Tilbury 2, Basildon United 2

A PRETTY disappointing match which was largely devoid of quality and played out on a threadbare, bumpy pitch at Chadfields turned into an even more disappointing result for Tilbury as they missed an added time penalty and then conceded the softest of goals to gift Basildon a point.

This was an Isthmian North clash that Tilbury should have put to bed well before the end and chalked up a third successive season-starting win, but in the end it proved to be a case of what might have been!

The Dockers made a decent start and were on top in what was, right from the off, a scrappy game but in one rare moment of quality Isaac Kkosi finally got the goal Tilbury had threatened on 20 minutes when he cut inside and launched a curling shot from the edge of the box past visiting keeper James Askew's dive.

That should have been the catalyst for Tilbury to take confidence and press on, but instead they went on the back foot and conceded just eight minutes after taking the lead.

There appeared little danger when a ball was played into a crowded area but no-one from Tilbury took a decisive touch and Daniel McCullock wriggled a bit of space and slid the ball home.

It was a soft goal but at least appeared to lift Tilbury from their lethargy and they began to threaten again, particularly down the right side where Alex Clark was growing into the game, often aided and abetted by the trickery of Lewis Smith.

And it was Smith who was to create the opportunity for the second goal on 37 minutes when he was clattered in the box and assistant referee Kehinde Agboola flagged for the penalty.

To say Basildon were unimpressed is an understatement but ref Matthew Charles backed his colleague and Dockers captain Roman Campbell drilled the ball home from the penalty spot to give his side a half time lead.

The second half was as uninspiring as the first, with neither side able to get a grip on the game, though the ever-increasing presence and influence of Clark – who was running the right side of Basildon's midfield and defence ragged, always looked likely to be productive.

After a couple of mazy runs he perhaps ought to have scored – most notably when he ran from just outside his own box, outstripping with his pace and skills but when he got to the one-on-one with Askew, he shot straight at the keeper.

Another run saw him brought to the ground by a rash tackle from behind but somewhat inexplicably Mr Charles waved away what looked cast iron penalty appeals.

However, what seemed like an inevitability turned into reality in added time when Clark stretched away on another run into the box and this time, after he was clipped, Mr Charles pointed to the spot.

It seemed likely to be 'game over' as Campbell picked up the ball and his spot to shoot at. But though he struck the ball well, the height was perfect for Askew to guess right and he parried the ball away.

Almost equally inevitably Basildon threw caution to the wind and pushed forward and, deep into added time Tilbury's defenders left a ball into the box for others to deal with and in the absence of any decisive defending Kye Jude nipped and replicated the first Bees' goal by sliding the ball home to spark celebrations.

Astonishingly there was still time for Tilbury to mount a couple more attacks and from each of them the ball fell invitingly for Melvin Kambamba to make himself a hero but he couldn't get a shot on target and the chance to extract delight from the jaws of despondency was lost.

Tilbury will have to quickly put the disappointment behind them as they go again in the FA Cup preliminary round on Saturday against old rivals Waltham Abbey who now ply their trade in the Southern Central Division.