Jordan Parson reports on Barking’s shock defeat to relegation battling Greenhouse Sports FC.
Barking suffered a painful 3-2 defeat, losing away from home to struggling Greenhouse Sport in the Essex Senior League fixture.
A James Peagram brace in the opening seven minutes gave the Blues a comfortable lead, only to see it stolen after a sensational Greenhouse fightback. Barking had little answer to the resurgence of Greenhouse, who are fighting to leap clear of the relegation places, and goals from Ange-Elie Johary, Adai Abuzeid and Bankole Koroma were enough to see the home side snatch all three points.
The East London outfit arrived at Coles Park hoping to build on the hard-earned point which they took away from a local derby match against Ilford a week earlier. But this disappointing result now leaves them five points adrift of league leaders FC Romania.
The opening stages were full of end-to-end action with Barking capitalising on their early chances. Peagram came close to a first half hat-trick but was denied by Greenhouse goalkeeper Arden Asllani who did well to steer the striker’s effort wide of the post on the 25-minute mark.
Spurred on by Aslanni’s efforts, Greenhouse fought to get back into the game in which, during the opening half an hour, Barking were had total control.
After breaking free of the Barking defence, which had previously had little to deal with, Johary beat goalkeeper Michael Green with a cool finish sparking the first initial warning signs for the visitors.
Pressure
The goal appeared to give Greenhouse a much needed confidence boost and they began to look like a transformed side. Maintaining their pressure, Abuzeid equalized minutes before half time after rising highest with a powerful header, putting the hosts back onto level terms.
The second half started in cautious fashion, with both sides clearly wary of giving their opponents an advantage. However, it was Greenhouse who would eventually get the breakthrough after a defensive error allowed Koroma to steal the ball and dribble around the Barking keeper before finishing in an open goal.
Greenhouse controlled the rest of the second half, adopting a possession-focused approach to hold onto their lead.
Tally
Peagram’s goals improved his recent scoring record to an outstanding eight in four matches, taking his total season tally to 23.
Barking will hope to keep the in-form striker fit as they turn their attention to Clapton FC who they face next in the Essex Senior League. Whilst a win could get their pursuit of league leaders FC Romania back on track, dropping any more points could ruin their title hopes this season.