The Missioners travelled to New Lodge on Saturday afternoon and despite failing to impress did manage to keep a third consecutive clean sheet and earn a replay on Tuesday back at Church Road despite losing skipper Orlando Jeffrey to an injury time red card for dissent.

It could have been all so different as the visitors almost took a lead with just 16 seconds played, a forward ball found Josh Scott on the left side of the area, he barged his marker off the ball before seeing his shot saved by the diving Billericay third choice keeper, Ronnie Worster.

It was not long however before the home side started to exploit our obvious weakness in the centre of midfield to create chances of their own, a sweeping move forwards saw a corner conceded that Lee Hodges fired to the near post, Rikki Burbridge rose to meet the ball but his glancing effort went across the face of goal and wide. Matt Game then found space in the middle before finding an offside looking Joe Flack on the right of the box, his shot being blocked away by a sliding Orlando Jeffrey.

Scott then forged another chance for the Missioners, touching a throughball onto his left before firing across Worster but wide of the far post. A lull then ensued where most fans had a quick catnap before Kevin Davies twice gathered shots with ease, the first from Danny Kerrigan who had been allowed to move unchallenged through our anonymous central midfield and the other just before the break saw Nathan Elder shrug off two challenges before crossing to Matt Game who headed into Davies welcoming arms.

The second half livened a little but other than one excellent save by home keeper Worster neither defence looked like being breached.

Former Thurrock winger Lee Hodges was causing many problems for the Hayes back-line as he was allowed so much space to move forwards almost at will. Just three minutes of the second half had been played when he was allowed to cut inside before unleashing a swerving drive that Davies did well to parry with Leon Hunter being flagged for offside as he stretched to reach the loose ball. Minutes later a foul on the edge of the area gave Hodges another chance but all he managed this time was to uproot the starlings in the trees behind the stand.

Play quickly switched to the other end, Liam Feeney swung a crossfield ball to Scott who cut inside Kerrigan before curling a shot around Worster's dive but agonisingly wide of the upright. Play immediately switched to the other end where a Dave Collins cross found a sliding Hodges at the far post but again he was wide of the target. Still 'ricay pushed forwards without causing Davies too much trouble, Joe Flack headed over from a Elder cross when well placed and after Jamie Dormer robbed Peter Collins on the edge of the area it was man of the match Adam Logie who slid in to deny Elder a shot just six yards from goal.

Dormer then saw another header go wide from a Hodges free-kick and the same player was about to pull the trigger only for that man Logie to again throw his body in the way to clear the danger.

Kevin Hill by this time had changed the whole forward line by throwing Jon Dyer and Michael Bartley into the fray and it was Dyer who came closest to removing the need for a replay. Just nine minutes remained when the ball was threaded out to Feeney, his cross was met at full stretch by Dyer only for Worster to turn and tip the effort over the bar.

The only other chance to open the scoring came a minute later when Elder headed wide at the far post but sadly the solid defensive display from the Missioners was blighted four minutes into stoppage time when skipper OJ was shown two yellow cards in five seconds, the first for throwing the ball the the ground after being harshly penalised and one assumes the second was for verbal over the same incident.

Report by Kevin Watts.

Photos by Ray Peploe.