delighted as his side came back from two down to win, on Saturday.

"I am really proud of the player's grit and determination. We've come back from 2-0 down to beat the current league leaders."

Both sides had early opportunities at goal, but it was Milton who broke the deadlock. Chesterfords keeper Dan Chapman gave away a penalty for taking down a Milton striker in the box.

Chesterfords bad luck continued when five minutes later Leigh Thompson gave away another penalty for hand ball in the area.

The half-time talk Chesterford had must have worked. They came out a different

side from the first half, more alert and wanting the win.

Chesterfords defence were on fire now, clearing any ball that came their way and there was no sign of the previous half's defensive errors.

On the hour mark Chesterfords captain David Baker volleyed the ball into the back of the Milton net to cut the arrears.

The goal was the confidence boost the team needed. Milton took the centre kick, and quickly lost the ball to Russell Hughes and his impressive football skills. He took on three of the Milton players, and hammered home the ball to make the score level.

The 70th minute saw a 16 man brawl, which escalated after a bad tackle on Chesterfords' Adam Porter.

The referee calmed things down. Chesterford could taste the win, and constantly put the Milton defence under pressure. It was an own goal by one of the Milton defenders that ended the deadlock.

Witham Phoenix 1, CFC Shalford 3

A POOR performance could not stop CFC Shalford winning this bottom of the table clash with Witham Phoenix.

An early goal from Bensley saw Shalford take the lead, but having got their noses in front, became complacent and stopped the work effort that has proved so positive for them in previous games.

A soggy, muddy pitch was a real leveller for both teams but as CFC showed a distinct lack of enthusiasm, the hosts levelled after 20 minutes.

At times, the visitors raised their game but fell well short of the mark, wasting numerous opportunities to finish the game for good.

Just prior to half-time a free-kick was awarded on the edge of the Phoenix penalty box. Bensley hit a power drive that found itself hitting the top right hand corner of the net to put the visitors 2-1 up.

The second half saw some changes of personnel and with it a change of formation but this did nothing for the energy of the entire team as the lethargic attitude seemed to affect everyone.

Stand-in CFC keeper Mark Johnson kept the visiting side ahead, and they sealed the win when a run from the offside-looking Roberts saw him fire home.

Barnston 0, Writtle 1

BARNSTON'S woes in front of goal continued as they were edged out by a single goal against Writtle on Saturday.

The winner came two minutes before the break when a cross from the right was put away by Gary Stevens,

As in recent games, Barnston continued to have trouble scoring, twice missed out on one -on-one with the visiting keeper, and their shooting was either wide of the goal or did not have enough power to beat the keeper.

However, they did have plenty of play against the league leaders, and are beginning to show signs of improvement after the recent upheavals led to several changes in their squad.

* Barnston FC visit Basildon Town at 2pm on Saturday, while the reserves travel to Leigh Ramblers.