21st January 2025
Bury Town vs Maldon & Tiptree @ Ram Meadow - Bury St. Edmunds
Isthmian North Division (Step 4)
19:45 KO
£11 entry
Attendance - 422
Half-time score: Bury Town 1-0 Maldon & Tiptree
Goals:
Bury Town: Mauge - 31'
Maldon & Tiptree: Redgrave - 48'
Final Score: Bury Town 1-1 Maldon & Tiptree
It has been a fortnight since Bury Town last played at Ram Meadow in a game where an excellent performance saw them beat promotion rivals Felixstowe & Walton United and take the upper-hand in the battle for promotion. But, since then, Bury Town have had two difficult games and have failed to capitalise, falling to a heavy defeat at Brentwood Town, with a hard-fought draw at Walthamstow on the weekend. This has allowed Felixstowe to leapfrog Bury Town in the table, and Brentwood Town to make up ground, so tonight's game against Maldon & Tiptree was critical to get the season back-on-track, a game that was initially set for the 11th Jan but called off due to a frozen pitch in the recent cold snap. The Jammers have been having a tough season to date with management changes and prospective new owners looking to purchase the club.
On the way into the ground I grabbed the almost obligatory match day programme for £2, with Bury Town's midfield maestro Ed Upson on the front cover.
I also fancied some cheesy chips tonight, Bury easily do the best non-league chips, big, crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middle, better than what most chippys serve up too if honest! Washed down with a cup of tea, this kept me warm for the first half at least.
It was a chilly yet still evening so felt milder than many of the recent games this January. Onto the perfectly prepared playing surface, Bury Town lined up in their all blue kits with Maldon & Tiptree in their away grey strip.
KEY MOMENTS
BT = Bury Town
MT = Maldon & Tiptree
31' - BT - GOAL (1-0) - A close opening half-an-hour, plenty of endeavour from both teams but only a few speculative half-chances are created. The first good chance comes from the hosts, Maughn threads a brilliant ball through the Maldon & Tiptree defence to set Mauge free, he skips into the box and calmly slots the ball across keeper Alexandru and into the net to put Bury Town into the lead.
40' - MT - Poor play at the back from Bury Town allows ex-Newmarket Town striker Josh Lee to pounce onto the ball, he spreads it out to the left to find the open Watson whose shot is deflected and cleared off the line, unlucky!
45' - MT - Watson gets on the end of a cross to head the ball, it initially looks wide but starts to curl inside the post, forcing Beckwith to make a brilliant diving save.
46' - MT - The visitors come out of the blocks fast in the 2nd half and almost score immediately. From a Maldon attack the ball breaks in the box to Josh Lee, he turns and shoots, but Beckwith drops down well to make the stop.
47' - MT - The pressure is building, half-time substitute Batlokwa attacks down the left, he cuts into the box and fires in a shot, it spins off the back of a defender and is heading in at the near-post, forcing a fine reaction save from Beckwith, turning the ball out for a corner.
48' - MT - GOAL (1-1) - From the resulting corner, Bury Town have two chances to clear but fail, the ball is pumped back into the danger area where it falls perfectly to Redgrave on the penalty spot, and he buries the ball in the bottom left corner, can't say it wasn't coming.
57' - MT - Millar fed just outside the box, he runs along the edge before spreading the ball out to sprinting Redgrave coming in off the right, he breaks into the box and shoots, his cross-goal effort going marginally wide of the far-post!
69' - MT - Maldon with a free-kick in a dangerous position, the free-kick taker (possibly Millar) goes for goal, the near-side effort forcing Beckwith to spring into action yet again.
77' - BT - Beckwith lumps a huge ball up the field, Mayhew is able to win it, he feeds substitute Ramadan who is open on the right, the cross-goal shot comes in, it looks to be heading in, but a Maldon defender is able to make a vital sliding clearance.
78' - MT - Redgrave causing issues down the right-flank, a neat step-over sets him free, he drives a low ball into the near-post, two Maldon attackers slide in but somehow the ball goes wide of the target, big let-off for Bury.
87' - MT - Free-kick curled into the far post by Millar, substitute Oluwatabi is on the other end but his effort skims wide off his head.
92' - MT - Maldon all over Bury in stoppage time, best chance comes through Redgrave down the right again, he drills in a shot, Beckwith parries it away, it falls to substitute Kai Brown on the edge of the box who hits the ball on the half-volley, but it deflects off a desperate defender and out for a corner.
Before kick-off a draw may have been considered to be two-points dropped, but from that performance it certainly feels like a point gained. Bury Town weren't at the races today, and a quick, physical, battling Maldon & Tiptree took the game to the hosts, especially in the 2nd half which they dominated. At half-time, Maldon changed personnel and their formation and this transformed the game. The winger Kai Redgrave was pushed further up the pitch as was a constant threat, deserving of his goal, and I was also impressed by Samuel Kuffour who defended with energy and athleticism, not much got past him. Bury Town probably have Charlie Beckwith to thank for the point, he made some excellent stops to deny Maldon & Tiptree the winner, brilliant keeper. Bury Town are now in a bit of a blip since their outstanding Felixstowe performance, all seasons have these so hopefully Bury Town can get themselves back to winning ways soon, but next up is a stern test as they face Brentwood Town again, this time at Ram Meadow with a draw the minimum required it feels. Hopefully Bury Town can put in a performance like the Felixstowe game and put in a statement win to get the season back on-track.
Line-Ups:
BURY TOWN: Charlie Beckwith, Taylor Parr, Joe White, Alfie Pinyoun, Josh Curry (C), Ed Upson, Max Maughn, Ethan Mayhew, James Mauge, Luke Brown, Ryan Jolland. SUBS: Cemal Ramadan, Mikey Davis, Dylan Williams, Ollie Canfer, Lewis O'Malley.
MALDON & TIPTREE: Dominic Alexandru, Samuel Kuffour, Darren Phillips (C), Anthony Wordsworth, Kai Redgrave, Mohammed Amir, Joseph Paxman, Louie Arrowsmith, Lewis Watson, Chris Millar, Josh Lee. SUBS: Morgan Snow, Samuel Oluwatabi, Kai Brown, Wedu Batlokwa.
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