Saturday 30th January 2016 at Chadfields.
Borough secured a precious point in what was probably their most physically demanding 90 minutes of the season to date in a match which saw 8 bookings and a red card. Tilbury hold 6th place in the table and are chasing a play-off spot. Uncompromising defences dominated a game in which clear cut chances were rare, although Borough ‘keeper Ashley Harris was the busier custodian making outstanding saves in each half – firstly blocking a point blank finish from a diagonal cross at the far post with his feet and in the second half acrobatically turning over a powerful close range header from a corner. Tilbury also struck the bar with a 25 yard rocket midway through the first half. Unfortunately, the home keeper never had the chance to show his mettle as the first of Borough’s two golden first half opportunities was blazed high over the bar from the edge of the six yard box and the second sliced horribly wide. After the interval Borough enjoyed a purple patch and looked the more likely winners although their pressure never created anything to challenge the home ‘keeper. But everything changed in the 65th minute when Rakim Richard’s was dismissed for retaliation a few minutes after picking up a previous booking. After that it was backs to the wall defending for Borough, especially during five minutes of stoppage time, with Ross Dedman and Aaron Scott standing firm in the face of the inevitable Tilbury onslaught as they sought to make their numerical superiority count. Crosses rained in as Tilbury adopted a more direct approach but despite some nerve-jangling moments, especially as they repeatedly closed in from the left, they were unable to breach Borough’s resistance and any result other than a draw would have been hard on the losers.
Borough now face two vital home matches against mid-table visitors – Romford on Saturday 6th and Thamesmead town on Tuesday 9th (7.45pm)