JOE Keith's 13 month tenure in charge of Tilbury came to an end as the Dockers were consigned to a 2-1 defeat by Bury Town.
Grays Athletic enjoyed more success in the Isthmian North as they beat Felixstowe & Walton United, while Aveley were knocked out of the FA Trophy.
Tilbury 1-2 Bury Town
Joe Keith was dismissed as Tilbury manager after two goals in the final 10 minutes allowed Bury Town to come from behind and seal victory at Chadfields.
Jack Carlile’s opener had seemed to put the Dockers on course for victory, but two goals from Cemal Ramadan resulted in Bury turning the game on its head and leaving south Essex with all three points.
Tilbury’s Mitchell Gilbey was frustrated early on as his free-kick was kept out by Bury goalkeeper George Bugg.
Carlile then sent a long range effort over the crossbar and a fine tackle from Kyran Clements denied George Sykes, who signed from Maldon & Tiptree in midweek, a shooting chance soon before the break.
Tilbury made the breakthrough on 66 minutes when a lapse in concentration let Carlile in and the skipper fired home.
But Bury fought back and levelled matters on 81 minutes.
Ramadan’s well-struck drive flew past Tilbury goalkeeper Rhys Madden and into the bottom corner of the net.
And Bury were to triumph as the referee pointed to the spot following a trip in the penalty area and Ramadan converted the spot-kick just four minutes after drawing the visitors level.
Tilbury could not find an equaliser and Keith’s 13 month stint in charge of the Dockers came to an end.
Aveley 1-2 Beaconsfield Town
Aveley were left to rue missed opportunities as they were knocked out of the FA Trophy by Beaconsfield Town in the second qualifying round.
Andy Freeman’s late goal proved to be merely a consolation after Louis Stead and Charlie Losasso had put Beaconsfield in a commanding position at Parkside.
The first meaningful chance of the afternoon fell to the Millers as Tom Richardson got in behind the visitors’ defence, but the Beaconsfield goalkeeper was equal to the in-form frontman’s attempt.
Beaconsfield hit back and Aveley goalkeeper David Hughes thwarted Louis Stead.
Jason Raad was denied after fine build-up play involving Jake Pitty and Freeman, but the tie remained goalless heading into the second half.
Aveley got the second half off to a good start and Sam Cross saw a header cleared off the line.
But Beaconsfield took the lead 11 minutes after the break as Stead’s attempted cross found the back of the net.
And Losasso doubled the visitors’ advantage eight minutes later to give Aveley a mountain to climb.
The Millers struck the underside of the crossbar as they went in search of a goal to give them hope.
Freeman eventually got the home side on the scoresheet, but his effort proved too late for Aveley to instigate a comeback.
Felixstowe & Walton United 1-2 Grays Athletic
Grays Athletic claimed their second win of the season against Felixstowe & Walton United.
Goals from Joao Carlos and Kieran Bishop put Jamie Stuart’s side on course for three points, while Miles Powell’s goal soon after half-time was not enough for the hosts.
Grays got off to the perfect start as Carlos drilled beyond Felixstowe goalkeeper Jack Spurling and into the back of the net inside two minutes.
Aron Gordon was denied, while Mitchel Hahn then tested Spurling from distance.
Felixstowe should have taken advantage of a rare flurry forward.
Clarke Bogard failed to hold onto a free-kick and Rhys Henry was presented with a golden opportunity, but he spurned the chance and failed to hit the target.
And Grays were to profit as they extended their lead on 23 minutes.
Gordon used his pace to get behind his marker and his cross was only half cleared to Bishop, who was lurking on the edge of the penalty box and slammed the ball past Spurling.
Jack Ainsley thought he had reduced Felixstowe’s deficit before the break, but an outstretched Grays boot stopped his attempt from finding the back of the net.
However, Felixstowe did halve Grays’ lead as Powell headed home unchallenged from three yards out.
Hahn came close when his free-kick curled agonisingly wide of the upright with Spurling beaten.
Bishop should have completed a brace of goals when he was put through on goal, but the striker failed to hit the target when through one-on-one.
But Bishop was robbed of a second goal when, in the closing stages, he prodded the ball past Spurling and the ball had crossed the goal-line before being hacked away. But the officials failed to spot that the ball had crossed the goal-line and play continued.
However, Grays had done enough to come out on top.
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