Having seen off one Isthmian Premier play-off contender in Aveley on Tuesday, the Fleet sent three goals past last season’s finalists as a trip to Brentwood yielded the second victory of pre-season.
Josh Wright split his two elevens across one 75-minute spell and a final quarter of an hour ahead of another game tomorrow, against Tottenham Hotspur’s U21s, and both of those sides controlled the play against their hosts for the most part.
Fleet were the first to post their intent when Maxx Manktelow fired in an ambitious effort from distance that was gathered by Harry Seaden. But the hosts struck back with some powerful running and an eye-catching dribble down the right from Charlee Hughes ended inside the box with a goalbound shot that was blocked and sent behind for a corner. Brentwood continued to ask a few questions and on 12 minutes Emmanuel Harvest fired just wide.
On his return to his former club, Daniel Ogunleye came ever so close to opening the scoring with a quarter of an hour gone. Olly Box wriggled into space and dinked a short ball towards the former Brentwood top scorer, who managed to scoop the ball over the bar via a deflection.
James Vennings, captain for the night, arrowed a fine effort from the edge of the box that whistled over the crossbar before the chances petered out for either side for a 15-minute spell.
Brentwood roared back with a speedy counterattack on the half-hour and Jesse Olukolu beat Buse to the ball, rounded him but his attempted lob into the goalmouth was too high and drifted away to safety.
Having missed that effort, the hosts were left to rue their wastefulness as a fine ball forward from the Fleet split the Brentwood defence and landed for Lennon Peake out wide. He slipped a pass back inside for Gene Kennedy to convert from his central berth for his second goal of pre-season.
It was a similar story only two minutes later as the Fleet doubled the lead. This time the quick-moving attack came down the other flank where Manktelow found Peake lurking inside the box and he made no mistake.
Box might have added a third shortly before half-time, which would have been just reward for another busy performance, but he found his path to goal blocked by several bodies in blue and his shot cannoned off a leg.
The Fleet were swift to attack as the second-half began and had a succession of chances in rapid order. First, Seaden denied Aramide Oteh after a quickly taken Fleet free-kick caught the Blues defence napping and Oteh again found the goalkeeper in the way after getting on the end of Kennedy’s long ball forward. A mistake by Max Hudson was then pounced on by Charlie Seaman but his effort slipped the wrong side of the post.
More chances came and went when Box sped forwards on the break and fed Seaman but his cross to Oteh was once again saved by Seaden at the expense of a corner. The goalkeeper was also on the end of another Box effort following Camron Gbadebo’s inch-perfect long ball towards Peake.
It wasn’t all one-way traffic, however, and Will Buse made a terrific double save on 56 minutes from Bradley Sach, the first an instinctive block from close range before the Fleet goalkeeper pounced on Sach’s follow-up.
Fleet settled the game on the hour mark from a Seaman corner that Nelson headed powerfully home at the near post and with the result pretty much done and dusted, the final third of the game was a quieter affair.
Matt Hall saved well from Ben Steward while, at the other end, Harvey Walker’s excellent ball into the six-yard box was pushed away by Seaden before the referee called a halt to the Fleet’s penultimate away friendly.
EUFC: Buse (Hall 61), Manktelow, Gbadebo, Nelson, Vennings, Kennedy, Seaman, Peake, Box, Ogunleye, Oteh.
Subs from 75 minutes: Passley, Vokins, Tizzard, Hessenthaler, Edser, Walker, Chapman, Barnes, Appiah, Samuel.
BTFC: Seaden, Olukolu, Cripps, Read (Reid), Gibbs, Hudson, Steward, Adams (Berry), Harvest, Mardell (Sach), Hughes (Linton).
Attendance: 243
Photo: ©EUFC/Tom Harris
