Barking & Dagenham 2-2 Chelsea Academy Dev.

 BARKING & DAGENHAM BOYS officially kicked off the season that nearly never was, with a resilient 2-2 draw against an extremely talented Chelsea Academy Development team at Riverside.

Chelsea were a confident, technically gifted team, and moved the ball at lightning speed.

They immediately set about the task of trying to unlock the home defence.

Long periods of possession and many passes lead to multiple scares for the Barking & Dagenham boys in the early stages of the game. With power and pace up front, Chelsea were repeatedly knocking on the door.

Inspired

The home defence held firm however, with goalkeeper George Miller in inspired form. The Grafton stopper made three saves from point blank range, before launching counter attacks with excellent distribution.

Barking & Dagenham posed a serious threat to the visitors’ defence from counter attacks, led by midfield stars Isaac Da Silva and Lesecond Yeutembip, along with the pacey Chibuzo Okoli up front.

Indeed, it was Okoli who had the first attempt of the game for the home side, flashing a low shot just wide from the right-hand side.

However, midway through the first half it was Chelsea who struck first by giving the home side a taste of their own medicine. A swift counter-attack cut the home defence in half, and a clinical finish made it 1-0 to the visitors.

Flurry

The home side then rolled up their sleeves and launched a flurry of attacks at the visitor’s defence. The ever-dangerous Okoli had two more shots, with the second hitting the crossbar before going over.

Da Silva and Yeutembip were at the heart of everything, and their persistence eventually paid off on the stroke of half time. A perfectly timed through ball left Okoli one on one with the Chelsea keeper. The William Ford striker made no mistake this time, and the home side were level.

Second Wave

The second half begun in exactly the same fashion as the first half had, with the visitors keen to re-establish their lead.

It didn’t take long this time around, as another slick passing move and first-time finish made it 2-1 to Chelsea.

The visitors were in no mood to sit back and set about the task of increasing their lead. An offside decision denied them a third, as Barking and Dagenham were on the ropes.

Once again however, the home team stirred. With ten minutes to go, Barking & Dagenham took control of the game, and laid siege to the Chelsea goal as Okoli hit the crossbar for the second time.

Marvellous Oppong then joined Okoli in the crossbar challenge – and long-range efforts from Da Silva and Yeutembip found the Chelsea keeper in equally inspired form.

Equaliser

Just when it seemed Chelsea would hang on, Da Silva played in Okoli once more for a one-on-one. A superb save from the Chelsea goalkeeper denied Okoli his second, but he was powerless to stop the right footed volley from  Jahcorey Blair-Charles who scored with a neat finish on the rebound.

Indeed, the George Carey winger could have had his second and Barking & Dagenham’s third shortly thereafter, but his hard and low left-footed shot went just wide.

Oppong and Okoli huffed and puffed again in the final stages, but Chelsea hung on for what was a deserved 2-2 draw for both sides.

Barking & Dagenham can be proud of themselves in their first match together against difficult opposition, and now move on to their second Representative Match against Basildon at Riverside on Saturday 17th April.

Barking and Dagenham: George Miller (Grafton), Ruari Stanton (Northbury), Marvellous Oppong (Northbury), Lesecond Yeutembip (Northbury), Benjamin Oluyemmy (Northbury), Isaac Da Silva (Valence), Chibuzo Okoli (William Ford), Chinoso Ibeh (St Peter’s), Dexter Douglas (St Vincent’s), Jayden Ikechukwu (St Vincent’s), Ibrahim Msabah (George Carey), Jahcorey Blair-Charles (George Carey)