Competition: Thurlow Nunn South
Venue: Rookery Hill
Attendance: 163
A disciplined first-half display undone by two second-half goals as the Rocks suffer defeat at home.
In a relatively uneventful and even first half, the visitors registered the first effort of note in the 12th minute, although their shot from outside the penalty area sailed over the crossbar. The Rocks grew into the contest and created their first clear opening on 32 minutes. A short corner found Kieron Miles at an angle, but his curling attempt towards the far side was covered by the goalkeeper.
Seven minutes later, Zac Bussell produced an excellent recovery challenge to halt a dangerous Stansted attack. With neither side able to break the deadlock, the teams went in level at half-time, with little of note to report.
Second Half
Stansted threatened soon after the restart when a cross into the six-yard box was met in the 50th minute, but the touch carried too much height. The Rocks continued to defend with discipline, their well-organised back line repeatedly catching the visitors offside.
At the other end, Zac Bussell tried his luck from distance on 61 minutes, curling an effort towards the far top corner, but the shot drifted wide. Shortly afterwards, Tom Barnacle delivered a clever, chipped cross towards Alex Merrell six minutes later, only for the assistant referee to raise the flag for offside.
The breakthrough arrived in the 69th minute when Stansted won possession in a dangerous area and capitalised to take the lead. The visitors almost doubled their advantage four minutes later, but Flynn Monk made a superb goal-line clearance to keep the Rocks in the contest.
Stansted eventually found their second goal in the 82nd minute, converting with a header to put the result beyond doubt. The Rocks kept working until the final whistle, but there was no way back as the visitors departed with all three points, inflicting the home side with its first defeat of the season.
Full-time: East Thurrock CFC 0–2 Stansted