Isthmian League South East Division
Super-sub Shaquille Gordon proved to be the hero at Holm Park, coming off the bench to strike a late winner against 10-man Cray Valley PM at the Sharocks Insurance stadium, Holm Park.
Sheppey United welcomed back Harlain Mbayo, Danny Leonard, and Ben Clark to the starting line-up, while missing Kaelem Sobhee-Turner, Mo Dabo, Mams Diallo, Alfie Evans, and Cameron Andrews.
The match got off to an energetic start with early pressure from the Ites, as Ben Clark created an opportunity inside the opening two minutes before Harry Lawrence fired over. The turning point of the first half arrived early through two pivotal moments:
18' — Sheppey were forced into an early substitution as D'Jean Spencer left the pitch injured, bringing on Oghosa Williams.
21' — Cray Valley PM were reduced to ten men when Marvel Ekpiteta was shown a straight red card for striking Ben Clark in the face.
Sheppey took full advantage of the numerical edge. In the 37th minute, substitute Oghosa Williams collected a sharp pass from Danny Leonard, cut inside onto his left foot, and smashed a powerful strike past Harrison Chamberlain to make it 1–0. Harlain Mbayo nearly doubled the lead just before the break, heading just wide from an Adjei-Hersey corner.
Cray Valley PM refused to back down despite the disadvantage, levelling the score in the 55th minute through a fine build-up play finished off by Chris Dickson (1–1). Sheppey goalkeeper Harley Earle was called into action shortly after, producing a vital one-on-one save in the 59th minute to prevent the visitors from taking the lead.
The Ites pushed forward in search of a winner, with Leonard and Gordon coming close before the decisive breakthrough arrived:
81' — Oghosa Williams whipped in a brilliant cross, allowing late substitute Shaquille Gordon (who had come on for Michael Salako in the 76th minute) to guide the ball past Chamberlain into the net for 2–1.
Cray Valley keeper Harrison Chamberlain pulled off two outstanding saves in the 90th minute against Leonard and Gordon to keep the margin at one, but Sheppey held firm through late stoppage-time pressure to secure all three points.
Lineups & Match Details
Sheppey United XI: Earle, Lawrence, Adjei-Hersey, Wisson, Mbayo, Clark (Kabamba) Palmby Hilden, Leonard, Spencer (Williams), Salako (Gordon)
Unused Subs: Ganiwa, Cole
Goals: Williams, Gordon
Bookings: Mbayo, Wisson
Report: Lee Allen
Photo: Marc Richards