In truth the hosts just about edged the win over the Motormen, but Kris Taylor’s side ought to have come away with a point as late chances came back to haunt them.

The Motormen made a sluggish start in the game as Ilford took control in
midfield with former Redbridge player Chuck Duru and Zubair Haleem causing havoc for the Foxes’ down the wings.

Ilford though did not really create any real chances, as Redbridge’s centre backs Nathan Fletcher and Sean Crosssley worked hard to cut the ball out.

Just on the half-hour though the Foxes pressure told. A ball into the box from Bogdan Idu wasn’t cleared properly allowing Sam Adejokun time and space to control the ball in the area before shooting powerfully past Lee Newcomb in goal. It was a bad goal to concede for the Motormen and one that Kris Taylor a former centre back in his day would have been furious about.

Redbridge offered little threat going forward in the first half and with a goal deficit against them needed to start the second half well. This is exactly what they did as they immediately put pressure on the Foxes and began to cause them problems. Alex Read, Kevin McLeod and Julian Edwards were all linking up well at front, but once again the Motormen’s final ball just wasn’t there.

Redbridge’s first real chance on goal came from the tireless Tom Stephen 10 minutes into the half. Working hard down the wing, Stephen exchanged a pass from Sonny Adams before shooting narrowly wide of the goal from just outside the area with Rob Budd breathing a sigh of relief.

Not long after that Julian Edwards was denied his first goal of the season by the woodwork. A foul out wide on Sonny Adams saw Redbridge win a freekick on the right. Kevin McLeod sent in a peach of a ball which was flicked on by Crossley perfectly for Edwards at the far post.

Wretchedly for Redbridge from a couple of yards out, the experienced forward’s header struck the inside of the post and somehow Ilford scrambled it away to safety.

Ilford then had a chance to double their lead but Anton Trice saw his
header from a corner come back of the woodwork. It was a break that Redbridge needed, but despite some good play in the final 20 minutes of the game they just could not grab an equaliser as two clear cut chances were missed.

First McLeod seemed odds-on to score from a counter attack. Powerfully making his way pass two Ilford defenders before he even got the ball, McLeod latched onto brilliantly to a ball from Read and ran at speed towards the penalty box. Just as he was looking ready to hammer the ball in for an equaliser he seemed to pause as a defender was closing him down and shot over the bar.

With time running out, Edwards was sacrficied for Anton Agdomar for abit of power and energy up front. Coming off a good first half appearance versus Chatham at the weekend, Agdomar looked ready to make an impact when coming on and quickly got involved in the game.

Good play down the left from Ashby, Stephen and McLeod presented the tall forward with a great chance to score inside the penalty area.
However for some reason the unmarked Agdomar failed to get his shot away early enough, allowing Ilford’s Liam Thomas time to block a seemingly goal bound shot.

That miss proved costly five minutes later when the hosts doubled their lead. A long ball from midfield caused problems for Redbridge, allowing Ilford substitute Josh Coulson to head the ball onto his strike partner Danny Gabriel.

Gabriel may have looked slightly offside as Coulson headed the ball but the linesman thought otherwise and as Gabriel made his way into the box he was fouled by Fletcher. It looked a penalty and Fletcher was given his second booking which saw him sent off.

Gabriel stepped up and powerfully struck home the spot kick past Newcomb who guessed the right way to seal the win for the hosts.

For Redbridge it was a disappointing result as missed chances cost them dear. Next up see’s midtable Maldon & Tiptree visit the Oakside so there is an immediate chance for Redbridge to bounce back and earn their first league win of the season.

Redbridge: Newcomb, Donovan, Stephen, Dickinson, Crossley, Fletcher, Adams (Perry), Ashby, Read, Edwards (Agdomar), McLeod