Gnandi double in historic night for Stags

 

A brace from summer signing Max Gnandi earned Buckhurst Hill a 2-0 victory over Grays Athletic in their first-ever match at Step 4.

Gnandi broke the deadlock with the game just eight minutes old, as he beat the offside trap and latched onto a through-ball from Shane Temple to take the ball round Grays’ goalkeeper Danny Sambridge and slot into an empty net.

And the former Great Wakering man was at it again with 10 minutes to go before the break. Sulley Zuhdu’s shot was deflected into his path, and he did brilliantly to turn away from Grays captain Lewis Clark and finish low past Sambridge.

 

A minute’s silence was observed before the match in memory of Keith Harris. Grandad of Stags’ record appearance-maker Alfie, Keith had many roles over the years at the club, but was most notable for being a familiar face in the dugout alongside manager Mark Williams. The Harris family were in attendance as the home dugout was renamed before kick-off in honour of Keith, who would undoubtedly have been proud of the club on the night.

The match started with Grays controlling possession, and they had already had a couple of corners before Buckhurst Hill struck against the run of play after eight minutes. A throw-in from George Edwards found Shane Temple, who did well to shrug off a couple of Grays defenders before playing a perfect through-ball to Gnandi. The Grays defence seemed to stop, expecting a flag which never came, leaving Gnandi to round Sambridge and tap home, for the club’s historic first goal at Step 4.

The visitors seemed to regain the better of possession and showed good intent at times going forward, but the final pass was lacking all night, and, in truth, they could have played for hours without scoring.

The Stags’ lead was doubled as Temple found Zuhdu on the edge of the box, whose shot deflected into the path of Gnandi, who finished well with his right foot on the turn, and the Stags were in dreamland.

Twenty years ago, Buckhurst Hill were playing amateur football in the Hertfordshire Senior County League, while Grays Athletic were finishing 3^rd in the Conference, beating the likes of Accrington Stanley, Cambridge United, Crawley Town, Exeter City, Stevenage and York City.

But The Stags looked better than their opponents in every department; well-organised at the back, promising going forward and first to second-balls.

The second half was a largely uneventful affair – Grays were dominating possession again to no avail but did not significantly test home goalkeeper Christian North all night.

Athletic could not break down a resolute Buckhurst Hill defence, with captain Ollie Williams and player of the match Ollie Fernandez particularly impressive.

The victory leaves Buckhurst Hill 12^th in the Isthmian North (though, of course, having played fewer games than most in the division), while Grays sit 15^th having won once and lost twice.

The Stags travel to Takeley in their next match on Bank Holiday Monday, while The Blues are next in action at Canvey Island on Saturday, before completing a Canvey Island double as they travel to Concord Rangers on Bank Holiday Monday.

 

Buckhurst Hill: North, Fernandez, Edwards, Williams (C), McQueen, Brown, Gnandi (Maltese, 78’), Banfield (Nyahunda, 84’), Temple (Thompson, 72’), Zuhdu (Dolan, 60’), Massingham (Rowland, 84’). Bookings: Zuhdu, Rowland.

 

Grays Athletic: Sambridge, Brampton (Jude, 56’), Joynes (Norton, 56’), Moss, Clark (C), Hogan, Hepburn (Effah, 63’), Muldoon, Chapps, Moncur (Wade, 56’), Kileba (Harvey, 56’).