Essex Senior League: London Bari 2 Tower Hamlets 0

London Bari ended their three-game winless streak by earning all three points against an in-form Tower Hamlets in their east London derby.

Goals came courtesy of Junior Decker and captain Tony Cookey, who sealed the win 15 minutes from time.

The game began with both sides having their fair share of possession without carving out a chance.

The home side’s first chance of the game was expertly finished by Decker as Tobi Adesina crossed the ball from the right hand side, finding Joel Appiah and he flicked the ball on to Decker who slotted the ball into the back of the net.

Tower Hamlets had goalkeeper Sean Bazell to thank as he kept the score at 1-0 after parrying a close-range shot by Andy Greenslade and keeping out a fierce strike by Cookey from the edge of the box in quick succession.

Nasser Bello came closest for Hamlets in the first half, when his shot looked destined for the back of the net but was heroically cleared off the line by Peter Wilcox.

And the visitors carved out one more chance just before the break with Yusuf Ali shooting just over the bar after Bello had chested down a Jide Alaga cross.

The first chance of the second half came from Cookey who chipped the ball just over the bar after Appiah had delicately flicked on a Wilkinson Boatang free-kick from deep.

Bari continued to create opportunities and came close to doubling their lead when Adesina picked out Appiah in the box and he headed towards goal but Bazell made an excellent save low down to his right.

Finally, after 75 minutes Bari got their much deserved second through Cookey when a defensive mishap gave the opportunity for Adesina to slide the ball into Cookey’s path, allowing him to slot the ball past Bazell.

The visitors looked to have been given a lifeline when some confusion in the Bari backline gave Sunday Wasiu a one-on-one chance with the goalkeeper, but he couldn’t finish and shot wide.

In the 89th minute, Hamlets had another chance to pull one back after second-half substitute Patrick Lukondo played a free-kick into the box and found Wasiu, but his header was cleared off the line again by Wilcox.

London Bari looked comfortable for large portions of the game however if not for Wilcox’s ability to be in the right place at the right time, the scoreline could very well have been different.

Bari: Boateng, McCarty, Kilcox, Decker, Mpalampa, Jimoh, Senupe (Richardson 71), Greenslade, Adesina, Cookey (Morson 82), Appiah (Pedro 88). Unused subs: Nunes, Richardson.

Tower Hamlets: Bazell, Earle, Cedras, Miller (Adama Bamba 78), Duggas-During, Lazolo, Alaga (Patterson 53), McLean, Bello, Wasiu, Ali (Lukondo 46). Unused sub: Sumithran.