Saturday 7th March
ISTHMIAN NORTH DIVISION
BRENTWOOD TOWN 1 – 3 DEREHAM TOWN

With the Brentwood Arena still closed for repairs to the pitch, Brentwood Town had to travel to Suffolk to play a “home” league fixture with Dereham Town at the ground of AFC Sudbury. With many grass pitches still suffering from the wet weather, a 12-noon kick-off on the 3G surface at Sudbury was the only option to enable the fixture to be fulfilled.

In the end, two goals from Ryan Crisp helped Dereham to a comfortable win and it was the Magpies from Norfolk who had the better chances early on with Rhys Logan forcing a save from Blues keeper Tim Brown in the second minute and Crisp shooting into the side-netting from a good position fifteen minutes later. Nathan Stewart made the breakthrough finishing off a fine move in the 37th minute and David Hinton headed over an empty Brentwood goal three minutes later before Crisp netted his first two minutes before half time to leave Blues with a difficult task to get back into the game in the second half.

It was a more even game after the interval, but Crisp found the net to make it 3-0 in the 70th minute with a low shot through a crowded penalty area following a corner.

Brentwood then enjoyed a good spell and Jack Edwards pulled a goal back ten minutes from time. Joe Wicks’ shot was well saved by Dereham goalkeeper Elliott Pride, but Edwards seized on the loose ball for a tap-in.

Brentwood Town: Brown, Mead, Hammond, Ahern, Kemsley, Topley (Fleming 52), Wicks, Edwards, Freeman (Dosad 81), Hubbard (Noble 85), Carvalho.