City make it 7 wins in a row

Cambridge City and Brantham Athletic faced each other on Saturday afternoon. City were looking to add to their 6 game winning streak, the Lilywhites' last result being a 2-1 away win at Downham Town. 

Mavididi opens the scoring for City - Iain walker

The Blue Imps last result was a 1-2 loss against Witham Town at home, a defeat which stretched their losing run to 9, saw Brantham sit at the foot of the table with just 2 points from 19 games.

As the game kicked off in the pouring rain, Josh Burns the man in the middle, it took just 3 minutes for the first chance, and it fell to the visitors. James Lee got the better of Usman Adeniji  just outside the 18-yard box, and James Philp had to get down low to his left to save smartly and deny Brantham a chance for an early goal.

Nothing much happened for the next 15 minutes, until a long pass from Jack Thompson found Quevin Castro. The resulting cross found George Smith, but the striker's header was saved by Roan Tucker.

After 23 minutes, City got their next chance for the first goal. Smith and Thompson combined to set up Castro. Castro's effort rolled just wide after a promising position.

2 minutes later, Brantham's Oliver Travell received a long ball out wide, the cross found Lee in the penalty area, which was blocked by Jayden Randell. Dylan Logan's follow-up was also defended solidly.

Thompson was at work again in the midfield, the playmaker's pass was delivered to Codey Cosgrave. Benjamin Young was on hand to clear the danger for a corner.  The corner, after a quick delay, was sent in and Tucker managed to scoop it off the line and over the bar.  The 2^nd incoming corner saw Randell head wide from a good position, the captain, however, was unbalanced.

With 3 minutes to play in the 1^st half, a pass out from the back allowed Castro to storm through on goal, Stevy Brouwers stood firm to clear. The corner was whipped in and Tucker missed the cross completely while trying to catch the ball. Fortunately for the visiting goalkeeper, the cross went straight out for a goal kick.

Brantham were holding on but before half-time, Cosgrave and Smith worked well together and Thompson very nearly poked home the opener, off the line once again.

With 1 minute to go, Ross Mcguire's mistake allowed Cosgrave a chance for a strike, Tucker provided a save once again. There was just enough time for Randell to fire over the bar from distance, then the half-time whistle blew.

City started the 2^nd half in a similar fashion to the 1^st, Thompson turning inside to find Warman, the cross came then back to Thompson, the shot failing to find the target.

Jett Murphy, who came on at the start of the 2^nd half, worked a ball out towards Giani Ashley. Thompson received the ball from his teammate, and, after beating Liam Riley, fired in a shot that Tucker brilliantly tipped over the crossbar.

Brantham had their own spell of good chances soon after. The first one came when Brouwers tried an effort from 20 yards which Philp was equal to. Another cross from Brouwers then found Travell, the resulting header flew wide. One more effort from this spell saw Brouwers again in the thick of the action. Logan picked up the ball with Toib Adeyemi the player Brouwers was aiming for, the weak effort from Adeyemi didn't trouble Philp much.

With just under an hour gone, new signing Shaun Mavididi made his Lilywhites debut, coming on for Cosgrave. Mavididi was immediately involved when he and Smith combined but, when the ball came back to Mavididi, the forward took his eye off the ball at a critical moment, and a miss kick meant that the chance was lost.

But, it didn't take long for the new signing to make a lasting impact. A long ball from Adeniji found Smith, who beat the off-side trap, and the cross was aimed to the far post and Mavididi was on hand to tap home, just 4 minutes into his debut.

Brantham looked to react quickly, Adeyemi smartly set Logan on, with the cross finding Travell. The header went wide, then Logan tried again but fired over the bar.

Just 3 minutes later, City doubled their lead. Mavididi was working wonders again on the left, and the cross hung nicely for Jett Murphy, who's jump was timed perfectly to head home City's 2^nd goal, and their 11^th goal at home in a row without reply.

Brantham weren't finished though, Teddy Stacy looked, and found, Lucas Wells. The substitute allowed Logan to fire in a cross, a pass that went straight through harmlessly.

A long ball then landed at the feet of Solomon Ofori, and he twisted and turned to get a shot away, but Tucker kept it out to keep the score down.

After a little pressure from Brantham and City at both ends, the final chance for the visitors very nearly resulted in a goal. Adeyemi nodded down to Wells, the no.19 then had his effort defended, which then resulted in a goal-mouth scramble. The ball eventually was claimed by Philp, much to the bemusement of the Brantham players, who thought that a goal was surely coming.

Mavididi then forced Tucker into one final save before the full-time whistle blew. The win added to City's impressive run of 7 wins on the bounce, the 6 league wins have seen City score 15 goals and concede just twice. For Brantham, the loss meant that the visitors remained win-less in 20 matches, a run which has also seen them lose 10 consecutive games.

City will  travel to the most easterly town in the UK, Lowestoft, on Saturday 29^th, hoping to pick up yet another 3 points.

Connor Taylor-Creek