First time I have been back to Spa Road for a while and the ground has changed very little - and unlike my last visit, a decent crowd today- which meant chaos on the road up to the car park.
Football wise, Hackney had finished so far ahead on points ahead of others they were always going to start as favourites and that seemed the way as they took the lead from a towering header from a great cross in what was the first attack of the game. they added a second goal and Rayleigh did well to keep the deficit down to 2 goals.
Expected the same in the second half, but it was Rayleigh who were on top and Hackney were saved by a great save from their keeper then the real fun started. The Ref gave Rayleigh a penalty, the striker took ages to take it, stuttering run - and all the sort of tricks you often see in the Premier League - but the Ref was have none of it, so blew his whistle and gave an indirect free kick to Hackney! To be honest the Rayleigh players and bench took the decision well, as many other clubs in the league/ or at this level would have gone ballistic.
Hackney saw the rest of the game without incident and got the promotion that their football over the season deserved.
