Gravesham & Wellcome 2s delivered a dominant performance against K Sports, securing a record-breaking 10-0 victory and moving within a single point of promotion.

With memories of the Holcombe game still fresh, the captain ensured a multi-layered attacking approach was in place, with Chris Owen brought in at right back to provide width and dangerous crosses from the flank. This strategy paid off quickly, with Steve Caulfield’s short corner strike leading to Aaron Elliott stabbing home after a goal-line stop.

The lead was doubled when Caulfield found Elliott on the left, who delivered a perfectly judged cross to Jordan Jenkins. Arriving at the back post, Jenkins fired a half-volley into the roof of the net for 2-0. Si Bradley then played in Jenkins for his second of the match, making it 3-0.

Elliott, constantly finding space, latched onto a through ball and squared it to Jenkins, who tapped in for his hat-trick and a commanding 4-0 lead. Gravesham’s relentless attacking continued, with Ollie Simpson causing problems for the K Sports defence. He struck the post, while Chris Bradley came close with an ambitious reverse strike.

Before the break, John Booth set up Caulfield, who drilled home his first goal to make it 5-0 at half-time. The interval talk focused on capitalizing on simple chances, and the team responded immediately.

Early in the second half, Simpson found Matty Lucas in front of goal, who unselfishly set up Elliott for a tap-in and his second of the game. With Gravesham pressing forward, K Sports held out for 15 minutes before the floodgates opened again.

Caulfield struck the post but soon made amends, hammering home after a pass from Eren Basch. His next effort was guided in by Jenkins at waist height for his fourth, making it 8-0.

Despite Gravesham’s dominance, luck wasn’t always on their side. Elliott struck the post for a third time in the match, adding to a frustrating trend—six times in the last three games, the frame had denied them. But the relentless pressure ensured the goals kept coming.

Caulfield completed his hat-trick with another powerful strike before Simpson, after so much hard work, finally got his reward, slotting home after great play by Jay Chima to round off the scoring at 10-0.

A record-breaking win for the 2s, leaving them needing just one point from their final three games to secure promotion.

Man of the match: Steve Caulfield