Saffron Walden hit SIX

Both sides were back in action after the entire ESL fixture programme was cancelled at the weekend after further wet weather caused havoc.

Guidelines given by the league meant there were no handshakes prior to kick off due to the current COVID-19 virus but with 8 goals to follow I’m sure this rule may not have entirely been followed.

Redbridge had James Pellin recently joined from Tilbury starting in goal with Florent Gislette returning to France for a short period , he knew that he would be in for a busy night against table toppers Saffron Walden Town with the players they had within their line-up.

It took only 11 minutes for the opening goal to arrive as Redbridge failed to clear their lines and the ball fell at the feet of Julian Simon-Parsons who had time to take a touch before unleashing a powerful half volley which left Pellin with no chance.

Redbridge however managed to get themselves back into the game soon after when a lovely pass from Tom Harvey pierced the home back line allowing Kurt Smith to run in on goal and although his touch took him wide of Nicholas Eyre in goal, he was able to find the empty net and draw his side level.

Before the celebrations had even finished the home, side had retained their lead when a cross from the right was poked in from close range by Simon-Parsons grabbing his second of the night.

Redbridge heads never went down and Smith tried his luck from distance which required Eyre to push over the bar before the home side came back up the other end and scored again.

A poor defensive headed clearance by Jordayne Henry allowed Gavin Cockman the ball and his deep cross was headed down into the path of Steven Carvell who made no mistake from within the penalty box.

A free kick for the Motormen was taken by Tom Harvey and seemed to be heading for the top corner however Eyre made a good diving save to tip it over and out for a corner.

Saffron Walden continued to attack forcing a series of corners before Carvell saw a fierce drive well saved by Pellin although the final attack of the half almost saw Redbridge score when a cross came over from the right finding a defender who looked to simply clear the ball away for a goal kick however he only succeeded in hitting the post before the ball bounced back into play much to their relief.

Hassan Nalbant was introduced to the field for the second period for Redbridge and he made an immediate impact scoring within 3 minutes when from a corner he firstly took a touch before smashing the ball into the back of the net to reduce the deficit.

At the other end Simon-Parsons thought he had grabbed his hat trick only to be denied by a fantastic diving save by Pellin who pushed the ball around a post. The home side were not to be denied however as Cockman ran forward managing to hold off a defender before firing a low effort past Pellin.

The tie was effectively over soon after when four became five as poor defending allowed Carvell to get into the area before finding Charlie Cole unmarked in the area and his shot took a deflection before finding the goal.

The home side were not easing up continuing to look dangerous with each attack and they almost grabbed another goal after Pellin’s clearance was charged down by Nathan Scarborough and as the ball rolled back towards the goal both players ran back with the Redbridge keeper just beating the Saffron Walden front man to the ball and although the home crowd were shouting for a foul a goal kick was eventually given after the referee spoke to his assistant.

Into the final minute and number SIX came as Jack Isherwood was on hand to finish off a nice passing move as he placed his effort into the corner of the net and rounded off a good night’s work for the home side who extended their lead at the top to four points.

report by Adam Silver